Machine Embroidered Applique, Without Panty Lines

Machine Embroidered Elephant Applique Pillow

I figure everyone's probably sick of seeing my Jingle BOM quilt project over and over again, so I thought I'd switch gears and write a machine embroidery blog post today.  I did some custom machine embroidery a few months ago for an interior design client's nursery project, and I thought I'd share with you how I worked out some of the technical challenges that arose along the way. 



Panty Lines!  Base Fabric Shows Through Applique Fabric

My client had selected the Graham crib bedding collection from Serena and Lily and I designed a window seat, upholstered cornice, and a diaper stacker to complete this modern nursery.  (Coincidentally, the baby's name is also Graham, so we also did a custom monogrammed pillow for the glider rocker with his name on it).  Serena & Lily sells their crib bedding fabric by the yard, and I planned to use it for a sweet little appliqued throw pillow.  My base fabric, Skittles in Blueberry Sky colorway, is from F. Schumacher's Lulu DK Child collection.  As you can see in the photo above, the embroidered splatter dots on this fabric not only show through the thin quilting weight cotton sheeting fabric, but since they are embroidered rather than printed, they also created raised bumps that I didn't want on my applique. 

I sourced the machine embroidery design for this cute elephant applique from Applique Corner Design, an independent Etsy seller who created the design using Bernina digitizing software -- software that I own, but never digitize with.  I can almost always find a professionally digitized design that suits my project and only use the software to edit, combine designs, and tweak things.  I did need to make some adjustments to this design in my software after I stitched out a sample embroidery.  I added underlay stitching to the ear applique because the satin stitching didn't meet up exactly for me when the circle was complete.  Also, the original design file instructed the machine to stitch the entire outline of the elephant first and then go back and do the tail separately.  In my test sew, the elephant pulled in ever so slightly, just enough that the tail ended up not being attached to the body.  Like pin the tail on the elephant, but without the pin.  I easily corrected that by programming the tail and body outline as a single embroidery object to stitch out at the same time.  Finally, I enlarged the design to completely fill the usable portion of my Mega embroidery hoop. 



Tracing Applique Shapes Onto Fusible Web

Another reason I can't live without my digitizing software (even though I rarely digitize) is because I use it to print out actual size templates of any embroidery file.  This is crucial for an applique design, so that I can precut my applique shapes precisely before stitching them down.  I used my light box to trace the shapes onto lightweight fusible web, trying to keep my pencil line in the middle of where the satin stitching will be.  Note that it's important to trace a REVERSE image of the applique shape -- this photo was an "oops" that resulted in an elephant pointing the wrong direction!

Initially, I had planned to use Dry CoverUp, a vinyl topping product designed for machine embroidery, to prevent the embroidered dots of my base fabric from showing through the finished elephant applique.  However, I tried it in my trial run and I didn't like how stiff it made the finished embroidery.  This was, after all, for a baby's room, and I wanted this pillow to be super soft and snuggly when it was finished.  So I used temporary spray adhesive to hold two layers of my thin cotton elephant fabric together, and then I treated the doubled fabric as one layer.



Fusible Web with Window, Adhered to Reverse Side of Applique Fabric

As you can see in the photo above, my enlarged elephant shape was wider than my fusible web so I had to use two pieces.  Those little asterisks I penciled in are registration marks to make sure I aligned the two pieces of fusible web properly when I ironed them to my fabric.After tracing the elephant shape onto my fusible web backing but BEFORE ironing it to my applique fabric, I carefully cut a "window" out of the center of the fusible web shape.  Again, my goal was to keep the finished applique embroidery as soft and snuggly as possible.  I only needed the fusible web to adhere those outer edges of my elephant in place until the machine satin stitches permanently secured the applique to the base fabric.  Not only does this window technique eliminate a lot of the bulk and stiffness of the fusible web, but it also enables you to carefully trim away some of the backing fabric behind the applique shape after the design has finished stitching. 




