 | After sewing the lace to the heart, flip the heart right side up and turn the lace out over the edges to check that the seam looks fine and that no lace is caught in it. Then, flip the lace back to the inside of the heart and push the lace attached to the point of the heart toward the center away from where the seam will be and pin it out of the way (keep the pins away from the seam area). |
 | Now, prepare the hand strap for attaching: fold the long strip right sides together lengthwise and sew along the long edge, using a 1/2 inch seam. Turn the tube right side out and press so that the seam is in the center or the strip as shown here. |
 | Now, pin the finished strap to the right side of the second heart as shown in the photo (this will be the back of the pillow). It should be placed where the heart just begins to start tapering to the point. The seam of the strap should face the heart so it doesn't show. |
 | Place the back heart on top of heart with lace, right sides together. Line up all edges and pin in place. The heart with the lace pinned to it will appear to be slightly smaller now because of the lace. Just pull it gently in place and pin carefully. At the point, make sure that the lace is pushed into the center away from the edges and pinned in place (this is the trickiest part to sew because the lace tends to stick in the seam when sewing around the point and gets caught). Using a 1/2 inch seam allowance, start sewing about 1 1/2 inches above the bottom point (back tack to secure the seam), sew around the point and then around the rest of the heart, finishing about 3 1/2 inches from where you began sewing, back tacking to secure the end. Tip: To make closing seams easier at the end, it is best to place the opening on the straightest section and away from corners. When sewing around the curves, again stop frequently with the needle down and lift the presser foot to release pressure and turn the fabric slightly as you go to make the curve smooth. |
 | When finished sewing, gently turn the pillow right side out and check how the lace is falling from the seam. Adjust the seam, if necessary. Turn pillow wrong side out again and trim the point of the heart so that it tapers and notch around the curves at the top as shown here. Turn pillow right side out and stuff with fiberfill. Close seam neatly by hand. Hand sew desired embellishments in place. |
Happy Sewing!
