Button Lover’s Club: Words With Buttons Dream Button Appliqué

September 18, 2018

Some of my favorite childhood memories are the summer nights I spent catching fireflies with my brothers. It always felt like capturing a bit of magic in a jar. When I first saw the Twilight fabric collection from 1 Canoe 2 I was instantly taken back to those memories. The artwork in this fabric collection is so inspiring! In fact the mix of fireflies, moths, and the colors of summer nights inspired me to create an appliqué jar so that I could once again capture a bit of firefly button magic in a jar!

Dream Button Appliqué Pillow Supplies:

Button Lover’s Club: Words with Buttons (Dream Box)
Fabric (Twilight by One Canoe Two for Moda shown):

2½”x 4½” periwinkle print rectangle (A)
4½” square blue/ white print (B)
6½” x 1¼” white print rectangle (C)
6½” x 1¾” dark blue print rectangle (D)
2½” x 4” aqua solid rectangle (for jar)
1” x 2” dark blue print rectangle (for jar lid)
6½” dark blue square (for backing)
(4) 6½” x 1¼” dark blue rectangles (for borders)
(4) 8” x 1¼” dark blue rectangles (for borders)

Sew Lazy Dreamy Fusible Fleece (6½” square)
Sew Lazy Fusi-bond Lite

Dream Button Appliqué Pillow Instructions:

Trace jar and lid patterns onto Fusi-bond Lite (Click the Project Sheet link below to download the applique patterns).
Following the package directions on the Fusi-bond Lite, iron the traced jar onto the wrong side of the aqua fabric. Iron the traced lid onto the wrong side of the 1” x 2” dark blue rectangle.
Cut out the jar and lid shapes on the inside of the traced line and set aside.
Pin the periwinkle rectangle (A) to the white/blue rectangle (B), right sides together, matching the 4½” edges. Sew along the 4½” edge with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam toward A.
Pin the white rectangle (C) to the dark blue rectangle (D), right sides together, matching the 6½” edges. Sew along the 6½” edge with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam toward C.
Position the top section (A-B) of the block (right side up) with A on the left and B on the right. Line up the bottom edge of the section with the cut edge of the peach rectangle (C) right sides together, matching the 6½” edge. Sew with a ¼” seam allowance. Press the seam toward the C.
Press the block and trim to 6½” square.
Arrange the jar and lid on top of the block. Iron to fuse in place and then applique. We used a straight, machine stitch close to the edge of the shapes.
Fuse block to a 6½” square of Dreamy Fusible Fleece.
Quilt around the edges of the appliques.
Sew the 1¼” x 6½” borders to the sides of the block.
Then sew the 1¼” x 8” borders to the top and bottom of the block.
Attach the remaining border pieces to your 6½“ square backing fabric 1¼” x 6½” to the top and bottom and 1¼” x 8” to the sides.
Put a pin in each piece to mark the top end. Matching the top borders lay the two pieces right sides together and sew all the way around.
Use our Franken-stitch Finish Technique to turn the pillow right-side-out. Make a 2½” diagonal slit in the middle of the backing fabric ONLY.
Turn pillow right-side-out through the slit.
Stuff pillow.
At the moment, the pillow looks like a four-pointed star. Make “poke” corners to create the boxed-edge shape for the pillow—use a dull pencil to push one corner of the pincushion back inside the shape. Pinch the seamlines together at the edges of the “poke.” Hand sew where the seamlines meet at the corner. (See our “Poke Corner” video to see a demonstration of this technique.)
Add more stuffing if desired and whipstitch the slit closed.
Optional: Add an appliqué shape to cover your stitches.
Sew buttons to the jar. (See our “Applique with Buttons” post for tips on adding buttons to your jar.)
Sew the D-R-E-AM buttons to the white strip.