Test Fitting Applique Shapes to Printed Template

After fusing the fusible web to my applique fabrics, I carefully cut out my two shapes and laid them on my actual size printed template to ensure that the shapes fit properly within the column of satin stitching along all of the edges.  (That's the smaller test stitchout that you see draped on the pillow form in this photo.  I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but there was a definite contrast between the soft, slightly puckered texture of the background fabric and the stiff, rigid applique).



Fusing the Applique Shape to the Background Fabric

Once the applique shapes have been prepared, a machine embroidered applique design stitches out much like any other machine embroidery design.  The machine stitches an outline placement line for an applique shape, and then stops as it would for a color change.  That's when you carefully remove the hoop from the machine, line up your precut applique shape along the placement line, and fuse it in place.  With this large design in my Mega hoop, I'm able to fit my full size iron inside the hoop to fuse my applique in place, but if you're doing a smaller design in a smaller hoop, a travel iron would be a better choice.  With the applique fabric fused in place, you reattach the hoop to the embroidery machine and then it stitches a zigzag tackdown stitch followed by a satin stitch all along the edges.  WAY faster than the hand stitched applique project I've been working on recently, but of course it's a completely different look.



Tackdown Stitching Completed, Satin Stitching In Progress



 Here you can see how, after the entire design finished stitching and I removed the fabric from the hoop, I not only removed my tearaway stabilizer from the project, but also cut away the background fabric inside the body of the elephant, using duckbilled applique scissors to ensure I didn't snip into the applique fabric by mistake.  Note that I would not have been able to remove the backing fabric if I had fusible web permanently adhering the entire elephant shape to the background fabric -- that's why I cut that window in the fusible web before I fused it to the yellow fabric:



Excess Backing Fabric Trimmed Away Behind Elephant Applique

Notice that, when I trimmed away the backing fabric, I got a slight puckering to the applique shape that wasn't there before.  For some projects that wouldn't be acceptable, but it's exactly the effect I wanted to achieve with this one.  Now my elephant applique was as soft and pliable as the background fabric, and if I scrunched the whole thing in my hand there was no obvious stiffness to the applique.  It looked and felt as though the applique had always been there, as if this is how the fabric came from the mill.  Perfecto!


Finished!  Soft, Snuggly Applique with No Embarrassing Show-Through

Here's the finished pillow:


Finished Elephant Pillow

Isn't that adorable?  Just the way I had envisioned it!  The yellow chenille throw pillow fabric and the gray matelassé bench cushion fabric are from Fabricut, and all of the trims are from Samuel & Sons. 

The other embroidered pillow for this project was a custom monogram.  When I design monograms for very young children, I like to use very clear, legible fonts.  Although this is for a newborn's nursery, I'm thinking about this baby growing into a preschooler, recognizing his name and his initials on the pillow once he starts learning the alphabet and learning to write his name.  I know I said that I never digitize anything with my embroidery software, but I do use it quite a bit for monograms.  I spelled out the child's name in lower case letters using a TrueType font that I digitized for embroidery in my software.  Then I combined the first name design with a large capital initial "G" that I purchased from Embroidery Arts, my absolute favorite source for machine embroidered monogram designs.  This letter is from their Moderne Monogram Set 5, and I used my embroidery software to enlarge it significantly and changed the satin stitch to a step fill stitch pattern.

I was using that same pesky Schumacher Skittles fabric that already had splatter dots embroidered all over it, so there were "panty line" issues with this design, too -- especially since my large "G" needed to be stitched in pale yellow thread over top of dark blue embroidered splatter dots.  This time, I did use the CoverUp product, and it worked like a charm, making my yellow G stand out boldly against the background fabric and completely eliminating show through.  Since the letter "G" that needed CoverUp was skinny, the stiffness of the vinyl CoverUp was negligible with this design.  I just had to go back and very carefully trim away the little whiskers of yellow vinyl that remained around the edges of the embroidery after I tore the excess product away.



