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Sew Seasonal Blog Hop

4 Nov

Welcome to day 4 of the Sew Seasonal Blog Hop!

Kristy at Quiet Play and Alyce at Blossom Heart Quilts have teamed up to bring you 25 (FREE!) Christmas-themed block patterns to help put you in a Christmassy mood and get you started on your handmade holiday projects. Stay tuned for the end of my post, because there are a LOT of prizes to be won!

• • •

My block is a paper-pieced Santa hat.  I love paper-piecing and I’ve said this before, but if you can count to 10 and sew a straight line, you can paper-piece.

Paper pieced santa hat Christmas quilt block

As you can see, I couldn’t stop at just one block.  They are each 5″ square and SO adorable.

I need Christmas pillows to go with my Christmas quilt, so I now have one done!

Have you ever made a pillow?  If not, I’m going to give you a quick tutorial on how I make mine.  Making pillows is a cheap, fun, way to redecorate your home.  They are literally made of scraps, can be sewn in a couple hours, and are SO much nicer and cheaper than store-bought pillows.

First, you need to make your pillow front.  It can be one piece of really amazing fabric, or pieced, like a quilt. I suggest you get working on some of Kristy and Alyce’s blocks!

I am using a 20″x 20″ pillow form, so I made a 19″ x 19″ square (I like my pillows to be overstuffed and full).

Next,  make a quilt sandwich by layering your 19″x19″ square, a slightly larger piece of batting, and a piece of muslin, or other plain cotton (I use muslin because it is cheap and I have a bolt of it.)

Quilt as desired and true up the sides.

The front of your pillow is done!  Now on to the back:

Cut 2 pieces of backing fabric: one 19″x 11.5″ and one 19″x 14″

Cut 2 pieces of muslin the same sizes (19″x 11.5″ and 19″ x 14″)

Lay the 19″x 14″ backing and muslin with wrong sides together and hem along one 19″ side.

Cut a strip of fabric 19.5″ x 2.25″ and iron in half along the long edge.

Place 19″x 11.5″ backing and muslin wrong sides together and sew folded strip to one 19″ side using a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Fold over and top stitch.

Now you are going to assemble your pillow.

Lay your pillow front on table with wrong side up and lay your larger backing piece on top of it, lining up the bottom corners.

Lay smaller backing piece on top of larger, so that you create an overlap.  Pin around outer edges and machine stitch all pieces together using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance.

Cut 2.25″ strips of binding,  sew binding around edges and you are done!  You bind it the exact same way you bind a quilt.

I just stuff with the pillows that are already on my couch.  That way, I can fold up the Christmas pillowcases for easy storage the rest of the year.

 It looks pretty sweet with my Christmas quilt!

Now get sewing, so that you can join in on the linky party on November 30th! Also, be sure to check out Erin from Missy Mac Creations for the other project on today’s blog hop.

• • •

 And now a word from our sponsors – 

lots of great prizes ahead!
Fat Quarter Shop
Awesome Launch Day giveaways at Blossom Heart Quilts and Quiet Play2 x $10 vouchers

Intrepid Thread
Joy by Kate Spain – full fat quarter bundle + panel
Fabric Worm
2 x $25 vouchers
Sew Lux Fabric and Gifts
1 x $25 voucher
Stash Modern Fabric
$30 gift voucher
Blossom Heart Quilts
Japanese Christmas fabric – fat eighth bundle
Quiet Play
Charm pack
Plus, are you needing some Christmas fabric supplies for the hop?
Chrissy from Sew Lux Fabrics has set up a special discount code on Christmas fabrics in her shop!
If you need supplies, be sure to check it out.
The code is “sewseasonal10” and is for 10% off all Christmas fabric (Joy, Blitzen, and Sentiments) through November 18th.
A charm pack or layer cake will work perfectly for Ornamental!
Full details can be found @
Kirsty’s blog Quiet Playor

Alyce’s blog Blossom Heart Quilts

Happy sewing!

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Comments:
33 Comments
Categories:
Sewing

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Comments

  1. Jane says

    November 4, 2012 at 6:41 am

    This is so cute! Love the colours you’ve chosen for it.

    Reply
  2. Kelly G says

    November 4, 2012 at 6:52 am

    WOW – I just love how your cushion has come out. Thanks for the quick tut too! I have made cushions countless times before but never like that and to be honest I am totally loving the patchwork – y look.

    Reply
  3. Teje says

    November 4, 2012 at 7:29 am

    Hi! I love your pillow! Fantastic block for santa’s hat and great idea to use it for a pillow! Very good and simple tutorial, too! I shall link to you in my next post! I made last year also santa’s hat block which my father designed, but yours is more fun. x Teje

    Reply
  4. Suz says

    November 4, 2012 at 9:43 am

    Great use of the Santa hats! I think I will use these for my next Santa sack!

    Reply
  5. Kristy @ Quiet Play says

    November 4, 2012 at 10:00 am

    Seriously cute!! Love the different looks to the Santa hats – so sweet!

    I haven’t made a pillow cover quite like this but I think I’m definitely keen to try one with the binding! Really adds a nice touch!

