Here are step by step instructions for making your own quilted patchwork throw pillow with an envelope back. This is a great project for using up scraps, or those extra 2.5 inch squares and strips. I made mine out of scraps from a quilt for our bed. The envelope style backing makes the cover quick and easy to remove for laundering (which is a pretty important feature in my house with small children!).
This tutorial was written with a beginner in mind. If you are an experienced quilter looking to make this pillow, see the measurements below and you should be all set. All measurements are done in inches, and fabrics used are quilter cottons.
You will need,
- A 14×14″ pillow form/insert
- 49 2.5″ squares of cotton prints
- 2 backing pieces measuring 12×16″
- 17×17″ square for lining
- 17×17″ square of batting
- 2 strips of 2.5×44″ for binding
Difficultly: Beginner
How to Make the Quilted Top
First, arrange your 2.5″ squares in rows of 7 in any order you’d like. For this pillow, I used 25 squares in busy prints, 24 squares in a low volume fabric, and then arranged them every other one as shown above. Start sewing your squares together into rows of 7 using an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance.
Next, turn your rows face down and iron the seams to the side. The seam of each row should be ironed in the opposite direction of the one above it, as shown in the photo above. This will create a “nesting seam” when you sew your rows together and help the corners match up. Double check and make sure your rows didn’t accidently get out of order before sewing them together.
Start sewing each row together. Above is a photo of how the seams should match up and lay. You can feel it “lock” with your fingers. Pin into place, and sew with a 1/4″ seam all the way down.
After all of your rows are sewn together, iron the whole piecing flat with the new seams pressed towards the side (direction does not matter this time).
Then it’s time to make a sandwich! Lay down your 17×17 lining material and iron flat, then smooth down the piece of batting, and finally place the top with right side facing up. Smooth the each layer as flat as you can get it, the pin together with safety pins (or basting spray).
I made the lining and batting oversized on purpose since this leaves plenty of room for error. If your comfortable with being accurate, definitely feel free to use a smaller piece to save fabric.
Next, quilt! Top stitch all layers however you’d like. I did straight lines up and down 1/4″ away from each seam (as shown above). Straight lines are fast and easy.
I highly recommend using a walking foot to quilt on your sewing machine. This will feed each layer of fabric through your machine evenly, greatly reducing bunching (and headaches!).
Adding the Envelope Backing
To make the envelope style backing, hem one long side of each backing piece. Fold over the edge by 1/4″, then fold it once more. Iron, pin into place, and top stitch it all the way down.
With wrong sides facing each other, position the backing pieces on top. They should be overlapping each other by about 2/3rds of the pillow top, as pictured above. The backing pieces were cut to be oversized on purpose to leave room for error when adjusting.
Stitch around the entire perimeter of the pillow with slightly less than a 1/4″ seam. When your about to stitch over the hem of the backing pieces, sew over them back and fourth multiple times. Those spots will have lots of tension when stuffing the pillow insert inside, so it’s important to give them some extra strength.
Then trim off all of the extra fabric. At this point, you can test it with the pillow insert to see how it fits!
Making and Adding the Binding
Take the two 2.5″ strips and lay them as shown in photo #1 above, right sides facing each other. Sew them together in a diagonal line from corner to corner. The photo is marked with pink to help you see where.
Then, trim off the excess fabric like shown in photo #2. It should have around 1/4″ allowance, but doesn’t need to be perfect.
In the third photo, you’ll see how the two strips are now connected with the diagonal seam. Combining them with the diagonal seam will help reduce bulk later on.
I apologize to everyone for the mismatched print, whoops! That helps you see the seam better in the photos at least. 😉
Fold the strip in half lengthwise, and press (shown in photo 4).
Now it’s time to attach the binding! Place it directly on top of your pillow case with the raw edges on the outside edge. Leave a tail at least 7 inches long, and start sewing about four inches from the nearest corner (to leave a “gap” on one edge that we’ll get to later).
With a 1/4″ seam (going slightly larger is okay if you need to hide the stitches that are around the perimeter), sew along the edge and when you come up to a corner, sew off it with a diagonal line as show in the photo above.
Fold the binding up where that diagonal is, like shown in photo #1, then fold it back down on top of itself as shown in photo #2. Make sure the top fold is even with the top edge. Then stitch straight down the edge until the next corner comes up, and repeat the process all the way around.
This will give the corners a nice sharp finish.
When you get near the end, leave about a 7 inch gap (the larger the better). To combine each end of binding with minimal bulk, we’re going to stitch them together with another diagonal seam. This part is a little tricky.
Lay each end of binding on top of one another, then trim them down so they overlap exactly 2.5″ (as shown in the photo above).
Then unfold the two ends, and cross them on top of each other with right sides facing together, just as above in photo #1. The bottom strip should be up vertically, and the top strip should be laying on top horizontally. Leave some overlap, and stitch them together with a diagonal line from corner to corner (where the pink arrow is).
This part can be tricky to so, and if you’re struggling, sometimes it helps to hand sew them together. When they’re sewn, fold the binding in half again and it should lay perfectly flat against the pillow cover.
After checking to make sure it’s right, then trip off the extra seam allowance (photo #2).
Then stitch the rest of the binding down with a 1/4″ seam.
Whew! Now it’s almost done!!
The last step is to fold the binding around to the back of the cover by 1/4″ (you can use the seam that’s there as a guide), and hand sew it down using a slip stitch. When a corner comes up, fold it as shown above, and continue.
Adding the binding is my favorite part. It’s perfect to cozy up with a good movie!
Then…. stuff the insert in there and ta-da!
We’re done! It’s so simple and so cute! The pillow in this tutorial was made to match a quilt for our bed, but I’ve also made them as companion gifts to go along with other quilts I made for family and friends.
I hope this tutorial has helped or inspired you. If you make one, please tag me on Instagram! It would mean the world to me.
Browse the sewing category for more tutorials, and stay tuned for next week when I will be releasing a candlewick embroidery guide.
Thank you so much for being here, and take care!
-Ginger, from Home & Thimble