making a pillow without a pillow form

I've got a thing for pillows. How about you?

But I get bored with the ones I can get at the store because they just don't have the kind of feel that I like. So in the midst of my weekend, I found myself needing a diversion to take my mind off some less pleasant things.

Nothing works better for me then a crafty kind of project. And I decided I needed another pillow. Problem was that I was lacking a pillow form. Being a fairly stubborn person, I dug around the studio and came up with a solution that I think it kind of neat so I wanted to share it with you. :)

Here's what I made:

The red center panel was printed with this thermofax screen. Its a fun one, I can tell I'm going to use it on all kinds of projects.

The rest of it was made with commercial fabric from my stash and polyfill. Yup, you read that right - polyfill. I'm really digging that part, means I can make any size and shape pillow I want for way cheaper and I can make it as squishy or firm as I prefer. (Might be a good way to make a doggie pillow too!) All good things when it can be tailored to your needs.

Its super super easy to make this so I thought I'd step it out for you. Give it a try! :)

1. Screen print the center panel on your choice of fabric. (This design would look good over top of a commercial print too in a contrasting paint color. Its got so much fun movement!)

2. Decide how big you want your pillow to be and cut the borders wide enough to help you get there. My pillow is 14" wide but I've got the urge now to make a GIANT one now.

3. Sew the borders to the center panel after your print has dried. I ran several lines of blue stitching around it to bring out the color of the paint, just a nice little detail.

4. Cut the backing piece to the final size of the pillow and stitch the front and back together. You can do what I did and just sew them together so the edges stay raw (I do love a good raw frayed edge of fabric) or sew them together right sides together and then turn them for a crisp edge.

5. Stuff away with polyfill! :) I cut a slit into the back piece for stuffing (and then stitched it closed after I got the firmness I wanted) but you can also leave an opening along the seam to shove the stuffing in and then just whip stitch it shut.

I find these little projects a great break from the bigger ones. Just something fun to add a dot of interest in the hustle and bustle. Plus you end up with something you can use - doesn't get much better then that! :)