Patchwork pillow tutorial

Today Katrin from Katrinshine will describe the steps to make a decorative sofa pillow cover in Patchwork "Spiral" style.

You will need fabric scraps, fabric for base, fabric for backing and a zipper of suitable length (I used a 40 cm long zipper).


The images below show the steps in making patchwork detail:


The finished project has to be somewhat similar to the picture below showing the resulting patchwork design:


Cut out the backing of the pillow. Place it together with the front patchwork detail. Pin them and sew together leaving one side open for the zipper.


Invert and press the seams, then baste the zipper and sew it using a special foot.


The pillow-case is finished!


Tutorial by Katrin (Katrinshine)
Translated by Anastasia (Lightkeeping)

Patchwork and quilting.

Patchwork refers to the pieces of fabric joined together in a way to form larger piece designed and sewn according to one or more existing techniques. Quilting is the joining some layers of fabric (at least three) together to form a padded piece. While the patchwork can be made without quilting and the quilting without piecing, these two techniques are so intertwined that many people can use them indistinctly applying to the same thing.

Wholecloth quilted baby blanket

Pieced christmas ornament

Short history

It is used to think a patchwork and quilting is a Western traditions, although there are many cultures which have it in its history, particularly in the Middle East and Asia and may date back to ancient Egypt. The first known quilted object is a linen quilted carpet from Siberian cave dated first century CE. In the West padded garments were worn underneath metal armor. Later it was used as bed covering and wall hangings. Actually, besides the traditional patterned quilts the piecing and quilting techniques along with another decorative techniques such as appliqué or stitching are used to create art objects.

Quilted wall hanging
with appliqué

Tools and materials

Usually cotton fabric is used to make quilts, but some artistic creations can be made with different texture fabrics and threads and introducing hard materials like buttons, beans etc. There's a lot of trends producing special quilting fabrics and wadding. Basic tools to get started are marking tool like a chalk or pencil, ruler, scissors, needles and thread. You can piece and quilt by hand or with sewing machine and you will need an iron to press seams.

Silk Quilted Textile Cuff

Crazy patchwork embellished bag

Techniques

Very many techniques of piecing exists. Some of the most typical are American hand-pieced patchwork, Log Cabin, easy squares and rectangles blocks, string and Seminole patchwork, foundation piecing, English paper piecing, Japanese folded patchwork, Crazy patchwork and a lot of appliqué and embellishment techniques. It can be used straight seams, inset seams and curve seams. There are different ways of quilting. Hand quilting has a more beautiful volume effect, and machine quilting is more fast. Free-hand machine quilting can be very creative, its like painting with a needle.

Hand quilted pot holder

Machine quilted pot holder

Care and storage.

Do not wrap quilts in plastic, store them flat in a cotton pillowcase
and refold them every few months with the folds in a different place
padding them with rolls of acid free paper. Avoid direct sunlight
exposure. Quilts can be hand and machine washed using a mild detergent
and a cool wash setting. It can be tumble-dried. Dry quilts spreading
it on towels if possible, especially heavy ones.

Story by Nata (RizalaYa)

The magic of sky

From the ancient times people were looking at the night sky wondering, how far it is to the moon or watching falling stars. The sun in the day was giving them warmth and light, and the moon and stars were for beauty and became a source for the imagination.


Many poems and novels were inspired by the magic of night. The sun, moon and stars became the objects for numerous paintings and illustrations; they even got faces, emotions and recognizable shapes.

{Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4}

The moon, sun, stars and planets gave us our current calendar basis. They also the basis of the Zodiac system which many people consult.

{Photo sources from top, then left to right: 1, 2, 3, 4}

There is so much more we could say of the magical sky but let us just stop and show you what our members create inspired by eternal theme:

{Photo sources from left to right: 1, 2}

Story by Tanya (Socksandmittens)
Photo collages by Katrin (Katrinshine)

Patchwork - introducing Crazy Quilt style

I like very much all kind of needle and craft work, it seems like things made with your own hands fill your soul with warmth and home with a comfort... I especially like patchwork.

Patchwork or "pieced work" is a form of a needlework that appeared in England during the 17th century. It involves sewing together pieces of fabric into a larger design. Fabric at that time was very expensive, that’s why every piece was put into work. Soon patchwork became very popular, now there are a lot of styles of quilting, including my favorite style “Crazy”. This particular technique gives room to imagination and every piece of work made in this style if very unique and original.

Why do I like Crazy style? It’s fast. And always the piece you make is very unique. Also it’s a great way to utilize scraps of fabric left over from sewing. You don’t even have to use the same type of fabric – say, you can combine cotton and wool.

For creating patchwork in Crazy style one can use pieces of fabric with colorful patterns or mono colored ones. You have to start work in the center, pin your pieces to the base fabric and sew them to each other, going clockwise. The fabric for the base could be any unused piece, since it won’t be seen in the final work. But if your final piece is going to be used as a pillowcase or cover, choose a thin fabric for a base, if it’s a bag or a potholder – use a thicker fabric. Usually, the center of the work has a light and bright colored piece of fabric – say white or yellow. The size of pieces changes from very small in the center to large on the edges. Fabric pieces are combined by color using different ideas. For example, you can sew together light colored pieces first, and after finishing a circle, use darker colored ones, but in the same color gamma (“color stretching”). Sometimes contrast colored pieces can be used next to each other. In any case, it is a good idea not to put together pieces that are too close to each other by color or pattern because they might destroy your composition by creating a large mono colored spot.

Are you interested in patchwork? Can not imagine your day without stitch? Then welcome to Katrinshine shop on Etsy and share your passion.

With kind regards -
Katrinshine