Hey everyone. Today you'll learn how to turn one Christmas panel into a long, festive pillow for a bench or a bed.
Here we go.
Meet the fabric first
We're working with Adorn Circles Green. It comes from the Adorn Collection. Makower UK designed it for Andover Fabrics.
This is a panel, not yardage. It is 100% premium cotton. It measures 44 inches by 24 inches. That long, wide shape is the whole reason this project works, folks.
Look at what is in the print. You get beautiful poinsettias. You get holly leaves and delicate blooms. You get sparkling snowflakes, classic ornaments, and graceful scrolls. Then there are metallic gold accents through it all.
The collection colors are rich and traditional. Think green, cream, red, and burgundy. This colorway is the green one. That deep green ground makes the reds pop. And the gold glows against it. We are not reinventing the wheel here. We let the panel do the talking.
Why this fabric suits a panel pillow
A panel pillow uses the whole printed panel as the pillow front. You quilt it lightly, add a plain back, stuff it, and close it up.
This panel suits it so well. The artwork is already composed for you. No piecing, no matching seams. You get a finished front right away.
The size helps too. It makes a generous lumbar-style pillow. Long pillows fill that empty spot on a bench. They look really really good across the foot of a bed. Super duper fun, and super duper doable.
Materials list
- 1 Adorn Circles Green panel, 44 inches by 24 inches
- 3/4 yard of coordinating cotton for the pillow back, in cream, red, or burgundy
- 1 piece of low-loft batting or fusible fleece, about 44 inches by 24 inches
- About 24 ounces of polyester fiberfill, or a pillow form close to 22 inches by 42 inches
- 50-weight cotton thread for quilting and sewing
- An 80/12 needle for quilting and sewing
- Rotary cutter, ruler, mat, pins or clips, and an iron
Finished size is about 43 inches by 23 inches, after a 1/2-inch seam all around. Want a smaller cushion? Trim the panel down first. Completely up to you.
Brief steps
Step 1: Press and square the panel. Press it flat with a warm iron. Square the edges carefully. Trim only a sliver at a time. Panels can print a touch off-grain.
Step 2: Layer the front. Lay the batting or fleece flat. Center the panel on top, right side up. Smooth from the middle out, then pin every 4 inches.
Step 3: Quilt it lightly. Stitch in the ditch around the main printed shapes. Then echo quilt about 1/4 inch out from a few of them. Try 10 to 12 stitches per inch. Slow down on tight curves, or the needle can snap.
Step 4: Trim and cut the back. Trim the quilted front to 44 inches by 24 inches. Cut your backing cotton the exact same size, and press it well.
Step 5: Sew front to back. Place the front and back right sides together. Pin or clip all the way around. Sew with a 1/2-inch seam. Leave a 10-inch opening along the bottom edge. Backstitch at both ends of that opening.
Step 6: Turn it out. Clip the corners at an angle. Do not clip through your stitching. Turn the pillow right side out. Push each corner out gently. Press the edges flat, tucking the opening's seam allowances inside.
Step 7: Stuff it evenly. Add fiberfill in small handfuls. Fill the corners first, then the edges, then the middle. Big wads make lumps, every time.
I have absolutely overstuffed one of these. Oh my goodness. It looked like a green sausage. The fix was easy. I pulled out a few handfuls, fluffed the rest, and tried again. Nobody could tell.
Step 8: Close the opening. Pin the opening shut. Close it with a neat ladder stitch by hand. My preference is the ladder stitch. It disappears into the seam. Machine topstitching at 1/8 inch is faster, and sturdy too. Completely up to you.
Practical tips from my sewing room
Let the metallic gold do the sparkle work. You do not need glitter thread too. Plain 50-weight thread lets the print shine.
Check your stuffing from a few steps back. Up close, everything looks even. From across the room, the thin spots show.
Take your time, it's not a race. If a seam wiggles a touch, it is still handmade. It does not have to be perfect. You're your own worst critic, I promise you that. If I can do this, y'all can do it.
Thanks for sewing along with me. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the Adorn Circles Green Cotton Fabric 44" x 24" Panel at Linda's Electric Quilters.
