Triceratops Project - Part Eight - Done!

 I finished my triceratops pillow.  You can catch up with this project {here}

I am really happy with the result.  I love the embroidered motifs, the colors and the rickrack trim:

To construct the pillow cover, I cut the orange backing fabric to the same size as the front panel.  I also cut a same sized piece of white fabric to line the back of my front panel.  This makes for a nice smooth surface.

I put the front and back panel right sides together and added the lining piece on the back of the front panel and pinned all three layers together. 

Before I sewed the layers together, I hand basted all the way around.  It really kept everything smooth with no puckering and I was able to remove all my pins before sewing on the machine.

I sewed all the sides but left a open area to turn the fabric back out and to use to add the pillow fill.

Then I turned this right sides out and started filling it with fiber fill.

When the pillow had the puffiness I wanted, I hand sewed up the opening. 

This was a really simple project and I love the result. 

I have a note of caution to share that I learned the hard way. When I finished sewing the three layers together and turned the pillow cover right side out, I was shocked to see that on the vertical sides of the pillow, the rickrack was right next to the seam line with hardly any white border.  The horizontal edges looked perfect with a nice white border between the rickrack and the seam. 

So...I have learned that if you are adding a flat trim that is not going to be incorporated into the edge seams, make sure to measure the distance between the outside edge of your trim and the seam allowance or stitching line, making doubly sure it is the same all the way around. 

I had to turn this back inside out, remark the two affected seam lines to account for the width difference, sew along the new marks and then remove my previous stitching!  A lot of work I could have avoided if I had been a bit more carful with my measuring :)