Felt Winter Solstice Pillow

Somehow the last six weeks passed me by without a single Christmas crafting post. I guess I was so caught up in trying to finish all of my hand sewing that I didn't take the time to document here. Over the next few days I will be posting some of my holiday project finishes and some new projects as well.

First up, one of my favorite projects to date - a 16" x 24" felt winter solstice pillow I copied from Crate and Barrel.

When I was shopping at Crate and Barrel, I saw their Winter Solstice pillow and fell in love with everything but the price tag. I thought it might be a fun way to use up some of my wool felt stash and save $70.

I used the same dimensions as the C&B pillow and cut a piece of freezer paper to size then eyeballed the approximate placement of the houses, and drew the snow shapes. I made a template for the houses, wreathes, trees and made copies to move around on the pillow for final placement. Once I was satisfied that my house and tree template sizes worked, I printed them on cardstock to make pattern pieces. 

I am not excellent at drawing, but I was really impressed with my trees and wreaths. I spent an evening in front of TV watching Supernatural, cutting my felt, and hand stitching my little houses.

I drew freehand circles on white felt with Frixion pen to make snowballs and whip stitched them into place. By the end of the weekend I had a cute pillow top.

Here is the finished pillow next to the original Crate and Barrel one.

(Bottom photo credit: Crate and Barrel)

Next up, handmade stockings....