Monogram Test Embroidery Completed

Automatic Basting Function

This design fit nicely into my Large Oval embroidery hoop.  As you can see, I use the built-in hoop basting function of my Bernina 750 QE as added insurance to keep the fabric and stabilizer from shifting during the embroidery process.  With this feature engaged, the machine automatically sews a long basting stitch along the perimeter of the embroidery hoop before it begins stitching the embroidery design.  These stitches are easily removed once the design has completely stitched out, and I use this basting function with every single project.



Finished Pillow: "G" is for Graham

I also did a custom diaper stacker for this project, which doesn't have any embroidery on it, but I just had to share it because it came out so cute:


Custom Diaper Stacker

I used flannel drapery interlining behind that thin cotton sheeting fabric to give it some body and a padded satin hanger inside at the top.  With a diaper stacker that cute, I'm ALMOST nostalgic for the diapering days...  No, not quite!

And here's the whole nursery:


Completed Nursery

The upholstered cornice fabric is Conifer Modern from Kravet and the leather glider chair is Natuzzi.  We also added some Samuel & Sons Dolce Pom Pom border trim to the readymade Serena & Lily crib skirt, to give it a more custom touch and to tie the bedding in with the custom items.
Here's the initial design rendering I made for the client:

 I was really happy with how this project turned out, and more importantly, the new mom was thrilled with it.  All's well that ends well.  Back to that hand applique medallion!

Rebecca's Tips for Sewing In-Seam Rope Cord Trims

If you're looking for a quick decorating fix for your home, you can't beat decorative throw pillows.  Since pillows use so little fabric, they are a great place to splurge on fancy fabrics and trimmings without breaking the bank, and they are not difficult to sew. 

In the Samuel & Sons ad above, all of the top-applied ball fringe trims have been hand-stitched to the pillow covers, and that is absolutely the way any high-end drapery workroom would apply trims with a decorative header.  The rope cord trims, on the other hand, have a twill tape or knitted lip attached to the cord so that they can be sewn successfully by machine.  I don't do a lot of this type of sewing anymore, but I made an exception recently in order to deliver a set of throw pillows to one of my favorite design clients before the holidays when my drapery workroom was backed up.  I know a lot of home sewers have difficulty achieving professional results with decorative rope cord trim, so I thought I'd share a few tips and tricks of the trade.

Kravet Frontier fabric, Habaneros Colorway

When I'm making a throw pillow, I cut two squares of fabric to the size of my pillow insert plus 1", to give me 1/2" seam allowances on all four sides.  I round off my corners slightly using a corner template from M'Fay Patterns.  Next, I like to overcast the raw edges of my pillow top and bottom pieces on my serger, especially when I'm working with a difficult fabric like this one from Kravet -- it has an intentionally wrinkled, puckered surface, and the little motifs that appear to be embroidered are actually a jacquard weave, leaving long floating strands of thread all over the back side of the fabric.  Once the edges were overcast on the serger, this fabric was totally well behaved throughout the rest of the project.



Ruffled Rouche lip cord from Robert Allen

When you're selecting your decorative rope cord, you can save yourself a lot of headaches by avoiding those that are very stiff and/or large diameter.  Why?  Think about it.  You're going to use a zipper foot to try to sew as close to your cord as possible.  If your cord is a rigid 5/8" diameter cylinder and you're sewing it against the flat bed of your sewing machine, there is no way you can get your sewing machine needle to stitch right up against the cord because the cord rolls inward onto the lip in order to lie flat.  With that kind of cord, I just machine stitch as close as I can and then supplement with hand stitching from the right side (after turning the pillow right side out) to ensure the cord is hidden.  With the Ruffled Rouche cord trim I was using for this project, I was able to push it and smoosh it out of the way sufficiently that no additional hand sewing was necessary.

