GO SLOW AND STEADY WHEN TOPSTITCHING THE SMALLER ELEMENTS FOR A NEAT FINISH

YOU WILL NEED

■ Fabric A (pink) ½yd

■ Fabric B (teal) ¼yd

■ Fabric C (navy) ¼yd

■ Fabric D (peach) 3/8yd

■ Fabric E (yellow) 1/8yd

■ Background fabric (white) 1yd

■ Batting: 34in x 64in piece

■ Heavy sew-in interfacing:

3in x 11in

■ Fusible web: 1½yds

■ Bean bag filling (3 cubic ft bag)

■ One (1) copy of each appliqué template and master template

FINISHED SIZE

■ Approx. 20in diameter x 10½in tall

NOTES

■ Seam allowances are ¼in, unless otherwise noted.

■ Press seams to one side, unless otherwise instructed.

■ 64in lengths will need to be pieced.

■ For templates, see p89.

■ WOF = width of fabric.

FABRICS USED

■ Solid fabrics are Kona Cotton Solids by Robert Kaufman in Watermelon, Ultramarine, Nightfall, Peach and Grellow.

■ Background fabric is Essex Dyed Linen in White, also by Robert Kaufman.

CUTTING OUT

1

Trace three of each appliqué shape (leaves, large flower, tulip, centre petal, dots and flourishes) on the paper side of your fusible web. Cut each shape out roughly.

2

From Fabric A cut:

■ Two (2) 1½in x WOF strips.

3

From Fabric B cut:

■ Four (4) 1½in x WOF strips.

4

From Fabric C cut:

■ Four (4) 1½in x WOF strips.

5

From Fabric D cut:

■ One (1) 6in x 12in strip.

6

From the background fabric cut:

■ Two (2) 20in diameter circles.

■ Four (4) 1½in x WOF strips.

■ Four (4) 2½in x WOF strips.

7

From the batting cut:

■ One (1) 12in x 64in strip.

■ Two (2) 20in squares.

APPLIQUÉ

8

Press each fusible web template onto the back of its corresponding appliqué fabric piece following the manufacturers instructions. Cut out each shape neatly along the marked line. You will need:

■ Fabric A: Three (3) Large Flowers

■ Fabric B: Three (3) Left Leaves and Three

(3) Right Leaves

■ Fabric C: Three (3) Centre Petals

■ Fabric D: Three (3) Tulips

■ Fabric E: Three (3) Dots, three (3) Left Flourishes and three (3) Right Flourishes.

9

Fold the background circle in half and press the centre crease (Fig 1). Fold it again into thirds and press (Fig 2). Open up and you will see you have six marked segments which you can use to lay out your shapes (Fig 3). Each flower will take up two segments (one third of the circle).

10

First position the leaves following the master template and your creases as a guide (Fig 4). Remove the paper on the back of the shape and fuse in place when you are happy with their position. Neatly topstitch around the edge of the shape using a matching thread.

11

Repeat steps 9–10 to add the large flowers, tulips, centre petals, dots, and flourishes in order (Fig 5). You may like to cut away the bulk behind each appliqué shape, if so be sure to leave a ¼in seam allowance and take care not to cut through your shape.

QUILTING

12

Place the appliquéd circle on top of a square of batting. Baste together with pins or spray glue and quilt as desired. Cut away the excess in line with the circle edge. Repeat with the remaining background circle and another piece of batting.

MAKING THE MIDDLE BAND

13

Sew your two Fabric A 1½in x WOF strips together along the short ends and press the seam open. Trim to 1½in x 64in. Repeat to make two each of Fabric B, C strips. Also make two background

1½in x 64in strips and two background

2½in x 64in strips.

14

Arrange your strips from step 13 as shown, and sew together along the long edges (Fig 6). Press seams open.

15

Attach batting to the wrong side of the middle band by fusing or pinning in place, then quilt together. Laura added a few lines of quilting in a coordinating colour. Trim the excess batting away from the sides.

MAKING THE HANDLE

16

Take the Fabric D 6in x 12in strip and press in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Open out and press the edges in to meet the centre fold. Place the piece of interfacing on the wrong side, between the folds. Refold the whole handle along the centre crease to enclose the raw edges. Top stitch down each long edge to secure in place.

17

Place the handle on the middle band, aligning raw edges along the top and bottom raw edges, and pin in place. Note, the handle is slightly longer than the band, so you will have a gap in the centre. Stitch along the top and bottom with a 1/8in seam to secure in place for now. This will be secured further later on, during assembly.

ASSEMBLING THE POUFFE

18

With right sides together, pin the middle band around the pouffe base. Use plenty of pins or binding clips (every

1½in or so) and ease the edges together.

19

When you get back to the start, trim the ends so that they overlap by 1in, and stitch the raw edges together with a ½in seam, leaving a 5in gap in the centre for turning. Note: you will probably need to remove a couple of pins to give yourself enough slack to line up the raw edges and sew.

20

Stitch all around the perimeter of the base circle with a ¼in seam, pivoting regularly and smoothing out any puckers. Repeat to attach the top piece in the same way.

21

Carefully turn the pouffe right side out through the gap you left in the side. Push out the seams and roll between your fingers to create a nice edge.

22

Make a funnel shape with a piece of paper or card and use to fill your pouffe with beans through the gap until fully stuffed. Use a doubled-up piece of thread to securely ladder-stitch the gap closed. It can be helpful to stitch a few stitches, then funnel in some more beans, and stitch some more, to make sure you get your pouffe nice and full without beans escaping.