Elephant Fleece Applique Pillow

Happy New Year! Here's an applique pillow I made as a Christmas gift for a friend. She's recently joined a sorority (Delta Sigma Theta) and their unofficial symbol is an elephant. Since I'm just learning how to use my new sewing machine this project was probably a little over-ambitious (and I think it shows!). I did all right designing and cutting out the applique shapes but when it came time to sew them down with the satin stitch, things ended up getting a bit messy. Hence the wavy outlines and wobbly letters! Hopefully with more practice I'll get better at the stitching. Here's some close-ups:

Here's how I did the applique:

First I traced my design on to paper-backed transfer webbing. The final shape will be the opposite of what is drawn on the transfer webbing, so the image must be reversed. I forgot to do this while I was taking the photos so that elephant ended up being for practice!

Next I trimmed the transfer webbing, leaving about an inch around the design. I ironed the sticky side of the transfer webbing to the wrong side of the white fleece.

Then I trimmed the fleece to the edge of the transfer webbing. Next I put the design in my sewing machine, paper side up, and sewed along the outline of the design:

This transferred the design to the right side of the fleece:

Next I removed the paper from inside the outline on the back of the applique, leaving the transfer webbing. Then I trimmed as close to the outline as possible (without cutting the thread in the outline). Note: On my first try, I trimmed close to the outline and then removed the paper. This did not work so well since the thread was less secure and tended to rip out when I pulled on the paper. So it's better to remove the paper first, then trim.

I then placed the applique piece on the background, covered it with a damp towel, and ironed it into place.

Last I went over the outline stitch with the satin stitch. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be because of all the tight turns in the elephant. I did two practice elephants before I did the final one and I still made quite a few mistakes!

Knitted Pillow Covers

Project Name: Diagonally Knit Pillow Covers
Time Taken to Finish: 2 weeks
Type of Yarn Used: Lion Brand Chenille Thick and Quick in Periwinkle and Basil
Amount of Yarn Used: 6 skeins, 3 of each color
Needles Used: US size 11 needles
What I Liked About the Project: Easy garter stitch knitting.  Since it was knit diagonally, I didn't have to worry about calculating how many stitches to cast on.
What I Didn't Like About the Project: They took way longer to knit than I had originally thought.

Here's what I did to knit them:

Cast on 3 stitches.  Knit them (row 1).

Row 2 - Increase first stitch, knit second stitch, increase last stitch.

Row 3 - Knit back across without increasing.

Row 4 - Increase first stitch, knit middle stitches, increase last stitch.

Row 5 - Knit back across without increasing.

Rows 6 and onward - For even rows: increase the first stitch, knit the middle stitches, and increase the last stitch.  For odd rows: knit across without increasing.  Continue knitting until the triangle created is wide enough to cover half the pillow (make sure there is a little extra for a seam).

When the knitting is the correct size, note the number of stitches on the needle (I had 59 stitches).  Now, begin decreasing the first and last stitches on the even rows.  Continue knitting all stitches on the odd rows.

Knit until there are only 3 stitches left on the needle.  Bind off these stitches. 

The knitting will now be a square big enough to cover one side of the pillow.  Repeat the above instructions to create a second square (be sure to increase to the same number of stitches noted in the first square).  When finished, stitch the sides together and insert a pillow form.