Now, 1/2" seam allowances are standard for home dec sewing, but the header on my rope cord was a lot narrower than 1/2". If I just lined up the cord lip with the edge of my pillow top, my seam allowance would be too small and my pillow cover would finish too large.  I attached the seam guage to my zipper foot, set at 1/2" from the needle, and used that as a guide for my pillow fabric.  Then I just smashed the rope cord trim up against the left side of my zipper foot as tightly as I could as I stitched the trim to the pillow front.  Oh, and I did use a longer stitch length for this, to reduce puckering. 

Cord Ends Unraveled and Woven Together, Ready for Stitching

I should also mention that, when I start sewing on a rope cord, I try to stop and start in an inconspicuous place, on the bottom of the pillow between the corner and the start of the zipper.  I leave the first few inches of trim loose as I begin stitching, and when I get all the way around the pillow I leave a few inches of trim loose to overlap the starting point.  I carefully unravel the trim at both ends and weave the two ends together (this is easier with some trims than with others), pulling the yarn tails into the seam allowances and flattening them as much as possible.  Then I simply stitch across the yarn tails to secure the cord join.

Stitching Across the Yarn Tails to Join the Cord Ends

After Securing the Joined Ends, Trim the Yarn Tails Even with the Seam Allowance

Ta da!  When this pillow was finished, it was impossible to tell where the cord join was.

A few more tips: After I sew the cording to the pillow top, I insert my invisible zipper and then I sew all the way around to secure the pillow front to the pillow back, right sides together.  Then I flip the pillow over and sew around the perimeter again from the opposite side -- this helps get even closer to the cord.

Unfortunately, I was rushing to get these pillows delivered to my client and I forgot to take pictures of the finished pillows once they were stuffed.

Favorite Installation of the Day: Flower Power Awning Valance

I've been out at a multi-room drapery installation most of the day, and I have new orders to process, work orders to write up, and a slew of voicemails and emails demanding my attention, so I'm just quickly going to post this photo of my favorite treatment that installed today.  I blogged a couple of weeks ago here about a Land of Nod play tent that my client embellished -- all by herself! -- with Samuel & Sons trimmings that I ordered for her.  Today my awning valance installed in the little girl's bedroom next to her tent and I love, love, love it!

The bow rosette medallions were inspired by a magazine ad put out by Samuel & Sons:

We changed the rosette centers from white to red and added emerald green grosgrain ribbon loops to our rosettes to coordinate them with the child's bedding set (not pictured). 

Closeup of Bow Rosette Medallions

The valance fabric, from Lee Jofa, is an embroidered white linen with three-dimensional eyelash fringe effect around the blossoms. 

What's next for this little girl's room?  The Land of Nod company sells a 36" diameter floor cushion for use with this play tent, but the client wants a much larger, 52" diameter floor cushion instead that has enough room for mother and daughter to cuddle up with a good book together at story time.  We'll be doing a custom cushion and throw pillows for the inside of the tent, using more fun fabrics and trimmings.  Here's my youngest client, finalizing her trim selections:

She says pink pom poms are the best.  Who can argue with that?  :-)

Embellished Readymade Play Tent Fit for a Princess



Customized Land of Nod Play Tent

I should be packing for Paris right now (as my husband reminds me every 5 minutes), but I just had to share this project one of my clients recently completed for her granddaughter.  The green gingham play tent is a readymade item available from Land of Nod here for $129.  This is what it looks like right out of the package:

Land of Nod play tent

I designed a cute flower power awning valance for the window in this little girl's bedroom incorporating playful trimmings from Samuel & Sons Passementerie, and suggested embellishing the readymade tent with coordinating Gumdrop Button Border and Dolce Pom Pom tassels to liven it up, tie it in with the bedroom color scheme, and give it a more custom look.  Although my drapery workroom is handling the valance fabrication, my client decided to apply the trimmings to the tent herself.  Doesn't it look fabulous?  She did such a great job, and the little princess who lives in this room was so proud to show it off to me. 

