Best of Sarah Jane Pillow
I had so much fun making a pillow using the newly released Best of Sarah Jane by Michael Miller. We quickly sold out of several of the prints, but they are back in stock! Yayyy!!!
I thought you may want to make your own pillow or just use the Economy Block for a quilt, or a mug rug, or just to try it out for fun. This is a great block for fussy cutting and perfect to highlight a special print.
To begin, you may want to print out a copy of the layout for my pillow. I used an 18" pillow form, but you can easily change the size of the block in your printer or add a larger/smaller border or eliminate the border. It is so easy to change the size to fit the pillow form you would like to use.
I used this Foundation Paper Piecing template to complete each of my Sarah Jane Economy Blocks. Print out the template at 100% and complete 4 blocks. If you are not familiar with foundation paper piecing, you will find many great videos on you-tube.
Using a quarter inch seam allowance, stitch the four blocks together in the most pleasing order. For the borders, measure the top and bottom of the the center (4 pieced blocks sewn together). Cut two border strips 3.5" wide by the length of the top and bottom. Measure each side and cut two side border strips 3.5" by the length of each side. For the corner blocks, cut 4 squares, each 3.5" X 3.5". Sew a corner square to the top and bottom of each side strip. Sew the top and bottom borders onto the center section. Press. Sew the side strips with the corner blocks onto the sides of the center section plus top and bottom border.
Hand quilt (I used Valdani) or machine quilt with a low loft batting spray basted to the back of the pillow front. I did not add a backing in addition to the batting, but you may want to add a backing fabric (pillow top + batting + backing) before adding the pillow back. This may be more important if you plan to wash the pillow cover.
Finish using your favorite pillow back. I used a simple envelope back.
**if you want to embellish your pillow as I did you may make little fabric bobbles by cutting a circle of fabric, with needle and thread add a running stitch close to the raw edge. Stuff with a bit of batting or polyfil and pull the running stitch closed. Knot off to secure and wrap the raw edge with embroidery floss or perle cotton. Stitch evenly around the pillow.**
