Rainbow Unicorn Applique Pillow

The mysterious and beautiful unicorn has been a part of history since well before the 1600’s, but it’s popularity never seems to lessen. Many a child or adult has wished for their own unicorn. I’m sure Santa has seen “unicorn” on quite a few wish lists! As a symbol of purity and grace, plus the added belief that the horn contains the power to heal, who wouldn’t wish for a unicorn!

The pillow I created has a unicorn with a mane in the colors of a rainbow. It’s a bit of a change to this amazing all white mythical creature. The size of the pillow is perfect for anyone who wants to snuggle with a unicorn, though I’m sure a real one to hold would be a fantasy come true.

Rainbow Unicorn Pillow, finished size 18” x 18”, by Carol Swift of Just Let Me Quilt

The supplies to make the pillow include:
Heat n Bond EZ Print Lite Sheets
Heat n Bond Fusible Interfacing
Aurifil Thread
Oliso Purple Iron
Rainbow Unicorn pattern
18” pillow form
12-15 fat quarters

Rainbow Unicorn Applique Pillow

Using Heat n Bond EZ Print Lite Sheets to apply the unicorn applique pieces to the fabric couldn’t be easier. Just print the applique designs on to the sheets using an inkjet printer and then iron them to the wrong sides of your fabrics. No tracing patterns…so easy! Cut out the pieces and iron them to the right side of your fabric and they are ready to be stitched.

Ironing light weight Heat n Bond Fusible Interfacing to the wrong side of fabric on an applique block can help stabilize the fabric and make stitching easier, especially on small pieces. There is usually no puckering of the fabric and the stitches look great.

When stitching around the edges of the applique, Aurifil thread is highly recommended. A weight of 28, 40, or 50 looks lovely. The 28 wt thread will give you a more defined and thicker stitch because it is heavier. 50wt threads were used on the edges of the applique and black 28 wt was used to machine stitch the lines on the unicorn’s face.

Making the corners of a pillow look perfect when using a method Nancy Zieman shared. Sew around all the edges of the pillow. On one side of the pillow, fold over on seam line in the corners. Stitch the seam over the fold on both sides. Repeat on the other side of the pillow. Turn inside out and use a tool to push the corners out. Press around all the seams.