Hawaiian quilts are one of those amazing traditional arts that look totally modern. They are usually made by folding a solid fabric from the center and cutting it the way you would cut a paper snowflake, but into a beautiful and wild looking tropical shape. Many of the traditional patterns look like pineapples, plumeria or palm fronds.  This shape is then hand appliquéd onto the top of a solid colored background fabric and then the whole thing is hand quilted in concentric lines around the shape.

I have always wanted to make a Hawaiian quilt or pillow, but I find the time consuming process rather daunting! Nonetheless I have always kept making a Hawaiian quilt in the back of my mind as a goal and inspiration. Recently I started thinking about a way to simplify the process and our wool felt popped into my mind. You don’t have to hem felt which cuts out the laborious hand turned appliqué step and we recently started carrying our beautiful wool felt by the yard so I could make my piece as big as I wanted.

Our 100% wool felt comes in the most luminous, saturated colors and each bolt is two yards wide (yes, two yards wide!). I picked out two of the most vibrant colors I could find and made these two huge floor pillows.  The floral shape is stitched onto the background with bright yellow silk and wool Trio needlepoint yarn.  Creating these two pillows was so much fun! The felt is beautiful and easy to work with and the whole thing came together so fast. I felt like a painter making big colorful gestures.

The finished pillows are both bold and familiar, they make a refreshing and dramatic statement in any room! Each pillow is backed with a sturdy linen cotton blend so you can feel okay about tossing them on the floor. If you’d like to make your own Hawaiian Style Felt Floor Pillows please visit my Project Journal by clicking here.

Aloha and happy sewing! --Molly