1.5" Gumdrop Button Border in Fruit Punch, Samuel & Sons

The trims used on this tent are available exclusively through the design trade, but you could get a similar look using pom poms, wide grosgrain ribbon, and multicolored plastic buttons available from your favorite local or online fabric retailer (it would just take longer to sew all those buttons on individually).  Adding trim to readymade window treatments is a great way to get a custom look on a budget, especially for young children's bedrooms that you think you'll be redecorating again in a few years.  Land of Nod sells coordinating plain drapery panels in the same ginham as the tent, and they would look great with trim added to the lead (inside vertical) edges of the panels.  Another great thing about this button trim is that it adds weight and helps the flimsy fabric to hang better.

I'll be sure to post photos of the finished awning valance after it installs at the end of the month.  

Delicious Custom Pillows Come to Life!

Back in May, I posted here about a custom bench cushion and throw pillows that I'd designed for a small seating area at the base of my client's three-story spiral staircase.  We're still waiting on one backordered fabric for two of the bench pillows to come in, but everything else is finished.  My workroom did a beautiful job:

F. Schumacher, Samuel & Sons, Kravet, Lee Jofa, & Stroheim fabrics & trims

Lee Jofa pillow fabric with JAB Anstoetz trims

I also designed these cute little diva stool cushions for my client's granddaughter's play area in the Game Room.  We had leftover silk velvet Zebra patterned fabric, and leftover silk velvet drapery fabric, and added a little metallic beadcord at the seat edges to create these darling cushions with elastic edges (shower cap style) to slip over the hard particle board seats of this diminutive dinette set.  Because my workroom is amazing, and because there was enough fabric left, the little cushions are fully reversibe in case of sticky finger smears or spills:

Little Miss Muffet Loves Zebra


This deserves a close-up:

Have a wonderful Friday!

Tantalizing Tassel Fringe: It's All About Levels

Photo courtesy of Samuel & Sons

Occasionally, someone will tell me, with great conviction, that they "don't like drapery trim."  What they usually mean, though, is that they don't like the drapery trim they've seen at their friends' or neighbors' homes, or at the local Calico Curtains store.  Custom soft furnishings are all about attention to detail, and the best passementerie (fancy French word for trimmings) is like the elegant icing on an otherwise ordinary cake.  Decorative trimmings are available in a dizzying array of styles and price points, and I incorporate some kind of passementerie into almost every drapery panel, Roman shade, or pillow that I design.  However, fine trims are luxury items, and you do get what you pay for.

In this post, I'm going to show you some of the different tassel fringes available at different price points.  Although tassel fringes come in a wide range of styles and colors, I'm going to focus on traditional tassel fringe in a gold/camel color for the purpose of comparison. 

Machine-Tied Fascination Tassel Fringe from Milton Decorator Fabrics

This is a very common type of tassel fringe that you can find at your local JoAnn Fabrics as well as many online retailers.  This particular trim sells for $25/yd at Milton Decorator Fabrics.  This trim is made of synthetic fibers, probably rayon and/or poly, and the tassels are machine-tied rather than hand-tied (if you look closely at the top of the tassels, you can see the machine stitching holding the tassel together instead of a smooth coil of hand-wrapped thread).  If you need 13 yards of trim for your drapery project (enough to trim the lead edges of four 110" long drapery panels), a trim like this will run you $325.  From across the room, no one will see those machine stitches, anyway.

Hand-Tied Fascination Fringe from Milton Decorator Fabrics

...However, decorative trimmings are all about attention to detail.  Decorative trimmings invite the viewer to look more closely, and this hand-tied tassel fringe from the same collection is much more elegant and luxurious.  Also available from Milton Decorator Fabrics, this hand-tied Fascination Fringe sells for $48/yd.  If you need 13 yards of trim for that same hypothetical drapery project, your cost for the trim just bumped up to $624.  However, this is what I consider an entry-level trim collection, like the Honda of passementerie.  When you look through magazines like Architectural Digest or Southern Accents, the trims you're seeing are invariably sourced through trade-only suppliers, and most of them are considerably more expensive.

