TUTORIAL FOR XMAS BELL THROW PILLOW

TUTORIAL FOR AN APPLIQUED CHRISTMAS THROW PILLOW

Cut the front piece of the cushion cover in a square of 16 1/2 inches.( see the fifth pic)

Cut two pieces for the back side in rectangles of size 16 1/2 / 10 3/4 inches( see the pic just below)

Fold and refold ONE of the longer sides of both the back pieces in 1/4 inch

Keep aside the front piece..

Machine stitch this folded edge of both the back side pieces ..Keep them aside as well

Now for the bells:- Draw a bell large enough for the cushion cover on a card paper and cut it out.. Remember this bell template should NOT be as wide as the front piece of the cover.. it should be only half the width since we are going to make two bells.. We need space to arrange them both on the cover...

Using this template cut two each of the main fabric and lining fabric for the bells....Use any shimmering fabric for the bell's front piece and plain fabric for the lining ..We need two pieces each of both the fabrics..Actually for simple applique we need not use lining for the design that is to be appliqued.. But here we are using lining as well , just for making the bells look neater on the edges and you need not do any blanket stitch to fix them to the main front fabric of the cover..( its little extra work but believe me its worth the effort)

Sew the lining and the main fabric of the bell shapes right side facing each other.. After pinning them together( see pic below),machine stitch 1/2 cm all around leaving a small gap of about two inches to turn it out.. Back stitch at the edges near the opening....Turn out and press well using steam setting of your iron box.....Close the opening with a few drops of fabric glue .. You may machine stitch the opening if you prefer it that way..... (while pressing, fold the open edges of both the pieces inward and press as if preparing for stitching..this makes it easy later ,to close the opening even if you are going to close it with fabric glue.)

shown below are the bells ready for use (after stitching , turning out and closing the opening:-)

Arrange the bells on the front fabric in such a way that one of them overlaps the other slightly..( sorry,, I forgot to take a picture for this step but you can make out from the eighth pic )....Pin here and there so that they dont move ...Now sew them in simple machine stitch using a matching thread or an invisible thread...If you want you may use close zigzag for the edges...If using simple machine seams , make sure you go all around as close to the edge as posible .

Attach the bow on top of the bells in the center,in a slightly slanting position using a press button... To give the ribbon a naturally twisted look I have attached them in a way I found it more appealing to the eyes using press buttons again...This method makes it easy to remove it when I have to wash the cushion cover...( In other words,in this project both the bow and the ribbons are detachable)...You may use bows and ribbons of your choice..

Attach two tiny bells as shown at the bottom of each bell as you see in the picture.Paste one or two stars here and there to make it look more festive.These types of stars and golden bells are available at stores that sell ribbons and such embellishments..

Now its time to assemble the front and back pieces of the cover..Keep the above decorated front piece that is ready to be sewn right side facing you. Place the two rectangular pieces of the backside slightly overlapping each other, with the right sides facing down..( pls do not mind the colour change.. this photo belongs to another throw pillow project.:)...) Align well the edges of the front piece and the back pieces and pin as shown below...Sew all around.. Clip the corners to reduce bulk..Turn out the cushion cover.

Attach a golden braid to give the bell that curve at the bottom..I should have done it before assembling the pieces.. But since I forgot to do it I did it later only:)... You can do it after appliquing the bells and attaching the bow..(that is before the final assembly..)

Since am not that good at giving tutes I am not sure whether the steps shown here are clear to my friends.. If having any doubts , please feel free to write to me and ask..

Affectionately, ..........................Mini