Friday, October 4, 2013

Make an Heirloom While Preserving the Vintage Photograph

Every once in a while I make a little piece of art - this is a fabric pillow displaying a photograph of my maternal grandmother as a child.  Love the hair bow!  

The best part about this project is that I can scan the original image and then print it on a special printer fabric sheet (8.5 x 11) by June Tailor.  This creates something "new" for me to work with and leaves the vintage photo completely unharmed.

For this project, I machine stitch the photograph to a piece of coordinating calico fabric, then place another piece of fabric (the same size) against it. The two "right sides" of the pillow face each other.  Machine stitch along all four sides, leaving a 2-inch space to allow for stuffing.  Turn the pillow right side out.  Lightly press the fabric and photo to smooth out any wrinkles that happened from turning the fabric.  Stuff the pillow.  Hand stitch the 2 inch gap closed.  Hand sew a short cord onto the top (or trap it into the seam as you stitch the 4 sides closed), to hang the pillow.  Use Fabri-Tac to glue a decorative trim along the photo to create a frame. 

I have this hanging in my dining room on my china cabinet.  I love this sentimental touch in an unexpected place.

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