A beast of a finish!

Today I am hosting the TGIFF link party, so if you are new to the party welcome I hope you enjoy your visit.

My finish for the party has been a long time in the making, I blogged about it nearly a year ago here when the front was finished but then the project hit the proverbial brick wall. There is nothing like a looming deadline for a completed project to concentrate the mind though is there :)

I am always annoyed with myself when I finally getting around to finishing a project that I have been putting off for a long time and find that the actual finishing is fairly quick and very straightforward. Needless to say that is what happened here!

I used this tutorial by Chris Dodsley for the hidden zipper at the back. I have used this technique on several cushion backs now and really like the clean lines and neat finish that it achieves. I also like the pop of colour that I end up with on the back of my normally plain cushion covers. The front fabric is a grey linen and the back is a light grey quilting cotton with the dark purple band for the hidden zip. I am fairly sure that I kept enough of the purple patchwork pieces used in the reverse applique on the front, to make a hidden zipper band but, of course, couldn't find it when I went to make it. I shall probably find it in the next day or so :)

The cushion was originally intended for our eldest son's wife, who loves purple, but as our youngest son has just recently moved into a new flat and he is a big fan of Stag decor then it only seems right to gift it to him instead. He is not the gentlest of users of a handmade cushion so I am hoping that the reverse applique will stand up to the wear and tear. Having said that he has moved in with his lovely girlfriend so I am keeping my fingers crossed that this and any future cushions will fare a bit better under that much more benign feminine influence :)

So, that's my finish for the TGIFF link party, now it is your turn to link up and share your finishes. As ever a bit of encouragement is always welcome so check out your fellow linkers and share some of the celebrations around. Include the TGIFF blog button in your post if you link up so that your followers can check them out too.

An InLinkz Link-up

Stag do!

I have had a Reverse Applique project on the go for ages, it has been taken apart and re-done at least three times.

First of all the patchwork back for the applique didn't fit the applique outline, so needed to be reworked to fit the frame. Then, I really struggled to turn under some of the allowances on certain parts of the design. All in all it has been a complete pain in the proverbial, but I am delighted to say that I have finally completed the Reverse Applique!

You will not be surprised to know that the antlers were where I really struggled to turn under the allowance. I discovered when I compared this to the magazine photo that the antlers on my version are a lot narrower than in the pattern version. I do remember taking the pattern to be enlarged at a local printers (don't you just hate patterns that need to be enlarged!) and have a vague memory of having to compromise on the final size, so that presumably accounts for the difference.

Having seen these magnificent beasts on a recent visit to a Deer Park, I think the antlers in the version above are pretty accurate though, don't you?

I did not help myself by picking a linen blend fabric for the top fabric, as it was fraying where the applique points are narrow before I had even got to stitching it down!

So, I went for a belt and braces approach by hand stitching the turned applique and then machine topstitching. Next up an application of Fraycheck to be sure, to be sure :)

The piece will become a cushion eventually when I have sourced some Deer Horn buttons for the back!

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