Little Kingdom – a Halloween pillow

It is nearing a year that I started working on Lindsey’s (Pen+Paper Patterns) “Tiny Town” quilt which resulted in some royal updates and the release of my first pattern, Little Kingdom. While sewing my test samples it occurred to me that the castle quilt block is also perfect for Halloween-themed projects, duh!

And last week, I finally stitched up this haunted castle!

First, I pieced the castle block. Then, instead of the accent frame of the pillows on the pattern cover I added 4 simple border strips to make a 20″ by 20″ cushion cover. After quilting the entire top with a 1.5″ diagonal grid, it was time to add some fun and spooky details!

I don’t do raw edge appliqué very often, but especially for the delicate bat shapes it was a really great option.

I also boarded up one of the windows…

… But my favourite detail are clearly the semi-sheer ghosts. I am not even sure where the fabric came from that I used. I believe it was a remnant from a cheap bed sheet that I cut up years ago to make some inner cushions. Not sure, but the thin material was just perfect! To finish the gauze-like ghosts I added little faces using black embroidery thread. Cute, eh?!

And then I backed the pillow with the same black and white gingham as the castle door and added a contrasting zipper in the same colour as the binding. I love how they pop!

And tah-dah, done! I admit that it’s more a coral than a typical orange, but all together I think the pillow still screams “Halloween”! Boo!

Hopefully next year I’ll have time to make a larger quilt!