Valentine's Day Crossword Sham Tutorial

This project has been planned for some time now.  The idea first came to me when I saw the crossword fabric from Sew Me A Song.  It's from Bungle Jungle by Tim and Beck for Moda in grey.  In addition to Sew Me A Song, this print can also be found at Sew Fresh Fabrics, the The Fat Quarter Shop and Marmalade Fabrics in multiple colors (but the grey is my favorite!).  

I wanted to make a Valentine's Day crossword patchwork.  I made this pillow sham to fit a normal bed sized pillow. What I love about it is that it could be made for a guy and how many Valentine's Day projects can you say that about?

I started by cutting 19 squares measuring 3 1/2" from Alexander Henry's grey crosshatch using my 3 1/2" square Sizzix die. Then I appliqued the letters needed to spell "Valentine," "Kiss," "Heart," and "Love" using two prints from Basic Grey's Kissing Booth and Sizzix Lollipop Shadow Alphabet Dies.  I applied the letters using a fusible webbing.

Next I sewed the word "Valentine" together with 1/4" seams.  I cut all the "filler" pieces that I needed out of the crossword print.  You can use the Sizzix 3 1/2" strip cutter for many of these.  I cut the narrow red border to 1" using the 1" strip cutter. The solid Kona medium grey borders were cut with a 2 1/2" strip cutter.  I applied fusible fleece to the back of the pillow sham front and quilted around the edge of each letter, in straight lines in the grey section, and in a meandering box pattern in the crossword sections.

I made the back of the pillow a simple envelope closure and bound in the red grunge print.  The finished dimensions of the sham are 27" x 20".

If you want to make one, you've got a month still till Valentine's Day!