One of Annabel’s first drawings of the four of us was on the fridge for months. Instead of putting it away, not to be seen again for years, I decided to embroider it on fabric and turn it into a 12 x 16” pillow that we could enjoy every day.
I edited her original drawing down a bit. I think I'm the one with the big head.
I used split stitch to outline the figure and for the hair, satin stitch for the noses and French knots for the eyes.
The original piece of linen fabric was cut to 13 x 17”. After I finished the portrait, I thought a 2” frame with Annabel’s favorite purple fabric would be better than plain linen, so I made a few adjustments.
I decided against mitered corners as I liked the look of the straight seams.
There wasn’t enough polka-dot left for envelope-style back, so I used a different fabric. I cut two 13 x 20” pieces. I sewed double folded seams on one edge each of the short sides of the 13 x 20” rectangles. Wrong sides together, I lined up the two back pieces on top of the front piece. This left several inches of overlap to hide the insert. One quick rectangle sewn on the machine and it was all done.
I can’t wait to see how we look as we get older!
Karin
