'Down The Rabbit Hole' Pillow Sham

Have you guys seen the amazing work of my friend Sarah from Ric-Rac & Retro? She is a free motion applique master, also known as 'drawing with thread' or 'sewing illustration'. Sarah herself hand-draws each of her designs and her hand-made goodies are extremely sought after with huge waitlists. Luckily for us sewists she has recently started selling patterns, so we can make our very own Ric-Rac & Retro sewing art. This is the pattern I picked.

It's called 'Down the Rabbit Hole' and as soon as I saw it I knew I had to pair it with my lovely bundle of Curiosities, courtesy of Polka Dot Tea Fabrics (one of my fave Aussie fabric stores).To follow my exact thought process: 'Down the Rabbit Hole' = Alice in Wonderland = 'Curiouser and Curiouser' = Curiosities (my mind works in strange ways sometimes). This gorgeous line was designed by Jeni Baker for Art Gallery Fabrics.

I love the smooth finish of Art Gallery fabrics which I think is perfect for quilts and bedding in general. So I decided to make a pillow sham for my own Alice.

Each stripe in the patchwork is 1" wide (1.5" cut). I quilted the patchwork in the ditch, and hand-quilted around 'Alice'.

For fellow collectors of classic book titles, these gorgeous books are from the Puffin in Bloom range, illustrated by Rifle Paper Co.'s principal artist, Anna Bond. There is an Alice in Wonderland edition coming out soon!

If you would like to try free motion applique go grab the pattern from Ric-Rac & Retro. It contains detailed step by step instructions on the technique. Sarah is literally giving away trade secrets people!! I won't lie and say I found it a breeze, it takes quite a bit of practice to get the fluid sewing motion right, my first few attempts were quite laughable. Black thread is so unforgiving, every mistake shows. In the end I switched from the open toe foot to my regular foot (I know it's weird, but I am more experienced with it). I also used a pair of quilting gloves which gave me better control and grip. Do give it a go, it's quite addictive actually! I am going to make more, and hopefully figure out the open toe foot eventually. If you like the technique also be sure to check out Minki Kim's amazing work over on her Instagram account @zeriano and also her website. These girls make it look so easy.