How to Make a Shaped Pillow

Choose a color for your pillow to complement your decor.

Throw pillows add detail and charm to many rooms. You can make pillows relatively easily even if you are not great at sewing. Many people make pillows using pillow forms that are various shapes, but you can also make a shaped pillow without a pillow form. Instead, use polyester fiberfill to fill the pillow of any shape. To begin this craft, choose a color and type of fabric for the pillow.

Things You'll Need

• 1/2-to-1 yd. fabric, preferably a stiff cotton blend, duck cloth or sail cloth
• Polyester fiberfill
• Scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine or thread and needle
• 8 1/2-by-11-inch paper or poster board

Instructions

1. Choose a shape to make. You can make a square, rectangle, circle, heart or any other shape you desire. Draw the shape you want for the pillow, using a piece of paper or poster board, depending on the size of pillow you are making. Make your drawing at least two or three inches bigger than you want your finished pillow to be. Cut the shape to create your pattern.

2. Fold the fabric in half. The amount of fabric will vary depending on the size and shape of the pillow you are creating. By folding the fabric in half, you will cut out the front and back of the pillow at the same time. This will create two uniform shapes for the pillow. It is important that both front and back are the same dimensions.

3. Pin the pattern you've just cut to both layers of fabric that you just folded. Pin your pattern to the fabric every two to four inches around your pattern, and pay special attention to curved areas or square corners.

4. Separate the pieces. Place the pieces so that the “right” sides of the fabric are touching. The “right” sides refer to the sides that the finished pillow will have on the outside of the pillow.

5. Sew the fabric. Sew all the around the fabric, leaving a 4-inch gap at the end. Use a sewing machine for this, or sew it by hand and then turn the fabric so it is right-side out.

6. Fill it with polyester fiberfill or a different type of pillow filling through the hole you did not sew. Stuff it to be as stiff as desired.

7. Invert the edges of the remaining fabric. This is the hole where you placed the stuffing. Sew this section of the pillow by hand.

References

• All Free Crafts; Learn How to Make a Pillow; Gray Rollins