Textured Pillows Part Two

Not long ago I wrote this post on textured pillows. I found the original idea on the Martha Stewart website and modified it to make my own pattern on a second pillow.

I used the same materials (different colours, mind you) for the second design but mapped out a diamond pattern instead.

Diamond pattern using pairs of dots 1 inch apart

Pairs of dots marked using erasable pen

Once your dots are mapped out, "pinch" pairs of dots and sew them together using your embroidery thread. The video linked on my original post is really helpful to see how this is done.

Here's the finished design:

Now at this point I ran into a bit of a snaffoo because the pinched design created a lot of bunching along the outside edges.  Not very seam-friendly! 

Completed design... so pretty!

I decided the best way to tackle this would be to sew in some darts to help bring the fabric back into a more square shape. I used 1" darts at the top of the diamond (long end) and 2" darts on the sides.

Pinning for the darts

Once this was completed, I took the other side of the pillow (16" square), pinned and sewed it to the side with the design.  Remember to only stitch along three sides so you can jam the pillow form inside! 

Once the pillow form is inside, pin and machine-stitch the final side closed.  This can be a bit tricky depending on how fluffy you've planned your pillow to be.  The fluffy-er, the harder it will be to sew on the machine.  You might want to consider hand-stitching this seam depending on your dimensions.

Once I had it all done, my pillow was complete! What a beauty!!