https://www.cutoutandkeep.net/projects/la-loteria-embroidered-pillow • Posted by Amanda M.
a colorful, hand embroidered pillow makes an awesome accent piece or gift. using a pre-sewn pillow form makes this project a breeze. don't be intimidated by the time of 15 hours I assigned. I really wanted to include all the motifs as my kids are both learning Spanish and play loteria in school. also it is a really portable project so I carted it around the state with me and just did a motif when I had an extra half hour. This project was sent to me via the cut out + keep craft test dummies giveaway. I am so thrilled with it. although I primarily work in yarn craft hand embroidery is absolutely the craft I have the most fun with. it is like a coloring book for crafty types.
a colorful, hand embroidered pillow makes an awesome accent piece or gift. using a pre-sewn pillow form makes this project a breeze. don't be intimidated by the time of 15 hours I assigned. I really wanted to include all the motifs as my kids are both learning Spanish and play loteria in school. also it is a really portable project so I carted it around the state with me and just did a motif when I had an extra half hour. This project was sent to me via the cut out + keep craft test dummies giveaway. I am so thrilled with it. although I primarily work in yarn craft hand embroidery is absolutely the craft I have the most fun with. it is like a coloring book for crafty types.
cut out your transfers and play around with them on your fabric. try lots of different things.
at this point I paused and whipped up a dishtowel just to see how many strands of floss I wanted to use before committing to the pillow.
organize your floss. this is an optional step but it really helped me tackle the whole project and kept things neat. I bought a nice new box to replace the one my grama gave me when I was a kid. and I keep the color guide for the transfers right inside the lid.
now the fun begins! place your fabric in the hoop and just start stitching! the instructions on sublimestitching.com are very detailed and enough to help you complete your project. I used mostly backstitch, and stem stitch. for the loteria designs I used two strands of floss. to keep from accidentally stitching the back of the pillow I folded it over the embroidery hoop. this had the added bonus of keeping my grubby hands off the face of the pillow while stitching.
just keep going. take a break. pick it up. try to remember to wash your hands before you stitch. the dancing figure is actually from the sublime stitching book. I have been waiting for an excuse to put her on something and it breaks up the blocky look of the pillow. for her I used all six strands of thread so she really stands out.
here on the spider motif I used the satin stitch.
I also have the habit of putting these little stars all over with my little bits of thread left over. I think they are just cute. sometimes I stick some French knots in with them.
before you know it you will have it done and love it. last step is a ton of ironing. gently gently iron your pillowcase until it looks nice. turn it inside out and trim any loose threads you can. be proud of your work.
insert your pillow form into your beautiful pillowcase and there you have it!