Valentine Pillow

Design by Mary Ayres
YOU’LL NEED
Fabric:
Eight 5 1/2" squares in muted shades
Two 14 1/2" squares white chenille
1/4 yd. large floral print, muted colors
Fusible web*
2 1/8 yd. of 2" cream Battenburg lace
Oatmeal embroidery floss
Four 4 1/2" squares firm cotton batting*
Sixteen 3/8" flat cream buttons
Cream thread
14" pillow form
Miscellaneous items: scissors, pencil, tracing paper or vellum, pinking shears, embroidery needle, tape measure, straight pins, sewing machine
*Therm O Web HeatnBond UltraHold fusible web; and The Warm Company Warm & Natural needled cotton batting were used in the sample project. For more information, see the Source Guide.

INSTRUCTIONS
MAKE THE SQUARES
1 Prepare four fabric hearts as instructed in the Pattern Section. Peel the paper backing from the fused hearts. Fuse each one to the center of a 5 1/2" fabric square, following the manufacturer’s instructions.
2 Featherstitch around the edge of each heart, using three strands of oatmeal floss.
3 Stack a plain 5 1/2" fabric square, a batting square, and a heart fabric square, wrong sides together, centering the batting. Pin.
4 Trim 1/4" from each side of the layered squares with pinking shears.
5 Embroider a reversed blanket stitch around the squares using three strands of oatmeal floss. Position the loops over the indentations of the pinked edge.

ASSEMBLE THE PILLOW
All seams are 1/4".
1 To make the pillow front, pin the heart squares 1 1/4" apart on a chenille square (see photo).
2 To attach the heart squares, sew a button to each corner with oatmeal floss, stitching through the pillow front and all layers of the squares.
3 Sew the ends of the lace together to form a circle. Mark the circle into four equal sections with straight pins.
4 Sew a basting stitch along the straight edge of the lace, stopping and starting on either side of the pins.
5 Gather the lace, one section at a time, and pin it to the sides of the pillow front. Note: The straight edge of the lace should be even with the edge of the pillow. Sew the lace to the pillow front.
6 Sew the pillow front and back, right sides together, along the lace seam. Leave a 12" opening at the bottom.
7 Clip the corners and turn right side out. Insert the pillow form into the opening and handstitch it closed.

Stitch Guide
Featherstitch
Up at 1, down at 2, up at 3 pulling through with thread under the needle. Down at 4 to make next even stitch, alternating stitches to right and left of 1.




Reversed Blanket Stitch
Up at 1, around fabric edge at 2, up at 3 with thread below needle; pull through.