Well I’ve finished my Clamshell Pillow for my curves class. I have to say I really like how it has turned out. I had to spread it over two days because of several things that came up. That turned out to be good because I was getting very frazzled with this project!
.jpg "Clamshell PIlow 1")
I did make a few modifications to fit what I wanted. First, I used an 1/8″ allowance rather than a 1/4″ seam allowance. I’m so glad I did because I hate hate hate fraying and to me the 1/4″ would have allowed for too much fraying. In addition, I began by piecing directly onto the pillow, unlike the directions called for. I felt this added stability to these easy to move pieces!
.jpg "Side View")
Also, I added some red borders on two sides to make the pillow really pop. And for even more pizzaz, I added some thick running stitches with some red Perle cotton, just to complement the shape and the colors. I’m so happy with this extra detail.
.jpg "Details!")
Now there is one thing that I did not do, that I really really should have done had I used any sense at all. This was not part of the instructions, but I would urge any of you in the class that want to make this pillow to do this step: Use wonder under to fuse all of your pieces individually prior to stitching!!!! I cannot stress to you enough how much time and energy this will save rather than trying to keep the pieces still with pins alone. Fusing those clamshells ahead of time will really make the stitching process much faster and much smoother; it will also prevent your fabric from bubbling as you stitch. If I make this pillow again, and I most likely will because I very much love it, I will certainly use wonder under. That of course, is not meant to be a criticism to Rachel, but just a very strong suggestion for those of you who do plan on making this very cute pillow.
.jpg "Other side view")
Despite a few hurdles along the way, I am in love with this pillow. I did learn alot about stitches around raw curves, and though the process was at times tedious, it was well worth it! One thing I have learned that is absolutely the most important concept you can grasp as a person that sews is that sewing requires patience. If you don’t have it, sewing with care and with the goal of having a refined and finished product will certainly produce this virtue in you. I encourage you to take your time, and do not rush a project. If you want an heirloom that will be cherished for generation, for heaven’s sake, do take your time!
That’s all for now!
-Meredith
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very cute! and great tips :)
Om my word….that pillow…..holy cow. It’s gorgeous!! awesome work meredith….as always!!
I think I would have done the piecing on the pillow front as well… I also really like the 1/8″ seam allowance… I was thinking I would like that more as well. Great job!
Thanks for sharing your suggestions for improvement! I really appreciate it and don’t take it personally at all =). So many people wanted to do the applique directly on the pillow that I’m thinking if I was redoing the project I would try it that way and feel out the difference. It looks like it works great!
I’d like to mention that even tho I can see how people would like more stability working on the whole pillow top, I appreciated not having all that extra fabric to deal with as I was stitched the shells together. Pretty much personal choice here, I think.
For sure it is a personal choice. I think that when it came to working with this particular project, there were many ways to go about it. Just as Rachel wrote up her instructions, I read them closely and simply adapted it to better fit my personal style. I happened to find several little changes I could make along the way that made this project go more smoothly for me. The only thing I’m kicking myself about now is that I did not think about using a double sided fusible product such as Wonder Under to give the clamshells maximum stability for sewing. Again, just a preference on my part that I wanted to recommend to others pursuing this great project.
As usual, I missed the error as I was waiting for it to post. *sigh*
“as I was stitching” or “as I stitched”…take your choice. :)
[…] Check out this more traditional patterned quilt using the same Amy Butler Lark fabric. And this modern brick-pieced version. And this really cute Clamshell pattern pillow. […]