The Swiss Cross, or “plus sign” for us simpletons, is everywhere right now and we are loving it’s bold graphic style. Here is a throw pillow that we designed in the studio. If you are a new quilter, this is a fun beginner project. Make a pillow like we did here or stitch up a bunch of “Plus Squares” to make a gorgeous modern quilt. Here’s how we did it!
Select 2 contrasting fabrics. We love this Amy Butler Ikat on cream but 2 solids would also make a beautifully bold statement.
Cut the following pieces from your fabric for a finished 17″x17″ square (OR 16″X16″ plus 1/2 seam allowance)
Sew the horizontally center row together by aligning the three pieces along the 5″ side (with right side of fabric facing) and sewing with 1/2″ seam allowance.
Iron the seams towards the darker of the two fabrics.
At the top and bottom center, sew the 5″x3″ rectangle to the 5″x5″ square. Iron. Now your pieces will look like this…
Complete the top and bottom rows by sewing the 7″ squares to either side of the center piece in the top and bottom row. Iron seams towards center.
Sew the top and bottom row to the center row with right sides of fabric facing.
Here is the complete square. If you are making more than one square, now would be the time to do that. We are just making a throw pillow so we will move on to quilting the top on the sewing machine. If you have time, this project would look gorgeous hand-quilted. {Insert laugh track.} No, really, it would.
Test that your disappearing ink marker really disappears. THEN mark your quilting lines. Here we did straight lines through the center of the cross and continuing to the edge, 1″ apart.
Then we continued to the corners with right angles, also 1″ apart.
Layer your quilt top over a layer of batting and a second layer of cotton (which will be inside the pillow) at the bottom. They should be several inches larger than the top. Pin or use adhesive to secure the layers together.
Start sewing your lines. I used a “hand-stitch” decorative stitch featured on the Brother Innovis 2800D. It doesn’t REALLY look hand-stitched, but it’s pretty.
Keep going. Note that if you go to bed, when you will wake up, all your lines will be gone. Re-mark them and continue.
Carefully trim the edges of all layers square.
So Pretty!
Now you can turn your tiny quilt into a pillow any way you like. I followed the simple instructions in a Scrappy Trip-A-Long Floor Pillow, using the same off-white home dec weight canvas I used on the front.
A quick and satisfying modern quilting project. Stitch one up for Mother’s day or for your kid’s fabulous teacher!
