How to Make Victorian Pillows

Victorian pillows are often adorned with lace and appliqued flowers, ribbons or other embellishments. In order to create a Victorian pillow, you need to sew a basic pillow using a high-quality fabric and lace trim and then attach the embellishments to the pillow to give it that rich Victorian appearance. Creating a pillow is a simple sewing project that is perfect for beginners or anyone who would like to create a beautiful pillow in one day.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Lace trim
• Scissors
• Sewing machine
• Pillow stuffing
• Needle
• Thread
• Embellishments

1. Cut out two 10-inch squares of fabric and a 41-inch length of lace trim. If your lace trim is too short, then sew together two or more pieces until you have a 41-inch length.

2. Lay one square of fabric right side up on your work surface. Line the inside or flat edge of the lace trim up with the edge of the fabric square and pin it into place around the perimeter of the fabric. The lace will overlap slightly at the starting point. The outer edge of the lace should be resting inside the square and none of the lace should extend past the edge of the fabric.

3. Place the second square on top of the first, right side down, to sandwich the lace between the two layers.

4. Sew around the perimeter of the square using a 1/2-inch seam allowance until there is a 2-inch opening left in the pillow. Backstitch a few times to secure the line of stitching and then cut the thread. Carefully turn the pillow inside out. The lace should create a border around the pillow.

5. Fill the pillow with pillow stuffing until you are satisfied with the shape and firmness of the pillow. Use a needle and thread to slipstitch the small opening in the pillow closed.

6. Sew on little embellishments by hand such as fabric flowers, pieces of ribbon tied into bows or interesting buttons to decorate your Victorian pillow.

References

• "The Complete Guide to Sewing"; Singer; 1999