Hilary Kanwischer: Pillow tucks and candle mats....

September 04, 2015

Pillow tucks and candle mats....

Hey everyone, thanks so much for stopping by today. I am currently throwing an End-of-Season party by celebrating Fall with a couple of stitched projects for you. I am so ready to boot Summer, along with all the triple-digit heat we get this time of year, right to the curb and welcome my most favorite time of the year. I LOVE Fall...and I LOVE Halloween, it's such a promising time of the year for me. One day, I'll follow my dreams and head north to really enjoy what the seasons have in store. But for now, I'm limited to my dreams...and my crafting.

So today, I created a sweet little pillow tuck and candle mat using some Fall dies by Tim Holtz, for Sizzix. I hope you enjoy!

The candle mat, measures about 9 inches around, and for the appliqued pumpkin in the middle, I used the Pumpkin Parts Bigz die by Tim Holtz along with the 10 inch Circle Pro die from Sizzix. The stitchery pattern is by Primitive-Stitches.

This sweet little pillow tuck measures about a 5 inch square, and for the applique pumpkin in the middle, I used the Jack O'Lanterns Bigz die by Tim Holtz, and I hand wrote and stitched the wording underneath.

I also coffee stained my own muslin, to the desired color and dried it before I used it. Coffee staining or tea staining adds a primitive feel to your projects and I personally love it. Not to mention, it' smells pretty good too.

To create the mat, I first cut out the pumpkin parts using wool felt. To sandwich your die in your Big Shot, first place a cutting pad down, then the die, (blades up), then your felt and finally a cutting pad on top. Die cut your pumpkin pieces and set them aside. Die cut your coffee stained muslin, using the 10" inch Circle die and your Big Shot Pro machine. Unfortunately, this die requires the use of the Pro. Your cutting sandwich remains the same as the pumpkin parts above, however you will use larger cutting pads.

Next using a lightbox, and the printed out stitchery pattern, lay the pattern onto the lightbox, and trace the pattern using a disappearing ink pen. I chose to leave out the pumpkin pattern in the middle, and replace it with my felted pumpkin. Next, die cut a piece of batting using the same 10" circle die, and lay it underneath your pattern, secure it into an embroidery hoop and stitch according to the directions.

When your stitchery is complete, machine stitch the felt pumpkin to the middle. Die cut a backing fabric, using the 10" Circle die and lay it on top. Machine stitch around the mat leaving a 1/4 inch seam allowance, and an opening at the bottom. Flip right side out, and hand stitch the bottom closed using a whip stitch.

The little pillow tuck is created in much the same way. I used the 6" square Pro die to die cut a 6" square of coffee stained muslin, added a 6" square of batting behind it. Machine stitched the Jack O'Lanterns die to the front, drew the sentiment on right below it, and hand stitched it using black DMC floss. Then I cut a backing for the pillow using the same 6" square Pro die, pinned it to the front, machine stitched around it, leaving an opening at the bottom. Snip the corners and flip right side out. Fill pillow with poly-fiberfill to the desired loft and whip-stitch the bottom closed.