Sewing patterns: Pretty, Pleated Pillow tutorial
A pretty, pleated pillow. Now, if you are a sewing perfectionist, I implore you to stop reading at this point. But if you believe that imperfections only make things better, I have a little tutorial for you. (And if you're neutral on the whole imperfections issue, you'll probably like the tutorial as well.)
What you'll need:
- Fabric (about 1/2 yard)
- A pillow form or polyfil...I usually like to stuff my pillows with polyfil, but in this case, I had an existing pillow that I was recovering, and it had an insert, so that's what I used.
- 2 1/2" wired ribbon
- Matching thread
- Pins
- Measuring tape
1. Start by cutting two squares of fabric about 1/2" larger all the way around than your pillow form. (In this case I was using a 14" pillow form, so I cut 15" squares)
2. Cut 5 lengths of ribbon approximately twice as long as the squares you just cut. I usually add another inch or two for good measure.
3. Pick the square that you would like to be the front of the pillow and measure one side (this will be the top of your pillow) to find the center. Pin the top of one piece of the ribbon in it's center at the center point of the pillow front.
4. Working from the center, pin each additional piece at the top, so that each piece is parallel with the piece next to it. (You will notice in the photo, that there are pins running parallel to one of the edge pieces. I use these as a guide on the first piece that I sew to make sure that I keep it straight. After the first piece is sewn, I then use it as a guide for the second piece, and so on.)
5. Begin sewing one of the edge pieces. Approximately every 2" fold the piece back on itself about 1/2" to create a pleat. Then continue sewing right over the pleat you've created. Continue to do this for the entire length of the ribbon. This is where being a perfectionist is discouraged. (Well, impossible, in my case.) I simply eyeball these pleats. They are by no means perfect. But once you get the hang of it, you can eyeball it pretty easily.
6. Continue this same process with each ribbon. The pleats do not need to line up with the pleats in the previous piece. In fact, the overall piece will look better if the pleats do not line up. (Trust me on this.)
7. Once you have finished sewing all the ribbon. Pin the right sides of both fabric pieces together and sew, leaving a 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure to leave one side about half way open so that you can slip your pillow form in.
8. Trim the edges, clip the corners and then turn the pillow right side out. Put the pillow form in the pillow and close with an invisible hand stitch.
That's it!
Here's the pillow on the Princess' bed...just the right touch!
