How to Make a Quilted Pillow Cover

Instruction for DIY Pillow Project

1. Cut one fat quarter of your focus fabric, a fat quarter of your star fabric, a fat quater of your background fabric, and a half yard of backing fabric. 

2. Cut a 7.5 inch block from your focus fabric, and make sure it is centered.

3. From the background, cut 4 squares that are 4 inches each and 4 squares that are 4.5 inches each. From your star point fabric, cut 4 squares that are 4.5 inches each.

4. Grab your 4.5 inch squares from each color. Pick whichever fabric is lighter in color, and draw a diagonal line from corner to corner. Repeat for all your squares. 

5. Take two different color squares and put them right side together. Sew a scant quarter inch away from the line you created. Repeat with your other sets of squares. 

6. Cut your half square triangle apart. Line up on the line you drew, not the line you sewed, and cut. Then, press them open with the seam alliance going toward the dark side. 

7. Square up your triangles to 4 inches. Line up your seam at the corret angle, cut on two sides, turn, line up again, and cut on two sides. Repeat with all your squares. 

8. Lay out your blocks to make sure they are correct. Place your background square in the corners, and then your half square triangle spots on the sides. 

9. Stitch your rows together but lining up your pieces and using a quarter inch seam. 

10. Stitch your rows together but lining up your pieces and using a quarter inch seam. 

11. Press your seams for your top and bottom rows, and then press the rest of your seams, the outter rows the seams go to the outside, and the middle row the seams go to the inside. 

12. Put the outter row on top of the inner row facing each other, so that you can feel with your fingers where the seams overlap. 

13. Stitch this together with a quarter inch seam. Repeat for the other side as well. 

14. Press fusible fleece to the back of your block. 

15. Remove your presser foot and add a free motion foot, before you begin quilting. Lower your foot and create your own design. 

16. For the back of your pillow cut two 14.5 X 10.5 inch pieces. Mark a line 1/4 inch from the edge on both pieces. Fold over on that line press, fold over again and press again. 

17. Take this to your sewing machine and stitch all the way from one end to the other, and repeat for the other backing piece. 

18. Put your pillow top right side up, and your backing pieces on top of it with your folded pieces up so that they don't show on your finished pillow. 

19. Line up the edges as best you can, and pin around all the edges before you sew it together. 

20. Sew all the way around your pillow. There is no need to leave a hole in your project. 
    
    Tip: Pull out the pins do not sew over them. 

21. Clip the corners 2-3 threads away. Do not cut your stitching, and turn your project right side out. Insert your pillow form and you are all done!