Vintage Travel Poster Pillow

Have you seen the vintage travel art that is so popular right now? I love it! It totally hits my love of vintage and travel! And even better than that, Riley Blake is now releasing panels and fabric that look like vintage travel art, all centered on the National Parks! When they released the Smoky Mountains panels I just new I’d have to make something with them.

They are releasing different National Parks throughout the year and the Smoky Mountains panels will be in stores soon! They come in two sizes – this pillow panel version that I used and a larger panel of the bears that is a great quilt center size.

I immediately fell in love with the top left image because it reminded me of a photo I took a few years ago the first Fall after we’d moved here and we’d driven up to the Smokies to see the color. We just fell in love!

So fun right? I thought that darling panel would be so fun for a pillow in our guest room!

I did a reverse applique look that was super simple to do with the panel in the center and some gorgeous Riley Blake linen as the outer fabric. I backed it in some Blooms and Bobbins from Melissa Mora – it looked great with the teal colors in the trees on the front.

I just love the retro look that it has, and it’s such a fun way for us to show a little love for our closest National park!

This pillow style would work great with lots of different panels too – here’s a quick tutorial so you can make one too!

Materials: (may contain affiliate links)

• Smoky Mountains National Parks Pillow Panel
• 20″ square of Riley Blake Linen in Natural
• 1/2 yard Blooms and Bobbins Blue Leaves print (for envelope back of pillow)
• 20″ square of cotton batting
• 20″ pillow form
• Aurifloss for running stitch around pillow – I used gray
• Aurifl thread for quilting
• 2 1/4 yards pom pom trim for edging

Begin by creating a pattern for a 13″ circle. This was the size that worked best with the panel I used but feel free to adjust to what works for your panel. Cut out the center of your 20″ pillow front using the pattern as the guide.

Place the pillow front over the panel and center it over the design where it looks the best. Pin the pillow front to the panel, then sew around the opening with a 1/4″ seam.

This will leave the edge raw – if you’d like a finished edge you can do a zig zag or decorative stitch here too!

Add a little detail and texture to the circle with a running stitch. I wanted it nice and bold so I used 6 strands of Aurifloss.

Place the pillow front on top of the batting and pin or spray-baste in place. Quilt the top as desired – I used straight horizontal lines across the linen and left the opening clear of quilting so the design would really stand out.

Sew your pom pom trim to the edge of the pillow front with a 1/4″ seam allowance, overlapping the ends at the bottom of the pillow front.

To create the envelope back, cut two pieces of fabric 14″ x 20″. Hem the bottom edge of one piece and the top edge of the other piece along the 20″ side. Overlap the two pieces to form a 20″ square so the bottom piece has the hemmed edge at the top and the top piece has the hem on the bottom edge.

Place the pillow front right sides together with the back pieces and pin all the way around. Sew the front to the back on all four sides with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Clip the corners, turn right side out, and press.

Place a pillow form in the cover and show off your cute new pillow!

I just love the vintage look to the panel – down to the little convertible!

Check with your favorite local or online quilt shop to find the National Parks fabric!! Wouldn’t it be fun for a vacation quilt too? I love it!

Have you ever visited the Smoky Mountains? I’d love to hear about it! Or about your favorite National Park!