Disclaimer: The “everywhere” in “AT-AT Everywhere” applies to several things – one of them being my attention span. That being said, this project is getting divvied up into multiple entries and probably interspersed between other posts . I will (try to) give a pseudo how-to, since I didn’t pull this project from any of my nifty sewing books. As mentioned previously, my grandma taught me how to make pillowcases in high school, and I learned the proper steps and supplies needed for appliqueing by harassing the same poor lady at Jo-Ann’s three days in a row.
What gift do you get for the “Resourceful Has-It-All”? We’re talking about someone who already has everything (that a normal person could afford to buy), and can find anything you buy for half the price somewhere online. And if you thought you were clever already finding it for half off, they’d probably be to find it for free somehow. You now know a little bit about Kevin. So as you can imagine, I had quite the dilemma when brainstorming birthday gifts for him this past summer.
I conceded that handmade was the way to go. Why robots? I have a not-so-secret obsession with robots that Kevin is aware of, and to an extent perhaps even shares. The shape of the robot applique was inspired by the below necklace I saw (and have been pining over) on a random Google image search a few months prior.
I made the applique stencils by drawing them on a manila folder and cutting out the pair. One thing to remember when creating appliques is to keep the shapes relatively simple, because complicated shapes are really difficult to stitch on. After starting the appliqueing process, I quickly began to regret not choosing a simpler silhouette. Like a square.
Next, I traced the outline of the stencil onto the green applique fabric. I was worried that the green wouldn’t look as vibrant against the dark purple pillowcase, so I purchased some fusible midweight interfacing and made another set of robots a bit smaller than the ones made from the green cloth. This semi-opaque white backing for the applique kept the green bright, and also prevented holes from forming when I stitched it to the pillowcase.
Click on the thumbnails below to view them larger. More to come next time!
AT-AT Everywhere 
Hey Allison, cute blog! You are very crafty, I envy your skills. I think that necklace is made by Loungefly…you might be able to find it online or at some boutique maybe?
thanks cathy! HOW did you know where to find that necklace??!! it seems to be sold out everywhere. sigh
You should do one with droids!
Spoiler Alert:
These end up awesome.