The Owls Are Coming to Visit! *Tutorial*
I love pulling out my fall/Halloween decorations every year. This year, a couple of our plastic light-up ghosts took a beating during installation (thanks, boys), and our spooky skeleton fence no longer lights up. 😥
And that's why I love fabric/quilty decorations. They don't break, and they don't stop lighting up. If you've been saving fabric with cute little creatures to fussy cut, this door banner is perfect for you! A couple easy-piecing patchwork rows, a little fusible web, and your owls/ghosts/hedgehogs have a place to shine.
And that's why I love fabric/quilty decorations. They don't break, and they don't stop lighting up. If you've been saving fabric with cute little creatures to fussy cut, this door banner is perfect for you! A couple easy-piecing patchwork rows, a little fusible web, and your owls/ghosts/hedgehogs have a place to shine.
Fussy-cutting the owls for this project is so much fun! The hardest part? Deciding which ones to use!
Finished project size: 27-1/2" x 28-1/2"
Materials:
1/3 yard white eyeballs print
1/4 yard green swirl
1/4 yard orange owls
1/4 yard black solid
1/3 yard black trees
1/3 yard gray swirl
1/2 yard purple owl print
1 yard backing fabric
32" square piece of batting (optional)
Fusible web
Note: I finished this door banner pillow-case style and left the batting out, but you can just as easily finish it using a quilt sandwich. If you do so, you'll need 1/2 yard of binding fabric (cut four 2-1/4" x 42" strips).
Cutting:
From the white eyeballs print:
Three 6" squares
One 3-1/2" x 42" strip
From the green swirl:
Three 6" squares
From the orange owls:
One 3-1/2" x 42" strip
From the black solid:
Two 2" x 27-1/2" strips
From the black trees:
One 8" x 27-1/2" piece
From the gray swirl:
Two 4" x 27-1/2" strips
How adorable are these fussy-cut owls?! Have fun choosing which ones to use!
Step 1: Draw a diagonal side on the wrong side of all 6" white eyeballs squares. Layer each marked square right sides together with a 6" green swirl square.
Step 2: Stitch 1/4" on either side of the marked line. Cut unit on marked line and press both halves open. Draw a diagonal line on the wrong side of three half-square triangle units. Position a marked unit right sides together with an unmarked unit, positioning fabrics opposite as shown, matching the seam line.
Step 3: Sew 1/4" on either side of the marked line. Cut apart on the drawn line.
Step 4: Press units open to create an hourglass unit. Trim to measure 5" square. (Tip: To ensure you center your hourglass block, line up the 2-1/2" ruler mark where the triangle tips meet in the center of the unit. Make 6.
Step 5: Sew the hourglass units together as shown.
Step 6: Cut the orange owl and white eyeball 3-1/2" x 42" strips in half. Noting orientation, sew half an orange owl strip to the top of half a white eyeball strip, making sure owls are oriented correctly. In the same way, sew the remaining half orange owl strip to the bottom of the remaining white eyeball strip. Press open, and press toward the same fabric in each strip set. Cut five 3-1/2" wide segments from one strip set and four 3-1/2" wide segments from the second. Note: Making two separate strip sets like this ensures that all your owls will be facing up in the checkerboard row!
Step 7: Noting owl orientation, sew the segments together to make a checkerboard strip.
Step 8: Roughly cut out your favorite 6-8 owls from the purple own print. Adhere fusible web to the back of each rough-cut owl, and then cut out on owl outline. Arrange owls as desired on 8" x 27-1/2" black trees piece and fuse in place. Use a straight or decorative stitch to applique if desired.
Step 9: Sew together the two pieced strips, the appliqued center strip, two 2" x 27-1/2" black solid strips, and two 4" x 27-1/2" gray swirl strips to complete the quilt top.
Step 10: Finish the door banner as desired. We used a pillowcase finish (can be done with or without batting) and then stitched along the length of the solid black sashing strips to secure. You can also layer the quilt top with backing and batting and quilt, and then finish with a binding strip.
Add a hanging sleeve to the back of the door banner and hang to enjoy!
