Pillow-y Goodness

We established earlier this week that triangles are not my friends. But squares? That’s a different story altogether.

I recently arranged a swap with a friend who is a graphic designer by profession and knitter by all-consuming hobby (not that I know anything about all-consuming hobbies). She made me a cool new header for this blog. It was time for me to make the pillows promised in return.

I really wanted to do something fancy. I have all the pillows I need in my house, so it would be fun to make some funky ones. But the fabric that my friend wanted transformed into pillows was so lovely that I had to ignore the allure of more complicated ideas and went with two simple square pillows with envelope backs instead.

My friend purchased this fabric ages ago from Purl Soho. Isn’t it the cutest?

Here are some quick notes if you want to jump on the pillow-making bandwagon:

• I used quilting cotton for both the front and the back of these pillows.
• I interfaced the front with a layer of fusible fleece, just to give it more substance. I used a 1/2” seam allowance on this project, so I cut my fleece 3/8” shorter than my front fabric on all sides. Doing so reduced the bulk in the seam allowance while ensuring that the fleece would get caught in the seam, making the construction more secure.
• I used Amanda Jean’s tutorial for envelope-backed pillows. Her approach is the way to go when making pillows with quilting cottons. She uses a double layer of fabric on the back, and it makes a noticeable difference.

I finished both pillows off with Kona Lipstick on the back.

It took me an hour to make two pillows. I never accomplish much of anything in an hour. I’m hooked now: There will be more pillows for me in the near future. : )

Have you encountered any especially cool pillow tutorials or patterns lately? I’ve had my eye on Christina Cameli’s Color Gradient Pillow, Jaybird Quilts’ Candy Dish Pillow, and Leigh Laurel Studios’ Scrappy Christmas Pillow.

Linking up to TGIFF at Quilt Matters and Finish It Up Friday ...