Animal Applique Pillows Tutorial

These sweet guys were so quick to make, and I’m pretty smitten. All of my Scrappy Appliqué digital patterns include templates in 4 different sizes (mini, small, medium, and large). I used the small template for these guys.

Materials:

• Scrappy Appliqué pattern(s) of your choice
• 2 yds fusible web
• 1 yd lightweight non-woven, fusible interfacing, like Pellon 906f
• 1 yd Stabilizer, like Sulky Totally Stable
• 2 fat quarters per pillow
• polyfil
• clear thread, thread that coordinates with fabric -- my favorite is Aurifil 50 wt.
• marking utensil

Instructions:

1. Prepare the appliqué piece (size small) according to the instructions in the Scrappy Appliqué pattern.
2. Satin stitch the appliqué piece to the background piece of fabric.
3. Layer the back of pillow fabric over the appliqué piece, right sides together. Pin layers together. Flip the layers so you can see the back of the piece with the animal appliquéd to it. Draw a line around the applique piece 4” large than the appliqué piece itself. I kept the curves very gradual and subtle, which I think works best for this project.
4. Sew around that line, but leave about 4” unstitched. Turn the pillow right side out.
5. Stuff with polyfil or extra batting/scrap fabric, then sew up the opening with a whipstitch.

These are perfect in a kids room, but heck, we also have 3 on our living room couch! I think they're super fun. Since all my digital patterns include 4 different sized templates, you could use a larger one to make a lap or bed quilt and make a matching pillow(s) to go with it!