    Reply
  6. Erin @ Missy Mac Creations says

    November 4, 2012 at 10:39 am

    So cute! Fabulous fabric choices.

    Reply
  7. Alyce {Blossom Heart Quilts} says

    November 4, 2012 at 11:32 am

    Oh wow!! I love it!! Thanks for joining in!!

    Reply
  8. Kelly says

    November 4, 2012 at 1:17 pm

    Janice! I love these so much!! Might have to add this to my list of things to make before Christmas. 🙂 Great job!

    Reply
  9. Rachel says

    November 4, 2012 at 2:10 pm

    LOVE the blocks, thanks SO much! They look super cute all done up next to your Christmas quilt!

    Reply
  10. Carolyn from sew.darn.quilt says

    November 4, 2012 at 3:45 pm

    Your pillow and quilt are too cute! I love this idea.
    Thank you for sharing your tutorial 🙂

    Reply
  11. Lucy @ Charm About You says

    November 4, 2012 at 4:14 pm

    That is beautiful!!! Love the layout and fabrics you used. The quilt is totally stunning too.

    Reply
  12. Amy in UK says

    November 4, 2012 at 10:14 pm

    Great pillow!! Love the Santa hats!!

    Reply
  13. Carin says

    November 4, 2012 at 10:46 pm

    Ohhhh … I love your pillow !!

    Reply
  14. Beth says

    November 5, 2012 at 1:55 am

    That is so cute Janice!!! I love all the colors and fabrics you put together! And your holiday quilt looks amazing!

    Reply
  15. liveacolorfullife says

    November 5, 2012 at 3:37 am

    This is super cute. Thanks for all the great hints too.

    Reply
  16. cindy j says

    November 5, 2012 at 5:22 am

    LOVE the santa hat pillow!!! Did you design the block yourself or buy it or find it on the net? I so want to make some of those blocks for my grand kids this Christmas. 🙂

    Reply
  17. Kim says

    November 5, 2012 at 4:46 pm

    What a great little tutorial on making a pillow. I like the binding as opposed to piping. And also the print you used as the edge on the envelope backing – what a great attention to detail! I love the paper pieced Santa hats as well – and the way you coordinated the colors. Just an awesome piece. Thanks for sharing!
    -k

    Reply
  18. wendy says

    November 5, 2012 at 4:57 pm

    Your cushion is lovely! I was all geared up to try paper piecing, until you said I need to be able to count to 10 and sew a straight line! I’m doomed!

    Reply
  19. Kelsey says

    November 5, 2012 at 8:59 pm

    SO Cute!!

    Reply
  20. Jeneta says

    November 6, 2012 at 5:05 am

    I have just the fabric for a cushion cover like yours! Your Christmas quilt is ADORABLE!!

    Reply
  21. Taryn says

    November 8, 2012 at 12:40 pm

    Adorable pillow! The colors you chose are my favorite Christmas-y color combination. (I love the quilt too!)

    Reply
  22. debra says

    November 8, 2012 at 8:14 pm

    Such cuteness….great paperpiecing!!

    Reply
  23. Lauren aka Giddy99 says

    November 9, 2012 at 1:52 am

    What an adorable pillow! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!

    Reply
  24. Sandra V. says

    November 9, 2012 at 7:56 am

    Love the quilt and pillow.

    Reply
  25. Carolyn Howland says

    November 11, 2012 at 8:01 am

    Your Santa hats made wonderful pillows, great work.

    Reply
  26. Holly says

    November 21, 2012 at 4:39 am

    This is such a cute pillow! Love the Andy Warhol style Santa hats!

    Reply
  27. Susie says

    January 13, 2013 at 11:16 am

    I love your Santa Hats Pillow!! I love your color /fabric choices!!

    Susie

    Reply
  28. Keisha says

    November 13, 2014 at 7:58 am

    Hi there to every , since I am truly eager of readeing this webpage’s post to be updated regularly.
    It consists of nicee data.

    Reply
  29. Beth A says

    August 19, 2015 at 10:47 pm

    Hi, I love the Santa Hat block, and I have no idea if you will get this since I’m writing so much past the time, but is there a link to the Santa hat block? I’m not sure how to access that pattern. I would appreciate the help!

    Beth

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Cats and Boats and Coasters « NERO'S POST AND PATCH says:
    November 6, 2012 at 6:22 am

    […] from ‘Better of Thread’ has made adorable block with Santa’s hat and then she made the most fun and beautiful pillow […]

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  2. And Sew On…A Paper Pieced BOM | better off thread… says:
    January 12, 2013 at 9:13 pm

    […] wall hanging for my sewing room.  I love Kristy’s paper-pieced patterns.  I made this pillow for the Sew Seasonal Blog Hop using her Santa hat block design and I’ve been trying to […]

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    February 28, 2013 at 1:38 am

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  4. Birthday Pillow & Mug Rug | better off thread… says:
    June 1, 2014 at 8:07 pm

    […] look, so the fabrics need to be able to hold everything in!   You can find my pillow tutorial here.  The back is envelope style and each side of the envelope has a layer of outer fabric, muslin and […]

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