a letter to open {a pillow tutorial}

I got carried away when I saw Achaia embroidering (and Nan, and Abiah, and Mommy....).  I had to do it too.  I decided to use osnaberg as my pillow base, stitching on it to my hearts content. Now, for a fun tutorial for my all-time-favorite way to make pillows and my first-ever-to-make-kind of pillow. Lovingly called (by us anyway) the envelope pillow.

A Quick Tutorial for the Envelope Pillow

What you'll need:

-fabric for the front of your pillow, but don't forget to add seam allowance. (Whatever size you like. I decided to go with a size that would fit a pillow form that we had in our closet, just because I couldn't wait.)

-fabric for the back x 2.  I needed two 17 1/2'' pieces of 45'' fabric. (I couldn't resist using one of my favorite pieces from our friend, Jennifer Paganelli's collection, Girls World Vibe. It looks amazing with my favorite Va Va Bloom Vera Bradley blanket too. Yay!)

-pillow form to fit your size of pillow top ... Don't look any further than these fantastic pillow forms from PillowCubes (by the way - how cute is that name?!) Run go check out their site and feel free to use the coupon code MarieMadeline10 to get 10% off your order!

And the usual items: sewing machine, thread, and scissors.

Let's get started!

1. Choose your fabric. (Probably my favorite part.)

2. When you lay the pillow top on your backing, you should have at least 1'' extra on each side. Don't forget to x 2 your backing.

3. With the folds in, overlap about 6".

4. Lay your pillow front face down onto your over-lapped pillow back.

5. Sew around all four sides of your pillow front using 1/4'' seam allowance. Once you're back where you started, make sure your pillow back is not caught in any places.  If everything is perfect, cut off the excess backing, using your pillow front as your guide.

6. Turn your pillow right side out. Open up your "envelope" and stuff your pillow form inside. Adjust till it looks just right. Oh joy!!!

Your pillow is finished!

Oh. My Goodness. My embroidery skills??? After seeing Kay and Nanny at work, I think mine must look a little bit silly. But I love it anyway. Probably one of my favorite letters I've ever sent.

xoxoxo Abi

Comments

[Nanny]

Abs, I think this pillow is a grand way to try out all the stitches in our new embroidery stitch booklet. How do you think Mom would like her denim skirt to look like your pillow? Keep up the good work!! LOVE TO ALL MY GIRLS

[Beth]

I love the tutorial.....I think that would make a great gift for my niece or even my nephew. Love the strong colors and the backing material is fun and bright.
Thank you for the great idea!