pillow design

I've been doing quite a few new pillow designs over the last week or so.  I really love these, and while I can't say that they are selling like hot cakes, I think they have a lot of charm, and I really enjoy making them.

I thought I'd share my process with you.  

First, I start with a sketch of how I think I'd like my animal to look.  I usually start by looking at some  photos, and work from there.

 From there I trace around one of the two squares I have for the two different sized pillows that I make, so that I have a template to work inside, and do a larger sketch.  This usually involves a lot of erasing, to get the lines just right, and both sides of the face symmetrical.

 I then go over those lines in a dark pen, and work out what the different pieces of fabric will be.

 Then I decapitate!  I cut out the pieces, as I will sew them and trace around them onto card.  This creates my templates, so that I can make the same pattern again if I wish. I have to think carefully about the order in which I cut them, as I do over lap a lot of the pieces.

Once I have my pattern, I use iron on adhesive and trace over the pattern pieces (it has paper on one side).

 I then cut these, and iron them onto my various fabrics.  When it's time to sew it all together, that paper peels off and there is more adhesive, so it's just a matter of ironing everything into place.

 Even though the adhesive is pretty strong, I also sew around every edge.  The iron on adhesive prevents the edges from fraying, and keeps the pillows looking good for a long time.  I've used this adhesive on many t-shirts for the kids and they hold up for years being washed regularly.  I usually spend the most time positioning the eyes.  The eyes are very important to the over all finished look.

 And here is my finished fox.  A vixen, I think.

I have these two little guys in the works too (an American river otter and a European badger), but I have temporarily run out of my iron on adhesive.

So, there you have it.  Quite a growing menagerie of animals on cushions.  Not quite sure where the obsession comes from.  But I have always liked the idea of art being useful.  All of these designs are (or will be) available in my Etsy store, of course.