Farm Sweet Farm Floral Pillow

This Farm Sweet Farm Floral Pillow is such a blast to sew up!! It’s made with two parts – a patchwork zippered pillow cover which is wayyy easier to make then you think, and a reversible pillow cover with darling little pillow ties!

I have a confession. I have allllways wanted a farm house. It was a dream of mine, growing up in Arizona and then living in California – where farmhouses are few and far between. (And if they are there – you probably can’t afford them). But now we’re in Tennessee and I have my almost sort-of farmhouse! So I’m enjoying every minute of it and soaking up all the countryside, the fields of things growing around us, and having to go slow down the road because you’re behind a tractor. Which I’m sure isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but it’s heaven to me.

So I am still making all the farmhouse things – because whether it’s a trend or not – I love it! This little Farm Sweet Farm pillow says it all. I just love all the florals and the prints in this new collection from Melissa Mortenson from The Polkadot Chair. It’s called Fox Farm and it has the most darling florals, farms and little wellies!

Melissa always has the prettiest florals! I couldn’t resist using several of them for this pillow!/

The Pillow has a cover that is made up of four of the tiny floral and farm prints. I put in a zipper closure – it was super simple and works great with this!

The pillow sleeve cover is reversible too! The blue floral on one side has the Farm Sweet Farm applique and the reverse side is the pretty red floral in the collection. Isn’t it a gorgeous print?!

So let’s get started!

Farm Sweet Farm Floral Pillow Tutorial

Materials:

• Fox Farm Fabric for pillow sleeve – 1/3 yard each of 7 fabrics
  • I used the Main Navy, Main Red, Stripes Navy, Field Aqua, Field Cream Sparkle, Floral Aqua, Floral Pink Sparkle
• Lightweight fusible interfacing (for applique stabilizer) – 20″ x 10″
• HeatnBond fusible webbing
• 14″ zipper that coordinates with the pillow cover fabrics
• 20″ pillow form
• Farm Sweet Farm Applique Pattern
• Thread – I used Aurifil 50 wt in white and navy

You’ll need eight 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″ squares for the pillow cover. I cut two from each of the fat quarter prints listed above. Lay the fabrics out in two 4×4 grids. Sew together the four squares to make two pieces – the pillow cover front and back.

Place the cover pieces right sides together. Line up the center of the zipper with the center seam on the pillow cover. Mark the cover with pins where the zipper starts and stops – but don’t pin the zipper to the cover.

Use a 1/2″ seam allowance. Start at one end of the seam and sew until you reach the first pin. Backstitch a couple of stitches, then switch to your largest stitch length. Sew across the bottom until you reach the second pin. Switch back to your normal stitch length, back stitch a couple stitches, then sew to the end. Press the seam open. Place the zipper face down on the zipper seam.

Place the zipper foot on your machine and sew around the zipper. Sew down one side, across the bottom, up the other side and across the top. You might need to open the zipper just a bit when you’re towards the top so the seam doesn’t bow out.

On the right side of the fabric, remove the basting stitches over the zipper with a seam ripper.

Open up the zipper to make turning easier. Place the cover pieces right sides together and line up the seams. Sew the remaining three sides together with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Clip the corners, turn the cover right sides out and press. It’s so cute even just this way right?

To create the pillow sleeve, cut two pieces of the main floral, one from each print, 12″ x 41″. On the navy floral (or whatever fabric you’d like to make your main print of the sleeve) fold the fabric in half wrong sides together, so the piece is 12″ x 20 1/2″.

Cut out the fabrics for the lettering, slightly larger than the word pieces. Iron fusible webbing to the wrong side of the fabric and cut out the letters. Remove the paper backing and iron the lettering in place on the pillow sleeve, centering the letters in the middle of the cover (folded in half). Iron the fusible interfacing on the wrong side of the fabric where the lettering is.

Place the free motion foot on your machine and choose a contrasting thread. Sew just inside the edges of the letters, going around each letter two or three times.

From the navy stripe, cut 12 1″strips on a 45 degree angle. Sew together 5 of the strips, then cut the long strip in half. Press the strips in half, long ways. Sew one strip along each side of the pillow sleeve front with a 1/8″ seam allowance.

To create the ties, press each of the remaining strips in half, long ways, then open up the strips. Fold the edges into the center and press, then press the strip in half again. You’re making 1/4″ double fold bias tape. Sew just inside the folded edges with a straight seam, then when you reach the end tuck the raw edges in and finish sewing. Repeat for all 8 ties.

Measure up from the bottom edge of the sleeve 7″ on each side and pin a tie, with the seam towards the bottom and the tie facing in towards the center. Measure up another 6 1/2″ and pin two more ties. Repeat for the other side of the pillow cover front.

Coil up the ends of the ties in the center of the pillow sleeve front so they don’t get caught in any seams. Place the back side of the pillow cover right sides together with the front and pin along both sides.

Sew your side seams together with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn right side out and press. Now we’re going to sew up the bottom edge – it’s basically like an infinity scarf if you’ve ever made one of those!

Fold the sleeve in half and place the navy floral print fabrics right sides together, lining up the raw edges. Pin the seams as well.

Take the bottom edge and work your way into the red fabrics, pinning about 4″ into that as well. At some point it will be hard to get the fabrics to meet, don’t push it past that point.

Place the raw edge on your machine and sew the seam with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Sew into the red as far as you can, then back stitch the end. When you remove the fabric from the machine, the navy side should be completely sewn and the red side should have an opening in the center of about 5″ or 6″ inches. Hand sew the opening closed.

Press the sleeve so the navy stripe binding faces out. Place the pillow cover inside the sleeve tie the ties in bows on each side.

Now you can show off your sweet new Farm Sweet Farm Floral Pillow!

You can find more Fox Farm fabric information at Melissa’s site, The Polkadot Chair!