"Play me a Song" African Print Appliqué Fabric Art Pillow

9. With the sewing machine on the zigzag stitch setting, stitch width at medium and the stitch length set at 0 or 1, stitch around the edges of each appliqué pattern piece with white thread (figure E).

10. To stitch the curls in the hair, switch the sewing machine to the embroidery setting, lower the feed dog and set the pressure of the presser foot to light to allow free-motion sewing. Position the hair under the needle and hold the fabric with one hand on each side of the hair. Start stitching with white thread, guiding the fabric with both hands to create the stitched swirls of the hair (figure F). Switch to straight stitch and free-motion stitch swirls to resemble strands of hair.

12. Cut four 2" x 12" strips of a print fabric for the borders. Place a strip, right side up, along each of the four sides of the front of the pillow and zigzag along the inner edge of each strip. Trim excess fabric to the original 12-inch size of the khaki square (figure G).

13. Stitch the front of the pillow to the back by placing right sides together and pinning to keep the fabrics secure. On the bottom, start stitching a third of the way from one edge using a straight stitch and a 1/2-inch seam allowance, stitch around the side, top, other side and a third of the bottom on the other side, leaving a 6 inch opening at the bottom for stuffing (figure H).

14. Turn the pillow right side out. Stuff it with polyester stuffing into the corners first, then work your way to the middle until the pillow is firm (figure I).

15. Sew the opening closed by hand or by machine (figure J).

Zigzag Sewing Tips

• Practice zigzag stitching on a scrap piece of fabric until you get the desired stitch.
• Zigzag stitch the outside pieces first and work your way in
• Don’t worry about cutting threads when you sew
• Complete the detail work after you have completed your sewing

Website: KatrinaGormanDesigns.com