Trapunto Cushion Cover

I broke out the feathers die for my Accuquilt cutter to see how I liked it because it seemed like a good idea when I bought it! I also went for a trapunto effect so the appliquéd feather plumes would pop more than usual. Then I decided I would post pictures here so you could see what I did! (this is me editing a very long dissertation that sounded OK in my head but became excessively boring once I started typing and needed shortening up … you’re welcome).

I added fusible web to some colourful scraps before cutting out the feather plume shapes, then fused them to the cushion cover, quilted around them using one layer of cotton batting, trimmed away the excess from the back, and went over it all again with a colourful thread. Higher loft batting such as wool would give more pop and that’s probably what I’d use on a bigger quilt for a more dramatic effect.

From there I just sandwiched the front cover and quilted the background areas to pack down the batting. Full disclosure: I regret using stippling for this. I rarely if ever use stippling anymore because there are just so many other designs I would rather do, but I admit I was in a hurry to get it done and see the results. I would have liked it all better if I’d taken the time to do something else! It was a try-out project so these things happen.

Regardless, you can see how the additional batting layer under just the feathers gave them extra pop.