* I received this fabric from The Ribbon Retreat free of charge. All designs and opinions are 100% my own.
Hi, friends! Did you see the big Dr. Seuss room reveal on Monday? Eek!! I am SOOOOO relieved that this room is finally DONE, and I love the results. Almost as much as my boy loves it! So worth the effort to see that grin, don’t you think? 🙂
Today we are going to talk about making fabulously fun pillows! They are set up like colorblocked pillows, but the fabrics make them more like pattern-blocked pillows. Oh, and just for fun I mixed it a little ric rac. I just love ric rac. I have a total weakness for it. I made one for my boy’s reading closet (Another post on that later—eeek!!! One of my favorite parts of the room!) and two for the bed. I am going to show you exactly how I made the closet pillow, and then we will peek at the bed ones just for fun. It’s the exact same process to piece the front with all of the different shapes and sizes of pillows, you just adjust the measurements when you cut.
Isn’t this a cute little pillow? To make this I used a pillow form that I already owned, the Cat in the Hat fat quarters, red ric rac, and some plain blue fabric for backing. The amount of fabric that you will need will vary depending on your pillow. I used less than half of a yard for my pillow backing on this little guy, but much more on the full sized pillow case for the bed.
To begin I measured my pillow. I knew that I was going to close my pillow completely since it was a cotton insert, but if you want a removable case for your pillow form they are many tutorials out there about envelope pillow casings and zippered pillow casings. My pillow was 16″ wide and 13″ long. I cut for a seam allowance across, and I allowed for a seam allowance PLUS the folding closed step at the end (shown in this tutorial) in the other direction. I hope that made sense. I cut a backing piece that was 17 inches across and 14 1/2 inches tall. As you can see below, for the front I simply played with my fat quarters laying them out on top of the pillow until they were about right, cut pieces a bit generously, and then trimmed them up later.
If you are NOT going to use ric rac then you can probably switch up the order on this some. If you are going to use ric rac then stick with the plan laid out below. 🙂 I began by sewing A and B together with a small seam allowance.
Now use an iron to press the seam open OR toward the darker fabric, as shown below.
Now cut your ric rac with a bit of extra length. Lay it out on the RIGHT SIDE of the fabric and pin it very precisely along the seam.
Slowly and carefully sew the ric rac onto the fabric along the seam. Be sure to backstitch at the start and finish of the ric rac, and be sure to use the same color thread as the ric rac! I almost made that unfortunate mistake! Trim the ric rac that is hanging off of the fabric in excess.
Now pin and sew A/B to C using a small seam allowance.
Once again press the seam flat or to the side in the direction of the darker fabric.
Trim up the sides of your pieced front so that it is a nice square/rectangle. Place the back and the front piece together, right sides toward one another, and pin. Sew around THREE of the sides, being sure to backstitch at the start and finish.
Turn your creation right-side out and stuff your pillow inside. Almost done!
Use your fingers to carefully take your unsewn side and fold the fabrics inward, pinning carefully and often as you go, as shown above.
Carefully and slowly sew this opening shut, being sure to backstitch at the start and finish.
DONE! Wasn’t that so much easier than you expected?! And I think it looks like a million bucks, don’t you? I am going to be doing it on a body pillow and two varied sizes of throw pillows for his bed, so be sure to check out my blog for the finished room reveal!
For the two bed pillows I just switched up the measurements and repeated the same process, except that I made one open on the side like a pillowcase and one of them had an envelope back (like I did in THIS tutorial).
Thanks for stopping by, and have a lovely day!
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Love the turn out of the pillows.
I love the pillow. Super cute!! Thanks for the tutorial 🙂
The pillows turned out so cute!!!
I cannot wait for the Truffula Trees tutorial so I can make mine for the pre-k classroom!
They are shockingly easy! 🙂 They will be up mid March! 🙂 PERFECT for a classroom!