Some of you may recognize this little scarecrow! I originally created him as a fall-themed illustration for the pages of my applique book, Hammock Hideaway. I liked him so much that I decided to bring him out of the pages of the book and turn him into a little 3D art quilt of his own!

Scarecrow Quilt

Step 1: Foundation

I use quilted muslin as the foundation for all of my quilts. You can think of it as the canvas for your dimensional quilt. To that I will be adding the exterior siding and the sidewalk. First, let’s gather the supplies for this step.

Supplies

Quilted Muslin, Wall Pattern Pieces, Sidewalk Pattern Pieces, Tape, Wall Fabric, Sidewalk Fabric, and Embroidery Floss.

Instructions

1. Cut out a 16″ square of quilted muslin.
2. Tape the wall pattern pieces together.
3. Place the pattern piece on top of the wall fabric and trace around it. Cut out the fabric along the traced lines.
4. Tape the sidewalk pattern pieces together.
5. Place the pattern piece on top of the sidewalk fabric and trace around it. Cut out the fabric along the traced lines.
6. Place the two pieces of fabric right sides together and sew a 3/8″ seam along the length of the fabrics. Press the seam open.
7. Center the background on top of the muslin. Hand baste together, 3/8″ from the background edges.
8. Transfer the wall and sidewalk lines to the respective fabric.
9. Starting from the back of the muslin and using 3 strands of embroidery floss, backstitch over the lines.

Step 2: Face and Hat

Let’s meet the Scarecrow, starting with his face and hat.

Supplies

Face: Pattern, Fabric and Lining, Embroidery Floss (nose DMC 3853 and mouth DMC 777), Pink Pencil, and 3/8″ Buttons.

Hat: Pattern, Plaid Wooly Felt (flannel), Lining, Embroidery Floss (hat band DMC 3853), 1/8″ Fall Colored Ribbon, and Sunflower Button.

Instructions: Face

1. Gather together the face fabric and its coordinating lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the applique. (The Applique Prep Technique is located under “Blog Posts” on my website.)
2. Use the Face pattern to determine the placement of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Using a mechanical chalk pencil, transfer these elements to the center of the Face applique.
3. Sew on buttons (3/8″) in the eye color of your choice.
4. Using DMC 3853 and the Over/Under Stitch, embroider the nose.
5. Using DMC 777 and the Back Stitch, embroider the mouth.
6. Using a pink pencil, add blush to the Scarecrow’s cheeks.
7. To give dimension to this applique piece, you are going to turn the Face into a Yo-Yo by using a basting stitch around the perimeter, 1/8″ from the edges. Pull up the gathers and secure in place. Referring to the Scarecrow quilt picture, secure the face to the background siding via the nose. Starting at the back of the quilt and using DMC 3853, stitch around the perimeter of the nose.

Instructions: Hat

1. Gather together the hat flannel fabric and its coordinating lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the applique.
2. To give the hat a rounded crown, baste close to the edge (using matching thread), pull the gathers up and secure them to the back of the hat.
3. To shape the center of the hat, use a basting stitch and DMC 3853 to gather the hat band. Pull up the gathers and secure to the back of the hat.
4. Backstitch on top of the embroidery basting with 1/8″ orange ribbon.
5. Sew a sunflower button to the hat.
6. Attach the hat to the quilt only along the brim’s side edges using the Slip Stitch. Make sure the hat is below the 3/8″ background basting. Have fun placing the hat. I decided to angle it over the face to give the Scarecrow some personality!

Step 3: Shirt

Notice how the shirt fabric has been fussy-cut so that I could give the Scarecrow a pumpkin shirt!

Supplies

Shirt Pattern, Shirt Fabric and Lining, Small piece of Quilted Muslin, Brown Pipe Cleaner, and Raffia.

Instructions

1. Quilted Muslin: To add dimension to the shirt, cut out a piece of muslin using the Shirt pattern. Trim the muslin 1/8″ around the perimeter. Refer to the Scarecrow quilt pattern for placement of the muslin shirt. Starting from the back of the quilt and using small basting stitches, attach the muslin to the background.
2. Raffia: Center a bunch of raffia across the arms and top of the muslin. Attach it to the muslin using the Over/Under Stitch. (Embroidery stitches can be found on my website under Blog Posts.) Trim the raffia so that it extends 1/2″ beyond the sleeves. Center a second bunch of raffia vertically and attach in the same way. Trim the raffia so that it extends about 1/4″ above the collar and about 3/4″ below the hem of the shirt.
3. Pipe Cleaner: Cut a 4 1/2″ length of the pipe cleaner to represent the pole. Using matching brown embroidery floss and the Over/Under Stitch, attach the pole on top of the raffia.
4. Shirt: Gather together the Shirt pattern, fabric and lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the applique.
5. Note the arrows on the shirt diagram below. Attach the shirt to the background between the arrows.
6. Gather the cuffs with DMC 3853, 1/4″ from the edge of the shirt. Thread a needle with the floss and insert it on one side of the cuff, pushing the needle to the back. Then, push the needle up on the other side of the cuff. Tie the ends together, gather the cuff, and knot the ends.

