13 Jul Sew Solid Sunday #7!
Smooth Sailing |
Welcome back to another Sew Solid Sunday! I had so much fun making this month’s project! Going into last week, I had another project in mind for today, but it wasn’t working out like I’d hoped. So I was trying to decide whether to go ahead with it or not. (You know how sometimes you hate a project when you are in the middle of it and then when you finish it, you love it again?)
Friday morning I was looking for my graph paper for another project (not Sew Solid Sunday) and I stumbled across this sketch I did several months ago. It yelled at me – “I am perfect for a summer Sew Solid Sunday!” So I listened 🙂
I mean how can you go wrong with the classic cool of blue and white in the summer time? In another bit of serendipity, I also happened to have some scraps left from a Kona True Blue color story bundle. I used seven darks from that bundle and added a bit of Navy from my stash. And I always have plenty of Kona White on hand. Bonus – a total scrap/stash project!
Here is what I did for this 16″ Smooth Sailing pillow:
Cut one 3″ square from 8 different dark blues
From the white (you will need 11 usable inches x WOF), cut:
1 3″ strip, 2 2½” strips and 2 1½” strips (all WOF)
subcut these to:
8 3″ white squares
12 2½” white squares
3 2½” x 14½” strips
2 1½” x 14½” strips
2 1½” x 16½” strips
Match a 3″ blue square with a 3″ white square and make a half square triangle (HST) block. Repeat with the remaining 3″ squares to finish with 16 HST blocks. Trim to 2½” square.
Lay out a row with four HST blocks, placing three white 2½” squares in between them. Sew together for one row. Repeat to make four rows.
Sew the 2½” x 14½” white strips between the rows. Then sew the 1½” x 14½” strips to the sides of the pillow and the 1½” x 16½” strips to the top and bottom.
Layer your pillow top with a backing and batting and quilt as desired.
I quilted my pillow with straight lines and made a zippered back. You can find my tutorial on how to make a back with a covered zipper here.
I thought about binding the pillow in dark blue, but decided to let the blue “sailboats” keep all the attention instead of sharing it with the binding, so I just sewed the front and back right sides together and turned the pillow right side out.
333HB
Posted at 03:18h, 14 JulyLove, Love this pillow! So fresh and lovely! Great work!!!
Anne
Posted at 18:03h, 13 JulyA fun summery looking pillow. Makes me want to go boating. Now if only I had a boat and a lake nearby. Clearly I don't know the right people. I'm linking up a post that I wanted to add to last month's Sew Solid Sunday but didn't get done in time.
Jayne
Posted at 15:30h, 13 JulyGorgeous and a perfect summer pillow! Love the blue and white combination.
I know exactly what you mean about being in the middle of a project that feels 'wrong'! After fighting through the doubts and making yourself finish, there is usally a little more satisfaction at the end when it turns out great!
Sharon
Posted at 13:57h, 13 JulyI Love blue and white!
Ellyn
Posted at 12:49h, 13 JulyI love this pillow! thanks for your tutorial.