Saturday, July 20, 2019

12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop (and a Giveaway)

Welcome to my turn on the 12 Days of Christmas in July Blog Hop hosted by Sarah @ Confessions of a Fabric Addict.


I've been wanting to try a hidden zipper in a pillow for some time, but I kept hearing that you needed a special foot for your sewing machine and that it was so difficult.  I decided it was time to try it and found a tutorial using a regular zipper foot.

First, I needed something to work with, so I pulled out my Mini Quick Curve Ruler by Sew Kind of Wonderful.


And then I had a poinsettia.  This is free pattern from Sew Kind of Wonderful.  I love my Mini QCR and need to start using it more often.


I quilted swirls in the red and green (which you can't see because I matched the threads so well) and loops and stars in the background.


You'll need to head over to Suzy Quilts to get the full tutorial.  Using a zipper that is shorter than your block, you baste it in place with the largest stitch length on your machine.  I would recommend using a contrasting thread colour.  Down the road, you need to unstitch the basting stitches.  I made the mistake of unstitching non-basting threads.  Ooops...but I managd to fix it with some handstitching.


I would also recommend using a matching thread for your topstitching.  It doesn't take very long to install the zipper.


This was an easy technique, and I can't believe I didn't try it sooner.  If you're going to sew the pillow sides together without binding, make sure you open your zipper first so you can turn it inside out.

You can see my swirl quilting in the photo below.


I am definitely going to use this tutorial again.  I encourage you to head over to Suzy Quilts to get the full details and give it a try.



Giveaway:

Figo Fabrics is a sponsor for the blog hop and has donated a fat quarter bundle of their new Christmas line, Wintertide.


To enter, complete the form below.  Make sure you scroll through the form and hit the blue Submit button.  If you're been following along with the blog hop, you would have discovered that you can enter once on all the blogs.

The giveaway closes on July 30, and the winner will be announced by Sarah on July 31.






Here's the list of blog participants.

SUNDAY, JULY 14TH

MONDAY, JULY 15TH

TUESDAY, JULY 16TH

WEDNESDAY, JULY 17TH

THURSDAY, JULY 18TH

FRIDAY, JULY 19TH

SATURDAY, JULY 20TH

SUNDAY, JULY 21ST

MONDAY, JULY 22ND

TUESDAY, JULY 23RD

WEDNESDAY, JULY 24TH

THURSDAY, JULY 25TH



37 comments:

  1. Hi again Anja! Oooh - the hidden zipper in a pillow. I have thought about making that at least four times in recent memory . . . and didn't do it. Your pillow turned out just fabulous. I love those fabrics you chose, and your quilting looks great. The swirls in the petals look nice and give a bit of specialness. Best of all, your zipper is totally hidden - love the red color you chose, not that it shows. I will definitely try this on the next pillow I make, and will PIN it so I remember it. ~smile~ Roseanne

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  2. Your pillow turned out gorgeous, definitely has that special poinsettia look. I have that mini ruler but have not done this block(yet).

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  3. Lovely pillow! That's a great ruler I think because that block is so versatile! You did a great job putting in that zipper. Congrats!

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  4. What a great pillow! And thanks for the link to the tutorial - I'll be checking that out soon! Thanks for all your hard work!

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  5. Stunning.For.me ,sew curves it's a little tricky and I don't like to sew them.Thanks.for the tutorial.

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  6. What a gorgeous pillow! I'm glad you are so encouraging about trying an invisible zipper for others to give it a try!

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  7. Great pillow! I love the poinsettia design. I have yet to attempt putting a zipper into a pillow, but now I will! Thanks for the incentive.

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  8. Got the pattern! I'm looking forward to trying it out for the holidays! Poinsettias come in so many colors these days; you could make several pillows with different variations.

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  9. I love how your pillow turned out!! Very Festive!! Thanks for the zipper tutorial!!

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  10. Thanks for the encouragement. This pillow looks awesome! A wonderful addition to Christmas decor, or in other colors, any decor. Thank you.

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  11. Lovely pillow, Anja. I put zippers in pretty much all my pillows! It wasn’t so difficult, was it?

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  12. Beautiful Pillow!! I haven't tried curves..yet..lol Thanks for sharing :)

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  13. Very pretty Anja! Thanks for the info about the zipper. I should make the effort to do on soon!

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  14. Thanks for the pattern links and sharing the beautiful pillow you made! Like you, I've avoided hidden zippers. I'm SEW glad that you decided to be brave and tackle the beast!

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  15. What a great pillow. That ruler makes a fabulous set of curves. Thanks for all the links.

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  16. Such a pretty and festive pillow! I haven't tried a hidden zipper yet, but I hope to one of these days!

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  17. Your pillow is beautiful! Love the pattern.

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  18. What a cute pillow, thanks for sharing!

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  19. I've never sewn an invisible zipper, either. You did such a great job ... this may be the encouragement I need to conquer this skill once and for all!

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  20. Nice poinsettia and great work with the zipper. I'll have to bookmark the instructions. Thanks for the opportunity to win some figo fabrics.

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  21. Thank you for sharing the pillow project and encouragement with sewing zipper.

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  22. Incredible project...thank you for sharing.

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  23. Great job on the pillow and the zipper! Thanks for linking to the tutorial :)

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  24. Great pillow, but I think I already told you that. Still have not found a project that needs an invisible zipper and therefore have not used one since high school Home Ec!

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  25. Just gorgeous! Love the fabrics you chose and your quilting! xx

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  26. Very pretty pillow with that block. Zippers are so much easier now with smoother zips and better machines/tools. Trying something new should be for every quilter.

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  27. Thanks so much for sharing your project! I have a box of zippers just waiting for projects.

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  28. Wow love your pillow...The hidden zipper is very much hidden. Great job on that and the pillow...It is just gorgeous

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  29. Lovely pillow! Would like to try it in other color ways. Thank you!

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  30. Thanks for sharing the tutorial on the hidden zipper. I make pillows all the time and this info is great!

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  31. Another terrific cushion aka pillow! I love this! I hate thinking of December, but I do love the decorating part.

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  32. Lovely pillow Anja! And good job with the swirls!

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  33. zippers scare me! I will have to go look at Suzy's tutorial.
    thanks for sharing your beautiful pillow.
    Merry Christmas🎄⛄🎄

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  34. Lovely pillow, thanks for sharing

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  35. Such a lovely Christmas pillow!

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