Step 4: Mums the Word!

I had planned to add the window next, but I was so excited to see how the large mums at the base of the Scarecrow would look that I decided to tackle that next.

Supplies

Large Pot Pattern, Pot Fabric and Lining, Package of 1/2″ Pom-Poms, Large Leaf Pattern, and Faux Green Leather.

Instructions

1. Large Pot: Gather together the Pot pattern, fabric and lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the applique.
2. Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern for placement of the large pot. Attach it to the background with the Slip Stitch.
3. Large Green Leaves: Make 3 individual large leaves by placing the Large Leaf Pattern on the green faux leather and tracing around it. Carefully cut out the leaves. (Cut off the stems.) Turn the leaves upside down and distribute them evenly across the top edge of the pot. Starting from the back of the quilt and using matching double green thread, pierce the green leaf 1/8″ down from the top. Push the needle back down 1/8″ above the top of the pot and to the back of the quilt. Repeat 2 or 3 times for each leaf.
4. Mums: Evenly distribute 7 pom-poms along the top edge of the pot. Using matching double thread, attach each pom-pom to the quilt straight down the middle of the pom-pom. For the second row, evenly place 6 pom-poms on top of the previous row and sew them in place. For the third row, evenly place 5 pom-poms on top of the previous row and sew them in place.

Step 5: Small Pots of Mums

Notice that beneath the large pot of mums, smaller pots are mixed in with pumpkins. As layering is an easy way to add dimension, we are going to first add four small pots of mums, followed by three pumpkins. Finally we will place two more small mums in front of the pumpkins.

Supplies

Faux Green Leather, Bundle of Small Leaves Pattern Piece, Small Pot Pattern, Pot Fabric and Lining, and Small Pom-Poms (about 1/8″ in diameter) in six different colors.

Instructions

1. Small Pot: Gather together the Small Pot pattern, fabric and lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the six appliques.
2. Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern for the placement of the small pots. During this step, you will only be attaching four pots of mums. First, place two small pots along the sides of the large pot and use the Slip Stitch to attach them to the background.
3. Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern and place the remaining two pots in front of the former two. Attach using the Slip Stitch.
4. Small Green Leaves: When the large green leaves were scaled down for the small pots, they were too tiny to work with. So, I decided to make bundles of small green leaves. Make 6 individual bundles by placing the Small Leaf Bundle Pattern on the green faux leather and tracing around it six times. Carefully cut out the bundles. Place four of them along the top edges of the small pots. Starting from the back of the quilt and using matching double green thread, pierce the green bundle 1/8″ down from the top. Push the needle back down along the top of the pot and to the back of the quilt. Continue in this manner until each bundle is attached.
5. Mum Flowers: I bought a package of Pom-Poms in assorted colors. Choose a different color for each pot. Attach the Pom-Poms in the same manner as the large Pom-Poms were attached.

Step 6: Pumpkin Patch

This little patch of pumpkins will be nestled in front of the four small mums.

Supplies

Three Pumpkin Patterns, Pumpkin Fabrics and Linings, DMC 3853 Embroidery Floss, One Green Pipe Cleaner, and Polyester Toy Stuffing.

Instructions

1. Pumpkins: Gather together the Pumpkin patterns, fabrics and linings. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the appliques.
2. Transfer the embroidery lines to the appliques with a mechanical pencil or chalk. Using DMC 3853 and the Back Stitch, embroider over the lines.
3. Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern for the placement of the medium and large pumpkins and pin them in place. Attach the pumpkins using the Slip Stitch along the perimeter of each pumpkin, leaving a small opening in each.
4. Polyester Toy Stuffing: Lightly stuff each pumpkin. Be sure to evenly distribute the stuffing. Close the openings with the Slip Stitch.
5. Smallest Pumpkin: Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern for the placement of this pumpkin. Then attach it with the Slip Stitch and lightly stuff it. Close the opening once the stuffing is evenly distributed.
6. Stems: Shape the pipe cleaner into three individual coat hanger shapes. Attach to the top of the pumpkins using the Over/Under Stitch.
7. Two Small Mums: Refer to the Scarecrow Quilt Pattern for placement of the two front small mums. Create the mums and attach them to the quilt.

