How to Make a Non-Sew Pillow

Searching and paying way too much for pillows that match your decor is over! These easy, made-in-minutes pillows don't require you to make a stitch at all and come out looking wonderful!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• fabric (cut to the size you'd like your pillow (plus 1/2" for seam allowance)
• your iron!
• heat-bonding material such as stitch witch, made to be set with an iron. Available at most craft stores.
• fabric pins

1. Make sure your fabric is ironed, and has cooled, before you begin to assemble your pillow. Since you are using heat sensitive materials, you don't want it to start melting before you've had a chance to place it properly! Leave the iron preheating at the setting that your bonding material specifies.
2. Layer the fabric so that the sides you want to be on the outside of your pillow are together on the inside. Cut a length of your bonding material the length of the fabric, leaving a 1/2" on each end for the seams on those sides. Place the bonding material as close to the edge of the seam you're bonding without allowing any to hang out of the edge. Pin the pieces together, do not pin through the bonding material, or you will end up with a sticky mess after ironing! You can pin farther into the fabric without doing any harm.
3. Iron your pieces together! Closely follow the instructions on the bonding material. There are several bonding strips available for heat-setting by iron, and all of them are a little different.
4. Allow bonding material to cool, remove pins, and turn the piece. Repeat the process for bonding the next two sides together.
5. If using a pillow form, insert the pillow form BEFORE you iron the last side together. Remember to turn your pillow right side out. You may need to use a butter knife or wooden dowel rod to "poke out" the corners of your pillow if they try to stay too rounded. You should have nice, even seams with one open end. It will get a little trickier to pin the pieces and bond them once the pillow is stuffed, but pillow forms maintain their shape better with heavy wear over time.
   
   Finishing for pillow form pillows: Make SURE the other three sides are cool so that you have the strongest bond possible. Pull the fabric tight, tuck in the sides of your fabric, and insert the bonding material between your tucked-in ends. (you're forming your last seam). Pin tightly and iron carefully, a few inches at a time, making sure your bonding strip doesn't slip out and melt all over your pillow.
6. For pillows stuffed with batting: After finishing the first three sides, cut bonding strip enough to bond the last seam, but leave a 2-3 inch gap between the corner of one of the seams and the end of the bonding strip on this seam. This will allow you room to turn your pillow right side out and give you an opening to stuff it with.
7. After you've bonded the seam with a gap for stuffing, turn the fabric right side out.
   
   Make sure the bonding material has ample time to cool and set before beginning stuffing. Stuff your pillow with batting, you can use a butter knife or wooden dowel rod to gently(!) force the batting into the corners for a full, even look. Pack it tightly so you don't get lumps later on!
   
   After stuffing, tuck in edges of the gap left for stuffing, place a strip of bonding material in between gaps, and seal with iron. It will probably be beneficial, depending on how well-stuffed the pillow is, to pin down the edges while the bonding material cools.

Tips & Warnings

• Always allow time for bonding to cool! The strength of the bond isn't fully formed until the bonding is set and cooled!
• Heavy fabrics may require heavy-duty bonding material. Check the packaging for reccomendations.
• This could be a fun project for kids, but don't allow them to operate the iron unsupervised!
• Bonding material gets HOT, and if overheated, may drip on hands and fabrics. Protect your work surfaces carefully!