Tapestry to pillow

An opportunity to improvise always makes my day, especially if it involves basting.  Crosstown's client brought in a beautiful tapestry to be made into a pillow.

The tapestry had finished edges and the client wanted to keep them- the goal was to make them look like welting.

Felted navy Ralph Lauren wool was chosen for the pillow back- an excellent choice because it is stable and doesn't fray.  We put an invisible zipper a couple of inches up from the bottom of the pillow back, then folded and pressed the long horizontal edges to the size of the tapestry.

 Using an easy-to-see contrast thread, we basted the tapestry to the backing.

 

You know how much I love to baste!  

 

The tapestry was sewn with a zipper foot very close to the woven edge detail.

The pillow was turned inside out, and the ends were sewn top to bottom.

When turned right side out again, the back topstitched seam was barely noticeable.

This is one project I would love to have been able to keep for myself :)