Sunflowers bloom from midsummer through early fall, making now the perfect time to capture their majesty! We used our Spray of Sunflowers die to cut these rich felt florals and appliqued them to Essex linen to make a beautiful throw pillow. This project doesn't require too many supplies, but you might want to indulge in our new Sunflower Series snips to take it to the next level!
Skill Level: Beginner
Time: 3 hours
Additional Supplies:
Die Cutting Machine
Sewing Machine
Embroidery Hoop - optional
Pippi Snips, Sunflower Series - optional
Directions:
1. Cut linen into two 11 x 11" squares.
2. To cut floral elements, use Spray of Sunflowers die and a cutting machine or find the pattern to trace and cut felt manually in this tutorial. Benzie's textured felted wool adds wonderful dimension to this project, but any felt will work!
3. Use the layout template shown here to organize felt elements. Begin with base layer of leaves on the center of one linen square. Use a small amount of glue to baste leaves. Applique stitch around perimeter with Sulky 0630 thread. You might find it helpful to use an embroidery hoop while stitching.
4. Finish stacking and basting remaining floral elements. Applique stitch with coordinating thread. We recommend only stitching around centers of sunflowers to make the petals pop off the fabric!
5. Place embellished and plain linen squares together, wrong sides facing out. Machine or hand sew around perimeter, leaving a 4" space before closing. Trim corners.
6. Turn inside out and stuff with Polyfil. Stitch closed using a ladder stitch and Sulky 0315.
Your Sunflower Applique Pillow is finished!
Make one for your fall decor, then make a few more for hostess or housewarming gifts - with some coordinating Pippi Snips for good measure!
