Spooky Spider Pillow with the GO! Halloween Medley Die

Hi AccuQuilt friends! I'm Melanie from A Bit of Scrap Stuff and I'm so excited to share a tutorial with the new AccuQuilt GO! Halloween Medley die (55192). The spider die included in the Halloween Medley is perfect for my reverse appliqué Halloween pillow- just the right amount of spooky! This easy tutorial will work for any AccuQuilt shape too!

The GO! Halloween Medley die is on a 6" x 12" die board, so it fits all GO! fabric cutters and contains appliqué shapes for a:

• Spider - 3½" x 4½"
• Ghost - 3⅝" x ½"
• Witch's Hat - 4½" x 4"

Of course the GO! Halloween Medley die is awesome, AccuQuilt-quality so your spider legs (plus ghost and hat) will cut perfectly. The die has two-toned foam so it's super easy to know where to place your fabric for accurate cuts. Let's gather up our supplies and start cutting!

Supplies:

• AccuQuilt GO!, GO! Big or GO! Me
• AccuQuilt GO! Halloween Medley
• AccuQuilt GO! Cutting Mat 6 x 6" AND 6" x 12"
• ¾ yard each of (2) contrasting fabrics* I used Riley Blake Designs: Costume Makers Ball Webs Cream and Riley Blake Designs Large Hashtag Black.
• Fusible Web - I used HeatnBond -LITE (purple package)
• Scrap batting for pillow if quilting pillow top

Tutorial for (2) Spooky Spider Pillows 16" x 16" 

For the first Spooky Spider Pillow (light color web background) - we will be using a reverse appliqué technique. In reverse appliqué - we will be cutting the front fabric (light color web) so the back fabric (hashtag black) will show through. 

1. Cut one spider shape from a scrap piece of fabric. *This will not be used in your final project- it will be used to align the FRONT FABRIC over the die in steps 6 and 7 below. 

2. Cut one 16½" x 16½" square of fabric from each contrasting fabric. FRONT FABRIC: Riley Blake Designs: Costume Makers Ball Webs Cream BACK FABRIC: Riley Blake Designs Large Hashtag Black. 

3. Adhere the fusible web to the wrong side of the Spider Pillow FRONT FABRIC following the instructions included on the fusible web package. Yes - you will fuse the entire 16½" x 16½" square.

4. Peel off the fusible web paper backing.

5. Cover the ghost and hat shape with your 6" x 12" cutting mat - so only the spider will show. Covering those shapes with your larger cutting mat will protect your FRONT FABRIC and make sure that those shapes will NOT cut your FRONT FABRIC. This is necessary if you choose to cut your spider in the middle of the FRONT FABRIC.

6. Position your scrap fabric spider shape on your FRONT FABRIC where you want to cut the spider shape. Stick a pin through the center of the scrap spider fabric shape (purple spider) and FRONT FABRIC. Using the pin point- align the pin in the center of the GO! Halloween Medley Spider die. This will ensure that your spider will be cut in the correct location on your FRONT FABRIC. 

7. Place FRONT FABRIC over the cutting mat covering the ghost and hat so those shapes do not cut the fabric. The FRONT FABRIC will be placed directly over the spider. Remove purple scrap spider and pin. Place a 6"x 6" cutting mat over the FRONT FABRIC covering the spider. 

8. Cut Spider shape. This part can be a bit nerve wracking, but don't worry as long as your 6" x 12" cutting mat under the FRONT FABRIC is covering the ghost and hat shapes - only the spider will cut. I did fold the fabric edges over the top of the cutting mat as the fabric is cut at 16½" so it would fit through my AccuQuilt GO! 

9. Repeat steps above until you have cut as many spiders out from the FRONT FABRIC as you desire. I chose to cut three spiders randomly so it would look like they were crawling up or down the pillow. Be sure NOT to cut close to fabric edge as we will need to sew pillow together and add binding. I would allow at least 1" on all sides. Picture below shows the three white spiders I cut from the FRONT FABRIC. I placed the BACK FABRIC behind so you would be able to see the spider shapes. The BACK FABRIC is still an uncut 16½" x 16½" square.

10. Position FRONT FABRIC on top of BACK FABRIC- both fabrics should be right side up. 

11. Fuse both fabrics together following fusible interfacing instructions. Before applying heat, be sure 16½" x 16½" FRONT and BACK FABRICS are lined up and facing the correct direction. This is your pillow top.

12. Make a mini quilt sandwich: With the pillow top front fused fabrics right side up, batting, then inside pillow fabric right side down. Quilt as desired. I chose to stipple my pillow front. If you choose to quilt over your pillow make sure your fusible web is designed for quilting so your needle doesn't become sticky or break (HeatnBond LITE).

13. Make your preferred pillow backing: I prefer to use a zipper-style as I feel it gives a polished look and it makes it easy to remove the pillow cover for washing, but you can create an envelopes style or sew them up completely.

14. Layer finished pillow front (right side up) on top of pillow backing (right side down). Stitch a scant ¼" seam all around pillow - the stitched line should "hide" under your binding once it is attached.

15. Binding. Cut two 2½" x 42" strips of fabric and attach the binding to the pillow with your preferred method. Now it is time to enjoy your Spooky Spider Pillow!

Remember those three white spiders we cut out of the pillow front fabric for the first pillow - they already have fusible interfacing on them so let's make a matching pillow with traditional appliqué!

Bonus Matching Spooky Pillow 16" x 16" 

1. Cut one 16½" x 16½" square from background fabric. I used Riley Blake Designs Large Hashtag Black.  

2. Position three spiders on pillow front fabric as desired. Be sure NOT to place spiders close to fabric edge as we will need to sew pillow together and add binding. I would allow at least 1" on all sides.  

3. Fuse your spiders to pillow front background following fusible interfacing instructions. Before applying heat, be sure you have all spiders placed where you want them.

OPTIONAL: Use your FREE AccuQuilt embroidery file downloads and machine embroider around each shape. OR you can machine appliqué / stitch around each shape free-hand.

4. Follow steps 12-15 above to finish your matching Spider Pillow! We just couldn't waste those spooky spiders that we cut from the first pillow! 

For a fun detail - I hand embroidered a web string so it would like the spiders were hanging down from the pillow top! Extra spooky! 

Thank you so much reading my tutorial. I can't wait to see your amazing Spooky Spider (or ghost or hat) pillows too! Be sure to share your designs with me and AccuQuilt on social media. Tag me @abitofscrapstuff and @AccuQuilt on Instagram and always hashtag #AccuQuilt so we can see them! Give us a follow while you're there and you'll be the first to know what we're making.

If you're not on social, tell us if you have tried reverse appliqué with your AccuQuilt before in the comments and remember to subscribe to the blog so you're the first to know about new products and patterns.

Happy Quilting!

Melanie Call

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