Say it with free motion quilting, a designer cushion

Free motion quilting is one of my favorite things to do and I’m always exploring new and exciting variations.

I had fun using applique words in my QUILTsocial blog post 5 easy steps to make a quilted spring banner and wondered could I also create words with quilting?

With my beautiful Gütermann Dekor rayon thread the answer, of course, is a resounding yes!

Join me for a week of fun as we create a lovely designer cushion.

materials

Gütermann thread – a quilters palette

My thread of choice for quilting this project is the beautiful Gütermann Dekor Rayon.

This lovely rayon thread comes in a wide variety of colors, is easy to work with and gives a soft sheen to the stitching.

I like quite dense quilting so I needed 2 of the 220-yard spools.

Though the wrong side of the stitching will not show I like to use the same thread in the bobbin.

This way I will not have to worry about the back thread showing on the top and my machine tension will be easy to set.

fabric – a quilter’s canvas

My fabric for this project is Canvas from Northcott. I love the way the subtle color changes add extra detail to my quilting.

• ⅝ yd for pillow front and back, color 9030-11 was used for the sample
• ½ yd of a contrasting color for a ruffle to match the thread, color 9030-63 was used for the sample
• 20″ square of plain fabric for the back of your quilted piece, this will be on the inside of the pillow and will not show
• 2 – 20″ squares Fairfield Soft & Toasty natural cotton batting

threads

• 1 spool Gütermann 50wt cotton in a color to match your main fabric
• 1 spool Gütermann 50wt cotton in a color to match your contrasting fabric

needles

• 1 package SCHMETZ quilting needles

other

• 1 UNIQUE fast-fade marker
• 1 UNIQUE wash out marker
• 1 package Heirloom 1½” safety pins
• 18″ Fairfield Decorator’s Choice pillow form
• sharp pair of small curved scissors
• 2½” – 3″ letter stencil or stick on letters
• rotary cutter, ruler and mat
• painters tape

equipment

sewing machine with

• darning foot
• ¼ foot
• standard sewing foot
• walking foot

Prepare your fabric

From your main pillow fabric cut:

• 1 square 20″ for pillow front
• 2 pieces 18½” x 11″ for the pillow back

From your contrasting fabric cut:

• 3 strips 5½ x width of fabric

We’ve gathered our materials, cut our fabric to size and are off to a great start.

Join me tomorrow as we prepare our pieces for successful machine quilting with Gütermann Dekor rayon thread.