Kantha Embroidered Jacquard Pillow Tutorial

This week I had some of that gorgeous Jacquard fabric left, so I decided to make yet another pillow but this time instead of getting fancy with the button loops, I decided to try my skills at the traditional east South Asian embroidery called Kantha. Over the past few years there has been an immense increase in kantha embroidered quilts, scarves, pillows, throws, tunics mainly imported from Pakistan on the counters of local London markets. I’ve always wanted to try it out myself, now seemed like a good time to start. I decided to make an ombre effect so chose 5 shades blending smoothly one into the next. I specifically used colors which blended into the jacquard, creating another layer of tones atop.

Difficulty: Beginner

Time: 1 hour

Materials:

1/2 yard of IL042 907 FS Premier Finish

5 shades of cotton thread (I bought Anchor)

A long needle

Ruler

Fabric Marker

Sewing Machine

Cutting your fabric:

Cut out one square 18″ x 18″

Cut out 2 panels 12″ x 18″

Embroidery:

1. Take the 18″ square panel and lay it with the wrong side facing you.

2. Make a line every 1 inch across your 18″ panel

3. Cut 20″ 2/3 strips of thread for each color. Divide each thread into half (you will be left with three strands each). Thread your needle with the shade number 1 and start to make a half inch stitch every half inch. Its easier if you gather fabric onto your needle with a few stitches and then pull the thread. Saves time. Once you are done with the first thread pull it firm so that the stitches even out. Take the next shade and repeat until you come to shade number 5. I used the following sequence to complete my design: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 etc) Once the whole square is embroidered, you can either secure each knot by tying it on each side otherwise proceed to make your envelope pillow.

Done.