Robert Allen Scallop Trim in 14 Karat

The tassel fringe at left is available through interior designers from Robert Allen.  It's a rayon hand-tied tassel fringe with an interesting header, and it retails for $99/yd.  Going back to our imaginary drapery project, 13 yards of this trim is going to cost $1,287. 

Robert Allen Velvet Trim in 14 Karat

This Velvet Trim is from the same Robert Allen collection, still made of synthetic fibers, but it has a more elaborate header with a velvet ribbon woven through ladder stitches, and it incorporates a draped rope cord between the tassels as well.  This trim retails for $129 per yard, which translates into $1,677 if we need 13 yards to trim the edges of those four drapery panels.   

Vervain Eliot silk tassel fringe in Camel

 The trim pictured above is exclusive to the design trade from Vervain.  It's a hand-tied tassel fringe, but it's 100% silk rather than rayon.  It's lustrous, soft, and the color is rich and luminous.  No other fiber accepts dye the same way silk does, so I like to use 100% silk trims with 100% silk fabrics whenever possible for the best color match.  Of course, there's a reason not all trims are made of silk.  This tassel fringe retails for $132 per yard, so it would cost $1,716 to trim the lead edges of our four drapery panels.  That's the cost of the trim alone, in addition to the cost of the drapery panels themselves and the labor for hand-stitching the trim in place.

Photo Courtesy of Stroheim

Supposing price is not an issue, and you love silk trim, but you're looking for something more playful and unique?  Look at the impact this silk Pom Pom tassel fringe from Stroheim makes along the bottom edge of a simple balloon shade.    I love how the thread connecting the little pom pom balls is barely visible from a distance, so the little balls seem to be suspended in midair along the edge of the shade.  Here's a closeup shot of that same Stroheim pom pom fringe in a gold colorway:

Silk Pom Pom Tassel fringe from Stroheim

Stroheim trim is also sold to the Trade.  This is an especially beautiful collection from Stroheim, and the coordinating tassel tiebacks and braids are exquisite.  I love the mottled color variation in this collection -- the large drapery tiebacks almost appear tie-dyed, which gives it a Bohemian flair.  This pom pom fringe retails for $232 per yard, so the 13 yards we'd need for our four drapery panels would cost $3,016. 

Now for my favorite tassel fringe of all (favorite today, anyway): the Normandy Ornamental silk tassel fringe from Samuel & Sons, which was shown on a detail shot of a drapery panel in the photo at the very top of this post:

Normandy Ornamental molded tassel fringe in Nuance d'Or

Not only is this a silk trim, but look at the exquisite detailing!  At $290 per yard, this is the most expensive trim I'm showing you today (although it's not the most expensive trim available, not by a long shot).  Trimming those four hypothetical drapery panels with this breathtaking trim would cost $3,770 -- just for the tassel fringe.  As you can see in the photo below, that window treatment also has a coordinating wide braid trim layered next to the tassel fringe, double tassel tiebacks, a decorative hardware holdback, and what appears to be an expensive embroidered silk drapery fabric.

Photo courtesy of Samuel & Sons

Obviously, this look is not going to be practical or affordable for everyone.  If you live in an historic home, or you long for an Old World European flair, there are ways of bringing a little of this in without having to empty your kids' college accounts to pay for the draperies.

