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Free Valentine’s Day Heart Pillow Tutorial

February 20, 2012

I know, I know, I’m a little late for Valentine’s Day this year, but we’re just getting this blog up and running so I figured I’d post it late and then hopefully it can help some people out next year!

I had a lot of fun putting together this little Vday pillow.  If you’d like to make one of your own, here’s what  you’ll need-

1 12×16 pillow insert (I use the same one all year round, just switch to a seasonal cover), 1 fat quarter of pink fabric for roses in heart, 1/3 yard of 44″ wide brown fabric (I used linen), a 12″x12″ piece of white fabric (I used linen again), 24″ of lace, 30 beads for flower centers, about 10″ of ribbon, 2 buttons, needle, thread, sewing machine

First we’ll cut everything to size.  Here’s what you need

Pillow Front: 2 pieces of white fabric one 12″x7″, the other 12″x3 1/2″ , 1 piece of brown fabric 12″x6″, 2 pieces of lace each 12″ long, 10 rosettes made from your fat quarter- you can cut 10 strips each 18″x10″ and then follow our rosette tutorial to make them.

Pillow Back: 2 pieces of brown fabric, one 12″x13″, the other 10″ x 12″, two 4″ pieces of ribbon

 First sew your three front pieces of fabric together, lining up the 12″ sides with the brown in the center.  Iron your pillow front.  Sew lace on top of each of your seams- just pin in place and sew right on top of it with a matching thread (the seam blends right in with the intricate lace design)

Print out our heart pillow pattern, cut out the heart and trace it with a removable marking pen right where you want it on your pillow front.

Take your 10 rosettes and arrange them in the heart you traced.  They don’t have to fit perfectly yet, just generally fill in your heart.

Sew your hearts into place.  To start, just tack them into place by sewing their centers, but not around the outside petals.  Now is the time to add 3 beads to the center of each flower to give them a little shine.

This is what the back of your piece will look like when you’ve got all 10 flower tacked into place.  You’ll understand the importance of this after reading the next step!

Now that your roses are in place, you can smoosh them into just the spot you want them.  Go around with a needle and thread (by hand!) and sew down the outside petals of each rose.  Make sure there is no brown showing between the roses.

When you’re done, the back of your piece will look like this.  See how there are a lot more stitches now?

Now that your front is complete, we’ll move to the back.  Take your two brown pieces of fabric over to your ironing board.  One each piece, take a 12″ side of the fabric and fold it in about 1/2″.  Iron that down, and then fold it in again but this time about 1″.  Then go and sew each piece down to create a nice wide hem.

Now that we’ve got some nice hems of the opening of the pillow back, we’re going to sew on our ribbon.  I used this ribbon instead of making button holes, but if you’re rather you can just go traditional.  If not, go ahead and fold your 4″ piece of ribbon in half and tie a knot.  Take the longer back piece and fold it in half to find the middle.  Measure 1 1/2″ in from the center, unfold your fabric and pin once piece of ribbon right above the hem you just sewed.  Repeat with the other ribbon, but this time measure 1 1/2 ” up from the center instead of down (so when you unfold your piece the ribbon pieces are 3″ apart)

Sew the ribbons in place

To complete your pillow, lay your pillow front (right side facing up) on a flat surface, top it with the longer side of your pillow back (the one with the ribbons) this one will be right side facing down

Top that with the shorter back piece, right side facing down.  Pin in place and sew all along the outside of your pillow.  If you are using a fabric that frays easily (like I did with the linen!)  be sure to do a zigzag stitch with your machine.  That will help the edges no to fray.

When you are finished, trim all four corners of your pillow so they’ll make a nice point.  Turn your piece and iron it flat.

Alright!  Last step!  Put your pillow form into the pillow case.  With your removable marking pen, mark where the ribbon loop ends.  Remove the form (I know, so disappointing- right when you thought you were done!) and sew your two buttons right on the marks you just made.  Remove your marks and put your pillow form back in there! (for keeps this time) You’re done!

Free Tutorials, Sewing, Throw Pillows, Valentine's Day · 7 Comments

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Comments

  1. Chantal Goenee says

    February 14, 2013 at 7:54 am

    I absolutely love this pillow. It is amazing! I really really really wanna have this beautiful and sweet pillow. Is there any chance I can buy this one? (I am not that creative myself). Kind regards, Chantal

    Reply
  2. gayle says

    February 1, 2014 at 4:20 pm

    beautiful, thank you so very much! i love this pillow. I too have medical problems due to getting hit in a car wreck and chose sewing for my work at home new career. I love you and wish you the best and i am following you and enjoying the ride with you. thanks for the invite. have a wonderful day. you are in my prayers. xoxo

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      February 1, 2014 at 5:06 pm

      Thank you Gayle! I am sorry to hear about your health issues, but appreciate you sharing with me. It’s comforting to know I’m not the only one figuring this all out.

      Reply
  3. Kathleen says

    February 1, 2014 at 10:11 pm

    Beautiful, can’t wait to make it.

    Reply
    • Jessica says

      February 1, 2014 at 10:16 pm

      Thanks Kathleen! I’d love to see how it turns out!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Tutorial: Vintagey pillow with a fabric rose heart | Sewing | CraftGossip.com says:
    February 1, 2014 at 3:37 pm

    […] give it a lovely vintagey look.  Make it for Valentine’s day or for year-round décor.  Go to Sweet Briar Sisters for the […]

    Reply
  2. Fancy DIY pillow ideas – creative and easy says:
    May 23, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    […] sweetbriarsisters.com […]

    Reply

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Hi, I’m Jessica

I’m on a mission to create handmade items that are cherished for years to come. I hope you’ll join me along the way!

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Instagram post 2327252897543629252_417393240 It is finally getting warm here and I'm so excited for long days in sunny fields.
Instagram post 2321314328934193695_417393240 Did you know that ladies during the Regency Era often wore a shawl because the breezy empire waist gowns they wore were a little chilly? ⁣
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To the younger generation they were progressive. Napoleon's wife was the one who made the style popular and because of her influence it symbolized a new way of thinking. (Marie Antoinette's way of thinking was, after all, proven slightly ineffective.) ⁣
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Sure, the dress was a little chilly. But it was a way to leave dated ideas in the past. So they grabbed a shawl and moved forward!⁣
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I know that a shawl on a doll won't automatically teach a kid all that history. But it might give us the opportunity to tell the story as we play, and I want to add as many of those opportunities as I can.
Instagram post 2320150626645961038_417393240 What's the best glue gun out there?⁣
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I love the ease of hot glue, but have always found my glue gun work rather sloppy.⁣
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A while back I talked to my good friend Erin from @thegreyrose about this. She is the closest thing to a Glue Gun Expert there is: She uses a glue gun full time to create her amazing felt floral arrangements. Her work is delicate and skillful, which are words I'd never use to describe my own glue gun efforts.⁣
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Instagram post 2318523881759128711_417393240 amen.
Instagram post 2316180582466133425_417393240 The bonnets are finished and I'm off to work on top hats and cravats. Because we definitely need a Mr. Darcy Rabbit.
Instagram post 2315017019194132946_417393240 The next Jane Austen play set tutorial is up and running on our blog!⁣
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This week we make bonnets and shawls to complete for our Regency bunnies and I can hardly contain my excitement.⁣
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