Welcome to the Christmas in July Blog Hop - Christmas Tree Topiary Pillow

Welcome, everyone!

It's my pleasure to present the first project

for the Christmas in July Blog Hop,

coordinated by Julie of The Crafty Quilter!

I've designed a free pattern, just for this event.

Introducing...

the Christmas Tree Topiary Pillow!

{At the end of the tutorial,

there is a GIVEAWAY, too, so be sure to read all the way to the bottom!}

The Crafty Quilter blog is where I first saw this gorgeous line

of holiday fabric...Winter's Lane

by Kate and Birdie Paper Co for Moda.

{It had me at "hello".}

Photo from The Crafty Quilter blog

Through the luckiest coincidence,

 I recently WON a fat quarter bundle

of this stunning fabric range!

It coordinates so nicely with my living room couch,

that even my son said I should use it to make a lot of pillows!

I'm off to a good start already.

I chose some favorite prints from my bundle.

To make the pillow, you need the following supplies...

FOR PILLOW TOP:

Heat N Bond, or other fusible web for applique shapes

(1) 15" square of background fabric

Scraps or charm squares of several different prints

for tree "seed" appliques

(1) 5" wide x 3 1/2" tall fabric scrap for tree base

(2) 2" x 15" strips of top and bottom border fabric

(2) 2" x 18" strips of side border fabric

(1) 18" piece of Pellon 987F Fusible Fleece for front of pillow

FOR PILLOW BACK:

(1) 18" square of fabric for pillow backing

(1) 18" square of Pellon SF101 ShapeFlex fusible interfacing

(1) 4" x 18" strip of fabric for zipper flap

(2) 1 1/4" x 6" rectangles of fabric for zipper extensions

14" zipper in coordinating color

Click to Download TEMPLATES for ChristmasTree Topiary Appliques.
Be sure to print using the printer icon,
and use the actual size or no scaling option.

(Seed shape measures about 2" from end to end

and about 7/8" wide.)

Trace a total of 30 applique "seeds" onto the paper side

of Heat N Bond fusible webbing.

Cut the shapes apart roughly, not on the drawn lines.

Place the shapes on the WRONG side

of the fabrics you are using for the tree applique

and iron in place according to manufacturer's instructions.

Cut the seed shapes out carefully,

following the lines that were traced.  Peel away the paper

from the backs of all of the applique shapes.

DESIGN TIP:

For my tree, I tried to suggest snow, covering the upper boughs.

I chose the lightest prints for the top-most rows,...

and placed darker fabrics in each lower tier.

For the base of the topiary,

draw the Base template 

on the paper side of Heat N Bond webbing.

Cut the base shape out roughly, not directly on the drawn lines.

Fuse the piece of webbing to the WRONG side

of the tree base fabric,

as directed by the manufacturer.

Cut the shape out on the drawn lines,

then remove the paper backing.

Lay out all of the tree appliques,

in rows as pictured,

centering the design on the 15" square of background fabric.

Fuse all of the pieces into place,

following manufacturer's directions for the fusible webbing.

TIP FOR PLACEMENT:

There is one seed on the top, with 2 seeds in the next row.

The third row has 4 seeds, the fourth row has 6 seeds,

the fifth row has 8 seeds, and the bottom row has 10 seeds.

Next add border strips to the top and bottom,

then the sides, of the 15" square background.

Press all seams away from the center block.

Fuse the square of Pellon 987F to the back of the pillow top.

{Alternately, you may use a layer of batting and a muslin backing,

to create a quilt sandwich. 

 Personally I prefer the smooth finish of fusible fleece, 

and it doesn't shift during the quilting process.}

Stitch around the edge of each of the applique pieces.

I used a slightly shorter stitch length setting of 2.0

and it was very easy to negotiate the gentle curves,

even without lowering my feed dogs!

{If you like, you could blanket-stitch or zigzag the edges.  I just used a straight stitch this time.}

I stitched around the base, the same way.

For the borders, I stitched in the ditch.

If you like, you may add lots more quilting.

{Here's how mine looked on the back.}

To me, this pillow top seemed finished at this point.

Well...except...I decided to fuse one tiny little cardinal

onto my favorite bough.

{I love the dash of red this little bird adds...just like in nature!}

Now that the pillow top was complete,

I used my Free Tutorial for the Covered Zipper Pillow Backing

to finish off my pillow.

{Here's the link for the PDF of the tutorial.}

I made one important adjustment for my backing,

since this pillow was going to finish at about 18", not 16" square.

I cut the zipper tabs a little bit longer,

so that the finished zipper would be wide enough.

The tab pieces I used this time measured

1 1/4" tall x 6" wide.

Here's the back of the finished pillow.

I think it's just as lovely as the front,

and I had the chance to use more of the tiny cardinals.

I added my signature label.

The finished pillow measures about 17 1/2" square.

It could be adjusted to make a pillow that is smaller,

(with no borders) or larger, with wider borders.

My new Christmas Topiary Tree Pillow

looks at home already on my chocolate brown couch.

{It's going to have to wait for a few months, though, before I use it.}

How would you like to WIN a kit

for making your very own Christmas Topiary Tree Pillow?

I like the way my pillow turned out,

but I'd love to put together a different kit for one lucky individual,

with all of the fabrics, fleece, interfacing and zipper,

for you to make your own Christmas pillow.

The fabrics and colors will NOT be the same as in my sample,

but I'll pick out something pretty...I promise!

To enter for the random prize drawing,

please comment below, telling me

what your favorite Christmas cookie is!

Comments will close at midnight on July 26, and 

I'll announce the winner on this blog post on July 27.

Please make sure I can contact you via email,

especially if you are a no-reply blogger.

Good luck, everyone, and come back any time!

Comments are now closed for this post.
Congratulations to Shawn, comment #27!
I've contacted Shawn via email.

Thanks to all who entered the giveaway...
good luck next time!