Merry and Bright Pillow - Polka Dotted Blue Jay

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I love the idea of creating Christmas bedding in our guest room and this year I finally made it happen with a custom Merry and Bright Pillow. I used my favorite black and white buffalo plaid fabric for the pillow cover and a merry and bright SVG with heat transfer vinyl.

I was invited to be a part of the Fairfield World Pillow Party with co-host Laura Kelly some other fabulous crafty friends and I love seeing my Merry and Bright Pillow among the projects. I have all the details below and there is a giveaway for you to enter to win a $100 JoAnn Gift Card and 10 Pound Box of Polyfil!

Estimated Time: 20 Minutes (for the Heat Transfer Vinyl) + pillow creating/sewing

Skill Level: Intermediate

Supplies Needed:

Silhouette CAMEO®
Silhouette Cutting Mat
Weeding Hook
Silhouette Studio – use the Business Edition for easy importing and use of SVG files
Heat Transfer Vinyl – Red
Buffalo Plaid Fabric
Iron or heat press
Merry and Bright SVG – Lettered by Stephanie
Fairfield World Premier Poly-Fil Lumbar Pillow

Step One: Creating a Merry and Bright Pillow:

Open Silhouette Studio®.

Select the Page Setup Window and adjust your cutting mat size to 12×12 (or the sized mat you are using).

First, you need to purchase and download your design from Etsy.

Next, open your design in Silhouette Studio. Click File>Library>Recent Downloads>Select your file.

Measure your fabric and re-size your design to the correct space on your 12×12 template – be sure to click and drag to select the whole design to keep everything lined up.

You will need to flip your design, so it appears backward for Heat Transfer Vinyl – this is called “mirroring” your design. Highlight your whole design, right-click, and select “flip horizontally” to mirror it.

Select “Send” to prepare to cut.

Follow the prompts in the Software for Heat Transfer Vinyl (or the type you are using for your project) and double-check to make sure your design has been selected to cut.

Load your heat transfer vinyl into your Cameo 4 with the color side face down on the mat.

Click “Send”

When your machine has finished cutting, press the down-arrow to remove the cutting mat from the machine.

Step Two: Preparing Your Merry and Bright Pillow:

Remove your sheet of Heat Transfer Vinyl from the cutting mat – go slow so it doesn’t curl up or tear.

Use your fingers or a weeding tool to remove the excess vinyl from each color. Be sure to leave your design on the clear carrier sheet.

Step Three: Creating Your Merry and Bright Pillow:

Pre-heat your fabric – use your iron or heat press to warm up the fabric for a better transfer.

Place your design on your fabric right side up (this is the reason you mirror your design for cutting).

Heat the design for the recommended time for the HTV you’re using. Use steady pressure.

Peel back the clear carrier sheet. Some Heat Transfer Vinyl requires a hot or cold peel – always follow the recommended peel for your heat transfer vinyl. Tip: pull from a corner and not the side to make sure each part of the design transfers completely to your fabric.

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