Curves Class: Clamshell Pillow
Updated: Jun 16, 2020
I started taking an online quilting class through Rachel at Stitched In Color a couple of weeks ago, and it's been going great! Her instructions are thorough and easy to follow. There are three projects to choose from each week, and you can do as many (or as few) as you have time to do. As someone who is full-time employed in tech, I've only had time to do one project a week so far, so I've tried to be strategic about which projects I choose. I've picked the ones that I'm excited about, I think will challenge me the most, and that I have time for that week.
The first week's project was a Clamshell pillow. I ended up making two pillows because I cut two grey squares intending them to be both front and back of one pillow, but then I decided to use a contrast fabric on the back of the first one. So the extra grey square backing became the front of the second pillow! Now I have two pillows and extra practice cutting and sewing curves. Win, win! It was gratifying to do this project twice because I can tell how much my skills improved from the first to the second pillow.
I tried different techniques with each pillow. On the purple one, I used pins and a glue stick to tack down edges. On the second one, I used fusible stabilizer. Hard to say which method I prefer, as they both have advantages and disadvantages. The gluing and pinning was faster, but the fusible was less messy and I felt more confident in my fabric placement while I sewed. The finished product with the fusible is stiffer, though I also haven't washed it yet. (I can't remember if it's dissolvable interfacing or not, as it didn't really seem an important detail just for a pillow.)
What's been your experience sewing with curves?