Step 7: Store Window

The store’s window invites you to come in and enjoy the treats of the fall season, warm cider, mums for your garden, and pumpkins for carving. What a lovely atmosphere in which to choose a book you can read in front of a cozy fireplace!

Supplies

Window Frame Pattern, Window Pattern, Window Frame Fabric and Lining, Window Pattern Fabric and Lining, DMC Embroidery Floss gold 676 and metallic gold for the “OPEN” word, and DMC Floss in fall colors. (I used orange 3853, maroon 814, green 699, purple 552, and brown 938.) I used cream 739 to outline each applique.

Instructions

1. Window Frame: Gather together the Window Frame Pattern, fabric and lining. Then use the Applique Prep Technique to construct the applique.
2. Place the window frame in the top right corner of the quilt, 1/4″ down and 1/4″ left of the background basting stitches. Note: Place the frame underneath the scarecrow’s raffia. Attach the applique using the Slip Stitch.
3. Window: Place the Window pattern on top of a light box. Place the window fabric over the pattern. Trace the words onto the fabric using a mechanical pencil or chalk. Now construct the applique using the Applique Prep Technique.
4. Embroider over “OPEN” using the Back Stitch and DMC gold and metallic gold together. This makes the word look like it lights up. For the remaining words, choose fall colored embroidery floss and the Back Stitch.
5. Center the window applique on top of the frame. Be sure to place it beneath the scarecrow’s raffia. Attach it to the frame using the Slip Stitch.
6. Embroider around the perimeter of the frame with a coordinating floss color and the Back Stitch. Use this same color floss to embroider around the perimeter of the window. This makes it look like the window recedes into the frame.

Step 8: Fall Leaves

The leaves are made from various shades of faux leather. You could also use felt, but I think the faux leather gives the leaves crisper edges. With dimensional applique, it really is all in the details. There are only three leaves in this quilt, but they evoke the beauty and transitory nature of the season.

Supplies

Three fall shades of faux leather, brown embroidery floss, and large leaf pattern.

Instructions

1. Using the large leaf pattern, trace one leaf on each piece of faux leather. Note: I found it easier to flip the leather over and trace on the back where the surface is smoother and less slippery.
2. Cut out the three leaves.
3. Attach two leaves to the sidewalk and one leaf to the window frame by using brown embroidery floss and the Back Stitch. Each leaf will use two 1/8″ stitches to attach it to the background. (See illustration below.)

Final Step: Borders, Backing and Binding

The borders serve to frame and finish your masterpiece!

Supplies

For the borders, choose 3 different fat quarters in colors complimentary to the quilt colors. For the backing, 2/3 yard of fabric.

Cut Out the Border Strips

Instructions

Squaring the Quilt

The addition of applique and embroidery can cause the quilt to unevenly shrink from its original 12″ square. In order for the borders to be attached in true vertical and horizontal fashion, the quilt must be squared up prior to their addition.

To do this, first measure ACROSS the quilt in several places. Note the smallest measurement and trim the sides of the background fabric to that width. DO NOT trim the quilted muslin.

Next, measure DOWN the quilt in several places. Note the smallest measurement and trim the top and bottom of the background fabric to that width. DO NOT trim the quilted muslin.

1st Border

First, place each strip wrong side up. With a pencil and ruler, mark a 3/8″ seam line down one 22″ side of each strip. Second, pin one strip, right sides together, to each side of the quilt. Sew along the seamline using your even feed foot. Trim any excess border. Press seams open. Third, pin one strip, right sides together, to the top and bottom of the quilt. Sew; trim excess and press seams open.

2nd Border

First, place each strip wrong side up. With a pencil and ruler, mark a 1/4″ seam line down one 22″ side of each strip. Second, pin one strip, right sides together, to each side’s first border. Sew along the seamline, trim the excess and press seams open. Third, repeat for the top and bottom strips. Fourth, NOW TRIM the quilted muslin 1/4″ beyond the second border’s raw edge.

3rd Border

Mark and attach the third border in the same manner as the second border. Press seams open.

Backing

First, cut the backing the same size as the completed quilt with the borders attached. Second, place the quilt on top of the WRONG side of the backing. Align the edges and pin in place. With your even feed foot, sew along the perimeter using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Binding

The binding is formed from the third border!

Vertical Binding: First, fold back and press the vertical borders along the stitching lines. Second, fold back an additional 3/4″ and pin in place. Flip the quilt to the back. Using matching thread and the Slip Stitch, sew the vertical binding to the back of the quilt.

Horizontal Binding: Repeat the steps for the horizontal binding.