This week we are sewing the top together with sashing and borders and quilting the finished top!
Pillow Top
I start by working out the placement of my pumpkins, then start sewing them together. First in rows, then long sashing between the rows, then borders. Hopefully the pattern has enough explanation, but here is mine going together if you’re a visual person like me! 😉
Quilting
Helpful Quilting Tools
Here are some tools that I love for quilting. I'd say a definite must is the walking foot, the rest you can do without so don't worry if you don't have them! They just make it a little easier. These quilting gloves make it super easy to grip the fabric and guide it through without hand fatigue, a Hera marker and ruler are great for marking quilting lines, and a basting spray makes basting a small project like this super easy.
Leaving your pillow not quilted is a great simple option too. But, I think a pillow is a fun way to try a little machine quilting. Since it’s so small—it’s great practice! Here are a few tips and how I quilt mine.
For pillows I usually only do a layer of the top and a square of batting, since the back will be hidden inside the pillow.
I baste it with a spray basting. I like to spray just the batting and usually take it outside to avoid any overspray in the house. I tried to get a video, it's a little windy here today! 😂
Its a good idea to shake the can well and spray a little before you start on the batting, I thought I had done that, but as you can see I still got a few glops I wasn’t expecting. That’s another good reason to spray the batting and not the fabric. 😉
Then I press the pillow top to the batting to set the basting spray more firmly. I gently press out from the center, taking care to not stretch the fabric, but to get it nice and flat and adhered to the batting.
Next, I mark my straight lines with a Hera marker or you can also use a butter knife or other preferred marking tool. Sometimes I just use the guide that attaches to the walking foot.
A few tips:
• Using a walking foot helps feed both layers through evenly.
• Always sew starting from the same side or edge of the pillow. (Don‘t go down one way, then turn your top and sew down the other way.) Take the time to cut your thread and go back to the same starting side. This helps avoid puckers.
• Work from the center out. For example, if I’m quilting straight lines, I’ll start with a line at the center of the pillow top, and work my way out to the right side. Then I’ll go to the next line to the left of the center where I started and work my way all the way out to the left side.
In the video below I had just finished working my way out to the right side and am finishing working out to the left. I roll the right side as I go. 😄
There are so many ways to quilt! You can try free motion, hand quilting, emphasize the shape of your pumpkins, wavy lines are fun, or just do a fun design! I tend to keep it simple because I still feel like a beginner when it comes to the quilting! I ended up doing a criss cross design on my Beachy pillow and a simple straight line on my black and white one. For the skinny straight lines I marked lines an inch apart with my ruler and once those were sewn I used my presser foot to eyeball it and stitched two additional lines in between each inch. For the criss-cross, I started from the center and did all the lines going one direction and then did the same thing for all the lines going the opposite direction.
Thanks for hanging out with me today, I hope these quilting tips helped and I can’t wait to see your finished top!
🧡Natalie
Up Next: Finishing the pillow! Pillow backs, trim and binding. 🎉
Don’t forget to tag me @fijimamaquilts and use the hashtag #littlepumpkinpillowsal
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