Hi! I'm Maureen from
Maureen Cracknell Handmade and I am SO excited to be a part of the Riley Blake Design Team!! Today I'm sharing a tutorial for a kite themed nursery floor pillow using Riley Blake's new Fly A Kite collection by October Afternoon. This step by step tutorial is for making a large floor pillow, however you can make a smaller version by simply eliminating a few steps. If you have any questions feel free to email me at maureencracknell@hotmail.com. Now let's get started!!
What you'll need : :
- 4 - fat quarters or 1/4 yd cuts of Fly A Kite prints (fabrics for the center pillow kite shape)
- 1 - 1/2 yd Fly A Kite solid or print for corner pieces
- 1 - fat quarter or 1/4 yd cut for top and bottom border pieces (cut 2 - 3.5" x 18" strips)
- 1 - fat quarter or 1/4 yd cut for side border pieces (cut 2 - 3.5" x 24" strips)
- 1 - 1 yd cut of main Fly A Kite print for the pillow back fabrics
- 1 - 24" x 24" pillow insert
- 1 - 25" x 25" piece of batting
- coordinating thread
- Sewing pins & basting pins
- Sharp scissors and/or a rotary cutter/mat set
- 1 - 9.5" square piece of sturdy card stock for template
-- Cut a template measuring a 9.5" square from sturdy card stock or cardboard
-- Cut the measurements below from the Fly A Kite fat quarters or yardage for each block
1. Use rotary cutter, mat, and ruler to cut fabrics
2. Layout fabrics in an order beginning with the smallest cut strip at the bottom, centering each piece like picture two below
3. Repeat this step for all four blocks
4.Press with iron so seams are facing forward
5.Take the 9.5" square template and place in the very center of the block
6. With the template as a guide, use a ruler and rotary cutter to trim away excess fabric
7. Repeat for all four sides until you have a perfect 9.5" square block
8. Repeat this step with each of the four pieced fabrics
9. Layout all four 9.5" blocks to create a kite shape
Notice those kite points! :)
10. Begin sewing blocks together, take two blocks right sides facing and pin with seams down
11. Using a 1/4" seam, sew together, repeat with the top two blocks
12. Press well with seams open
13. With right sides facing, pin top and bottom sewn pieces together, sew using 1/4" seam
14. Add border fabrics -- first pin and sew the top and bottom border pieces measuring 3.5" x 18", next add the side border pieces measuring 3.5" x 24"
15. Using basting pins, baste finished quilt top to 25" square piece of batting
16. Add machine quilting-- beginning in the inner-most diamond shape, staying close to the seams, sew following the diamond shapes that make up the kite design. Stop and pivot at each corner, sewing outward. I "stitch in the ditch" to avoid having to stop when making my way throughout each diamond shape. Continue following the diamond shape pattern until the entire pillow top is quilted
Remove pins and the pillow top is finished! (The second photo is an example of what the reverse side should look like after quilting) Handing quilting this would be beautiful!
Creating an envelope style back --
17. Cut two pieces of fabric measuring 18" x 24" from the yard of fabric for the back
18. On one edge of each piece, with wrong side facing, fold over one edge a 1/4", press, fold over 1/4" again, press again
19. Pin in place
20. Sew on the inner and outer edge of that fold to create a double seam on both pieces
21.With right sides facing, place backing fabrics on the quilted pillow top
22. Pin in place
23. Using a 1/4" seam, sew around the perimeter of the pillow
24. Trim away excess fabric and batting
25. Add a zigzag stitch around the perimeter of the pillow
26. Trim corners
Turn finished pillow top right side out, insert pillow form, and VOILA! Your Fly A Kite Nursery Floor Pillow is finished!!
To create an 18" pillow with this design, simply eliminate the border, adjust the batting needed to a 19" square, and change the measurement of both pieces of fabric needed to make the pillow back envelope closure to 13.5" x 18".
They make a wonderful set!!
Thank you so much for stopping by to see my very first Design Team Project!!! I'll be back soon with a new one! Be sure to let me know if you give this one a go!!
Thank you so much Maureen! They're DARLING!
I can't wait to make those pillows for my daughters new bed! And don't you just love Fly a Kite ? I sure do!
And if you stop by http://maureencracknellhandmade.blogspot.com/
and leave a comment, this Fat Quarter bundle could be yours!
Good luck!
~Stay tuned for another GREAT tutorial NEXT Wednesday~
March 08th, 2012 at 1:29 p.m.
March 31st, 2012 at 11:51 a.m.