Boo! Pillow Tutorial and a Go! Baby Giveaway!

Hi everyone! I have a tutorial today for a fun addition to your Halloween decor...a pieced pillow cover made using my Go! Baby die cutter.  The pillow will measure 16x16 inches when finished.

Assembly:  First off, gather up your supplies. I used a Haunted Mansion charm pack, two black Kona Solid fat quarters, a 5x8 rectangle of Kona White, an 18" scrap of batting, an 18" scrap of muslin, a 16" pillow form, a package of medium purple ricrac, and some orange glitter felt.  I used the Accuquilt Pumpkin die and the Value die (the 2.5" Half-Square Triangles is what we'll be using).

Cut 22 of your charms so they measure 5x3". Save the 2" remaining because we will be using it as well.  Take your 5x3" pieces and align them on top of the 2.5" HST die, then cut your pieces.  I found about 4 layers of fabric cuts the cleanest for me.

Take your HST's and pair them up, making sure you have nice contrast between the two halves. Chain-piece (one set after another, without stopping your machine) together, snip the threads then press, being careful not to distort the fabric.  I LOVE that there are no pesky dog-ears to trim off! :)

 Next, take two sets of 7 units of HST's and piece them together.  I kept the orientation of my squares the same for both.  Next, take four strips leftover from cutting the charms and piece them together, short ends together. Make four sets.

 For the next step you'll need four HST units.  Arrange them so the centers make a bow-tie (see above) and piece the units together.  Make two of these.

 Take your neutral 5x8" rectangle, and piece the two "bow tie" units on either side. Press.

 

 I pieced a 2.5x2" rectangle (cut from leftover charms) onto each end of the long HST strips.

Cut two strips of the black fabric 1.5x18", and lay out your sections as in photo above.  Sew it together, and press well. Trim your pillow top to 16" square.

Applique: To make the letters, I just wrote on my fabric with a chalk pencil in the approximate size that would fit my white rectangle...totally high-tech, I know.  You could also use your computer to print out the letters.  Cut them out,  then pin or glue stick them onto the middle rectangle.

 Using black thread, sew approximately 1/4" around the inside and outside of each letter.

Embellish!  I attached purple ricrac around the inner border of the white rectangle, then ran a piece of glitter felt through the Pumpkin die, and pinned it over the corner where I started and stopped the ricrac.  Sew a 1/4" seam around the outside of the pumpkin using coordinating thread.

Quilt:  Layer your pillow top, square of batting, and a piece of muslin, and quilt your pillow top.  I did some pebbly quilting in the BOO section, then a meander over the pieced sections with a light gray thread.  Trim the batting/muslin even with your pillow top.

Envelope Backing:  Using your black fat quarter, cut two pieces 16.5x11".  On the longer side, make a 1" hem on one piece and a 3/4" hem on the other; stitch across each long side.

Place your quilted pillow top right side up, then align the two back pieces with the raw edges of the pillow top.  There will be an overlap.  Pin around the edges, and especially on the sides where the two pieces overlap.  I also like to pin in the middle, so nothing shifts while stitching around the edges.  Stitch around the edges two times for reinforcement.

 Insert your pillow form, and voila! You have a great little pillow! :)  I love my GO! Baby cutter and have made some really fun stuff using it...and now here's your chance to win one!  The super-gracious folks at AccuQuilt want to send one of my readers a GO! Baby Cutter and three dies of your choice!  I have two requirements for entry:
1.  Follow my blog.  Whether you're new to my blog or a longtime reader, please leave a comment. 
2.  Zip over to AccuQuilt, pick out the three dies you would request with your GO! Baby if you win, then come back and tell me in a comment which you would choose.
Easy!  Entries will be accepted until 9 pm CST on October 27th, and the lucky winner will be announced October 28th.  Good Luck! :)