QUILTsocial Issue 5 | Page 41

Adding Triangles I drew an equilateral triangle on the back of each textured fabric piece with a Fabric Fun marker. I knew that it would mark well on the polyester fabric and I didn’t worry about it being permanent. Nobody would ever see the markings as they were on the back. After cutting out my pieces I pinned them to the quilted pillow top with a flower headed pin. I couldn’t fuse them in place because the polyester fabric on the back would melt if I added fusible web to it. And that wouldn’t be a good thing after all the work I went to to create these textured pieces of fabric. Quilting the pillow top prior to adding the embellishments is much easier than trying to quilt around the triangles after they have been stitched in place. Too much stopping and starting which means lots of thread ends. But these thread ends can be dealt with easily by using Self-Threading needles to pull the threads to the back and bury under the backing. I love self-threading needles and think they are the greatest thing since sliced bread. Fabric Fun marker Triangles pinned in place Now that the triangles are pinned in place the next step is to stitch them in place. I used the same Gütermann threads to do a satin stitch around each piece as I used for the free motion quilting. I was keeping everything simple. Simple is good. I used a free motion satin stitch but in hindsight I think I would do a regular satin stitch next time as I would get better coverage on the uneven edges. A wide stitch width is needed for optimal coverage. Using your handy dandy thread snips by Titech snip away the thread ends once the satin stitching is done. The pillow top is now complete and uses a 12'' pillow form. It’s been a thrill talking about color, contrast and texture. I hope you've had as much fun as I have creating the quilted triangle cushion top and learning all sorts of great tips and techniques. QUILTsocial .com | issue 5 41