How-To: Applique Pillow

{ courtesy of designmilk.com }

The guest room bed needed something red. The red striped rug was lonely. I wanted to incorporate red on to the bed, so I decided that a pillow was in the cards. I have been looking on Etsy and at various other sights, but adorable pillows like the one above are very pricey. Cheap-sake on alert! Make it myself I say!

I had some leftover fabric from the outdoor curtains I did for the back porch, so I whipped up a pillowcase. Next I search the web for a bird silhouette. I found this lovely and printed it out.

Then I traced it onto a piece of stiff felt. I chose the stiffened felt because it is easier to cut crisp lines on. Cutting out the bird is next.

To secure the applique to the fabric I used some fusible webbing- a nifty material that uses heat to bond fabric together.

Now that the bird was secured to the fabric I stitched it on with white thread, tracing around the edges. I must say it wasn't the best job, but it was my first time, no too bad.

After I closed the pillowcase, the red bird was reunited with it's bed mates. The pillows behind are actually just pillow inserts from other pillows I had lying around. They had ugly covers so I just took them out and put them on the bed. They have a more natural feel.

The bed now has its red pop and the rest of the room has come together nicely. Head to the next post to see the details!