• Look for a similar trim at a less expensive price point.  From across the room, the $100/yd trim may look almost as good as the $300/yd trim.
• Consider a less expensive drapery fabric to offset the price of the trim.  Gorgeous high-end passementerie can turn a simple solid silk taffeta into an extraordinary drapery treatment, and not only are the solid fabrics less expensive than prints or embroidered patterned fabrics, but you will probably need less yardage since you won't have the waste required for matching the pattern repeat.  This is especially true for swag valances and other top treatments where the same motif needs to be centered on each piece that is cut from your fabric.
• 
  
  
  Remember that sometimes, less is more.  With our example of 110" long single width drapery panels, we can use half as much trim if we apply it horizontally instead of vertically.  An attached panel valance, as shown above, is a great way to showcase a beautiful trim in a horizontal application. 
• Embellish readymade drapery panels with designer trimmings.  Even if you're working on a tight budget and hiring a designer is out of the question, adding tassel fringe to the edges of readymade drapery panels is an easy DIY project to mimic a custom look. Start with solid silk drapery panels from someplace like Restoration Hardware.  Make sure the drapery panels are lined, preferably also interlined with flannel, or they will hang at your window like limp sheets!  Also, no matter what your sewing machine dealer tells you, machine stitching trim to drapery projects will create a horrible puckering mess. The professional drapery workroom that fabricates my designs always stitches trims like these by hand, but if you absolutely can't do it that way, you'd be better off with a hot glue gun than trying to top apply a tassel fringe by machine. Trust me!
• Pillows to the rescue!  If you fall in love with an amazing trim that is too costly for your draperies, consider using it for a throw pillow or two, where you'll only need a few yards. 

A Room Without Pillows is Not Finished Yet

This is my client's beautiful wool oriental carpet, which anchors a small seating area at the base of a three-story spiral staircase.  I have literally been crawling around the floor of my office for the past three hours, digging through piles of trim samples and fabric memos, to come up with the perfect combination of fabrics and trims to imbue this small space with warmth, personality, sophistication, and elegance.  Also fun.  Red fun!

The camel mohair chairs with nailheads are new, but they need to be enlivened with custom throw pillows, as will the teak bench on the opposite wall.  So, after obsessing about pillows for three hours, here's what I'm excited to show my client tomorrow:

 The teak bench will get two square throw pillows in this Patchwork Damask Silk in Russet from Lee Jofa, with Samuel & Sons Boulette Fringe in Cherry Bomb sewn in-seam.

This cut velvet bamboo fabric is also from Lee Jofa, and it's slated for the pillows that go in those mohair chairs.  In person, this fabric is exactly the same shade as the chair fabric, but its shimmery pile will give it enough oomph to hold its own and not disappear into the chair fabric.  This red and gold brush fringe from JAB Anstoetz will go in-seam, and the coordinating Stresa braid will be inset about 2" from the edges of the pillow, mitered at the corners.

 Another fabulous Lee Jofa velvet!  Fretwork in Claret/Chocolate is for two more throw pillows on the teak bench, and these will have knife edges, but they will be anything but ordinary with JAB key tassels on the corners that are embellished with Swarovski crystals and cultured pearls.

Last but not least, the teak bench will get a custom boxed seat cushion in this F. Schumacher & Co. bamboo Deco Velvet fabric.  This Samuel & Sons hand-embroidered ribbon will completely cover the 2" boxing, and solid black silk chair ties will secure the cushion to the bench at the front corners.  I love mixing the contemporary geometric patterned velvet with this vintage-looking ribbon trim, and the metallic embroidery reminds me of the gorgeous antique Asian textiles my client collects (several of which will likely be displayed on the walls of this space).

Okay, I lied -- there's one more pillow.  We carried this Calvin Klein ribbed ottoman fabric swatch around for months, loving the texture and the myriad hints of color that made this anything but a basic black, and finally we discovered that it complements this carpet beautifully.  So this will be one small rectangular pillow on the teak bench, with this Stroheim & Romann silk pom braid inset a few inches from the edges.  The bench cushion is gold with black, so this pillow is black with gold. 

Considering that I exhausted just about every resource imaginable, and auditioned hundreds of possible fabric and trim combinations, and didn't like ANYTHING else until I came up with this plan, I really hope my client likes it as much as I do!