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How to Transform a Holiday Tin

How to Rescale a Single Embroidery Design and Make a Snazzy Pillow

Jennifer Stern, contributor

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Here is my finished bolster...it's a little lumpy because I just stuffed it with what I had. Use the same measurements for the pillow and circles to make a shaped filler!

Jen Stern

I think the embroidery pulls all the colors in the fabric together.

Jen Stern

Here is my single design, rescaled into three different sizes.

Jen Stern

Here is my finished bolster...it's a little lumpy because I just stuffed it with what I had. Use the same measurements for the pillow and circles to make a shaped filler!

Photo: Jen Stern

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You can really change the look of an embroidery design by changing the size of it. Sizing a design used to require lots of expensive software, but now some of the newer embroidery machines have this wonder feature built right in! But before you start enlarging or reducing a design, there are two terms that you need to know. Resize and rescale are the two words that sewing machine companies use to describe size-altering function. Resize typically means that you can change the size of a design but not the stitch count. This feature has been available on embroidery machines for years. Traditionally you can change the size 20% (bigger or smaller). The problem with this type of resize feature is that the density of the design gets screwed up. If you reduce the size of the design, the stitches can bunch up and distort, while making it larger can cause the fill stitches to become too sparse. It's really a great way to adjust the density of a design...not the size.

Rescale, on the other hand, is resize that really works! I love that sewing machine companies have finally added this feature to their embroidery machines. You can actually enlarge or reduce a design by a specific percentage and the machine will calculate a new number of stitches that is appropriate for the size. Check your manual to see if you have this feature...if you do, check it out. I played with a built-in flower, changing the size a few times. If your machine does not have this feature, it's easy to get it without breaking the bank! Buzz Tools offers BuzzSize, an inexpensive resizing program that adjusts density. You can download a free 21-day trial version to see if it's something you will use. They also have all sorts of tutorials and tips for getting the most out of your trial version.

I was really inspired by a pillow I saw in my favorite store, Anthropologie. I wasn't in a fashion mood when I made a quick stop on a Christmas shopping spree, so I ventured into the home wonderland side of the store. I spied this bolster pillow that was simply made of three strips of fabric with a sprinkle of embroidery. The design embroidered on the pillow was the same one, in a few different sizes. I decided that this would be the perfect project to kick off the New Year with! I love using the same design in multiple sizes because you don't have to worry about finding designs that "work" together or coordinate.

Here's what you'll need:

• Three coordinating 1/4-yard cuts of fabric (not fat quarters)
• Sewing machine or serger to construct the pillow
  
• One embroidery design, in a few different sizes
• Embroidery machine and supplies, including stabilizer appropriate for your fabric/design
  
• Embroidery threads to go with your fabric (I picked one color that pulled the fabrics together)
• 505 Temporary Adhesive Spray
  
• 25-inch x 32-inch rectangle of warm cotton batting
• All-purpose thread
  

I wanted to design a pillow that would add some color to my sage green couch, so I chose blues to a shade of green that coordinates but is not the same color. If you're working with your stash, cut one 9-inch piece across the width of three different fabrics.

Feel free to mix batiks with prints, metallics and solids!

If you have a serger, use it to sew the strips of fabric together. Sergers are great for home dec because the seam allowances are instantly protected as you sew. You can whip curtains, pillowcases, duvets, and other projects together in a snap! The only time I wouldn't use a serger is on a seam that will be really stressed, such as seams on an overstuffed cover for a cushion.

Skim the edges of the fabric with the serger blade, and you'll end up with a 1/4-inch seam allowance.

Here is a close-up of the serged edge—the stitches actually wrap around the raw edges of the fabric. If you don't have a serger, you can use a triple zigzag on your sewing machine to get a similar result—it just takes longer to do all that stitching.

A close-up of the serged edge.

After you've sewn or sergered your strips together, give the seams a good press. Cut a 32-inch piece across the strips. Fold it in half and crease the center to make a guideline to place your embroidery designs.

We are going to use the smaller piece to make the circles for the ends of the bolster pillow.

Embroider your rescaled designs along the crease...let your hair down and stitch them randomly. I decided to create a swishy design. When you're finished embroidering your designs, give the fabric a gentle press. Stand back and take a look. I decided to trim off a few inches of the blue strip and sew it back onto the other side.

By positioning the embroidery randomly on the crease, they will be "centerish" front when you put the pillow together!

After you're satisfied with the embroidery and fabric strips, use 505 Temporary Adhesive Spray to adhere cotton batting to the wrong side of the pillow. Chose your favorite technique to quilt the batting to the pillow fabric.

I love free-motion quilting. I found it very relaxing to sit in front of my machine and let my mind go as I meandered along!

Trim the sides to make a nice neat rectangle. Sew the back center seam.

Make a neat rectangle by trimming the sides.

Slide the end of the bolster over a baking pan (I'm using my favorite tube pan). Measure around the pan where it fits snugly against the opening of the pillow.

Mine measures 29 inches around.

Find a pot, pan, or other circle that has the same measurement and use it to draw a circle on the leftover fabric that you pieced together earlier. Cut the circle out after adding a 3/8-inch seam allowance. To make an opening to turn the pillow to the right side through, make the second circle out of two pieces of fabric that have finished edges and are overlapped 2 inches. I cut my leftover fabric in half, ran one edge through the serger, pressed it under, and topstitched it down. Lay the finished edges of the two halves so they overlap. Use the same pan to trace a circle—make sure the overlapped edges are centered down the middle of the circle. Pin the finished edges together, and baste them along the traced line to hold them in place. Add the seam allowance and cut it out.

One end of my bolster will have a solid-colored circle, while the other will have a pieced circle that has the opening to turn it through.

Here is a picture of the circle made of two halves...one of the serged seams is the finished edge of one of the halves and the other is the seam that was used to piece it together originally. Pin the circles, right sides together, with the bolster.

This circle is made of two fabrics.

Use the serger to sew the circles onto the ends of the bolster.

Serge the circles onto the bolster's ends.

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