Oct. 30, 2020

How to Make A Fall Pillow!! Free SVG Included!!

Whether you live in California or Alaska, we can all agree that November means you’re allowed to put as many pumpkins around your house as humanly possible (much to our husbands’ confusion). Fall decorations are NOT dependent on the climate where you live...so having another fun, fall design is just what we are about here at Pen + Posh and @craftychristiescreations!

This month’s craft tutorial features a design perfect for Thanksgiving or to keep out all season long! (As soon as the fireworks go out on the 4th…) Take a peak as Christie shows you how to put it on a throw pillow and don’t miss the other FREE designs at the bottom of this post!

Silhouette Studio

As with most designs we have worked with in these tutorials, each part of this “thankful, grateful and blessed” design is it’s own path, meaning you could put it all in a straight line to go on a cute sign above the mantle, get rid of the leaves to make it year-round decor, change the colors, etc. Versatility is a crafter’s dream, am I right?

Christie will be doing this design in all one color, printing it on heat transfer vinyl to put on a pillow. So to start:

CTRL A: grab everything
CTRL G: group it all together

Since we’re using heat transfer vinyl, we also need to mirror the design:

Replicate panel
Mirror (doesn't matter if it’s left or right, you can see what the button looks like in this picture:)

Get rid of the correct (first) one
Pull over the backwards one-that’s the one we will cut

The reason we mirror is because the heat transfer vinyl has a plastic applique that is sticky and holds the design in place. You don’t want to cut through the sticky part, just the vinyl. That's why you cut it backwards so that when you turn it around and place it down it will read correctly!

Resize

Lock ratio aspect
Change width to 12
Change art board to match that: media size 12x12

Notice it will cut slightly off the edge of the design. In a situation like this there are three options:

If you’re using a newer machine you can cut vinyl without a mat
Use a mat that is 12x24 (long mat) which would work since the height of the design is only 10.8
Shrink the design slightly by grabbing a corner and bringing it down just a little bit. Keep ratio aspect locked when you do this and place the design in the top left corner to waste as little as possible

Send panel

Here’s a look at what Christie’s settings are in the send panel:

Heat transfer flocked setting (works well for the vinyl she uses)
Ratchet blade (she’s using a Cameo 2)
No over cut button (since we’re using vinyl)

Don’t forget!! When you cut, the shiny side of the vinyl is the carrier sheet, put it on the underside when cutting.

Assembly

Now that you have it all cut out, you can leave the excess/unused vinyl at the bottom to cut off after weeding.

PRO TIP: Peel off a piece while it’s still in the machine to test to make sure you don’t need to re-cut it. (That way you don’t have to line it all back up if you do need to make a second pass at it).

Also, if it’s your first time using the material, do some test cuts before even cutting the design out!

Weeding

Christie likes to weed while it’s still stuck down on the cutting mat because it is easier to keep it nice and straight!

The tool Christie is using today to weed is from Fun Stampers Journey and is called the ‘bloom tool.’ Pointy end is great for weeding, and the other side is great for die cuts.

Ok moving right along! Pull it off the mat, cut as close as you can to the design to save the excess vinyl. We could've put a cut box around the design or a line across the bottom to follow when cutting but that’s up to you. If you have a steady hand and trust yourself to cut in a straight line then no need.

After that, go ahead and start with a corner and peel up the rest until you have this: (apologize for the glare!)

Pillow Prep

Christie used a cheap feather pillow from IKEA. You buy the pillow separately and then get the cases for it. They make great throw pillows since it’s easy to take off the cover and wash it. And to have 500 different designs and/or colors…Be sure and lint roll the cover and you can also use your machine to ‘iron’ it out flat beforehand.

Christie used the Cricut Easy Press Machine and set it to 350 for 30 seconds. Where did she come up with those numbers, you ask? On Cricut’s website there is a spot where you can plug in what type of vinyl you’re using and what type of material you’re using to place it on and they will give you suggested heat settings and times! Pretty nifty, huh?

Sticking it Down

Center it sticky side down (words will read correctly now) and place down with your hands/sleeve.

Cover it with a towel/cloth
Light pressure, hold machine on half the design

Wait for the beep
Same thing on the other side
Peel off transfer sheet

Christie could tell that parts in the middle of the design weren’t completely stuck down so she covered it with a towel again and did the middle area one more time. This time though she didn’t hit the button-she decided to just slide over the area more like an iron.

Once that’s good, hit it from the back side of the pillow case-no towel needed-and voila! Christie’s pillow is complete and ready for the couch! We can’t wait to see how you make this design your own so be sure to tag us in your photos so we can admire your creations!

For more from Christie, check out her website, Crafty Christie’s Creations, she specializes in handmade greeting cards, and DIY paper crafts. She is an EXPERT in Silhouette Studio, which has also led her to start producing tutorials to make all this crafting a bit easier. Follow her on Instagram @craftychristiescreations for more fun craft projects and tips!