Halloween is a great holiday - for children of all ages! Officially, Halloween is celebrated on October 31, but my decorating partner, Matt Fox, and I see no reason why the fun should be limited to a single day.
It doesn't take magic to turn your home into a Halloween haunt, just some basic supplies and a bit of time. In just a few hours, you can create a home fit for any little ghost or goblin.
Although most people don't usually decorate their home with black, orange, and purple, it's the ideal color scheme for Halloween pillows.
If you'd like to make a pair of bewitching pillows, here's what you'll need:
1/2 yard black, purple and orange felt
Assorted calico fabrics
One yard fusible web
Embroidery floss
Puffy paint
Buttons
One bag polyester fiberfill
To begin the jack-o-lantern pillow, cut two 15" squares from the black felt. To create the border, draw a triangle measuring 3" at the base. You can make the sides as long as you'd like. The longer the sides, the larger the border.
Trace 20 triangles onto the fusible web. Using a variety of prints, iron the fusible web onto the calico fabrics. Cut the triangles out and arrange them around the sides of the black felt square until you are satisfied with the design. Peel off the backing paper and iron the triangles into place. For an added touch, you can machine or hand stitch a decorative edge onto the triangles.
Next, make a sketch of your jack-o-lantern. Once you are pleased with the design, place the fusible web on top of your pumpkin and transfer the design. As you copy the design, be careful not to overlap any of the pieces.
Cut around the pieces, leaving a margin of at least 1/2". Once all the pieces are cut out, iron them to the appropriate color felt. Now, using the pencil line as your guide, cut each piece out of the felt.
Iron the pieces onto your pillow top, layering as necessary. Once again, you can add additional detail to the jack-o-lantern by hand or machine stitching around each piece. Using a contrasting color creates an interesting look.
Once you have completed your pillow front, place it face down on the pillow back. Using a 1/2" seam allowance, stitch around the four sides of the pillow, rounding the corners slightly, and leaving a 6" opening in one side.
Clip the corners to remove excess bulk. Turn the pillow right side out. Iron the pillow so that the edges are flat, and loosely stuff with fiberfill. With black thread, hand stitch the opening closed.
The spider pillow measures 12" by 12". To create the scalloped edge, start with a piece of 9" x 11" paper. Using a small paper cup as your pattern, experiment by drawing half circles onto the 11" side of the paper. Be sure that your finished pattern includes complete scallops on both ends.
To make the front of your pillow, transfer your scalloped design to all four sides of an 11" orange felt square and cut. To make the pillow back, lay the orange pillow front onto a 12" x 12" piece of purple felt. Using the front as a guide, cut the scalloped pattern out of the purple felt, adding approximately 1/4" as you go.
The spider web can be created in several ways. It can be machine stitched using the satin stitch, or can be painted on with puffy fabric paints.
To make the spider, cut a 4 1/2" by 1 3/4" rectangle out of black felt. If you are going to attach the spider to the pillow using fusible web, iron the webbing onto a slightly larger piece of black felt, then cut the rectangle to the correct dimensions.
Round the corners of the rectangle to create the spider's body. Cut eight 1/4" by 3" pieces of black felt for the spider's legs. After deciding the placement of the spider, first iron on the legs and then iron on the body, so that the body overlaps the tops of the legs. Create eyes and a mouth with puffy paint.
If you would like more dimension to your spider, you'll need to stitch it onto the pillow. First, stitch the legs in place. After creating the face, stitch the spider in place so that the body overlaps the tops of the spider's legs.
Turn the pillow top over and find the area in which the spider was stitched. Very carefully, slit only the orange felt inside the stitched outline of the spider from top to bottom. Stuff the spider using polyfill and whip stitch the opening closed.
To complete the pillow, lay the orange front, right side up, onto the purple back. Using the scallops as a guide, topstitch the pillow around the four sides, leaving a small opening for stuffing. Loosely stuff the pillow and finish topstitching.
Place your pillows in a prominent spot, and I'll guarantee it will be the beginning of a "spooktacular" Halloween. Happy Hauntings!
About the Author:
As hosts of the hit HGTV show Room by Room, Matt and Shari are a team that works. They combine their skills and knowledge to give you the punch and the power to make your home dreams - reality. They pride themselves in their unique decorating solutions, easy teaching style, and entertaining manner. Visit Matt & Shari on the web at MattandShari.com
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