Just Another Hang Up: Pillow Tutorial & Pattern...

Monday, June 07, 2010

Pillow Tutorial & Pattern...

Damask, swirls and polka-dots -- that's a lot going on at once, but I think in this case it works. Oh, and let's not forget the flowers!

This next week I am going to help a cute friend of mine learn some basic sewing techniques. She has a machine, but she's never mastered its use so we are going to see if we can remedy that! I wanted to come up with a pillow pattern that would teach a few techniques without being overwhelming. I've filled my house with pillows lately, so I made this pillow with my daughter's living room in mind. She has chocolate brown, turquoise, lime green and a splash of orange in her living room. The colors are vibrant and sassy and so very cute. So, I decided to make her a couple of pillows for use in that room. Here's the first pillow I came up with...

I bought the fabrics I used for this pillow at Hobby Lobby -- the colorful canvas fabrics and the dreamy, organic muslin. HL has recently purchased some canvas fabrics that are both contemporary and beautiful! I love the crazy selection I chose for this pillow. For those of you interested in the pattern for this pillow, I will be happy to provide it below. Below are the measurements for each unfinished strip of fabric. Just click on the photo to enlarge it if you can't see the measurements clearly.

When you have the strips sewn together -- using 1/2 inch seams -- your pillow top will look like the one in the photo below and the completed measurements of your pillow top will be 15 inches x 20.5 inches...

I made my flowers a little different this time. I used this tutorial at Shanty 2 Chic, and built my muslin flowers on a piece of felt. For my flowers I cut a strip 1.5 x 44 inches and folded it in half. Then, as per instructions in the tutorial, I built the flowers on the felt and used hot glue as I went. When the flowers were complete I attached them to the top of the pillow with fabric glue. Making the flowers this way wasn't particularly easier than when I had previously made them, but I think they are made more "durable" by attaching them to another piece of fabric.

I made an envelope style closure on the back of the pillow and again used a 1/2 inch seam to sew the front of the pillow to the back.

Then I put a pillow insert into this pillow cover. This pillow is more generous than most (I'm not a proponent of skimpy pillows), so I made my own pillow insert. The finished measurements of this pillow are 14 inches by 19.5 inches.

To make an insert just sew another pillow the same size as the one above (use inexpensive lining fabric), stuff it with a package of stuffing ($2.98 at Hobby Lobby), and slip stitch the hole shut. Then put this insert into your pillow cover, like I did below...

I love the unconventional symmetry of this pillow. The orange swirl fabric is situated in the center of the pillow, with one panel of polka-dot fabric on one side and two strips of damask and muslin on the other side.

Enjoy!