How to Make Christmas Pillows

Add holiday warmth to your home's decor by making easy machine-appliqued Christmas pillows for your sofa, chairs or beds. These cozy throw pillows are made using felt. Felt is a wonderful fabric for quick applique, because its edges do not fray and ravel. The raw edges become part of the design and you do not need to turn them under. The simplicity of this project makes it a great sewing craft for a beginner, and several can be completed quickly for last minute Christmas gifts.

Things You'll Need

• Sewing ruler
• Red felt, 1/2 yard
• Scissors
• Lightweight cardboard
• Marking pen
• Green felt craft sheet
• Yellow felt scrap
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Green thread
• Yellow thread
• Colorful rick rack, 2/3 yard
• Thread to match rick rack
• An assortment of button box buttons
• Hand sewing needle
• 14-inch pillow form
• Pinking shears

Instructions

1. Measure and cut two pieces of red felt, 16 inches square. These squares will be the front and back for your Christmas pillow. Draw a triangle on lightweight cardboard. Draw a 7-inch line for the bottom of the triangle. From the center of the line, measure up 10 inches and mark. Match the top mark with one end of the 7-inch line, using a ruler. Draw along the ruler to connect the marks. Match the top mark with the other end of the 7-inch line, using a ruler. Draw along the ruler to connect the marks and complete the triangle shape. Cut out the triangle for your tree pattern.

2. Place the tree pattern on green felt and trace around it with a marking pen. Cut out the tree. Place a 2-inch wood star on a scrap of yellow felt and trace around it. Cut out the star. Note: The side of the felt that was traced on is the wrong side. When placed faced down on your pillow front, any visual marks will be hidden.

3. Lay one red pillow square on your work table. This is your pillow front. Center the felt tree on the square with the wrong side down. Pin the edges of the tree to the square to secure. To applique, topstitch all sides of the tree a 1/4 inch from the edge using green thread. Place the star over the tip of the tree, overlapping it an inch. Pin the star to secure. Topstitch all sides of the star 1/4 inch from the edge using yellow thread.

4. Cut a length of rick rack 6 3/4 inches long. Pin one end on the bottom right corner of the triangle and the other end 2 inches up from the bottom left corner of the triangle. This is the beginning of the tree garland. Cut another length of rick rack 5 1/2 inches long. Pin one end to the end of the previous rick rack on the left side of the tree. Pin the other end to the right side of the tree, 4 inches above the bottom corner. Cut a 4 1/4-inch length of rick rack and pin to the end of the previous rick rack on the right of the tree. Pin the other end 4 inches above the previous rick rack on the left side. Cut a 3-inch length of rick rack and pin an end to the previous rick rack on the left and 4 inches above the one on the right. Cut a final rick rack 1 3/4 inches long. Pin an end to the previous rick rack on the right and 3 inches above the one on the left. Topstitch down the center of the rick rack garland lengths using a matching thread color.

5. Hand sew decorative buttons on the sides of the tree, over each connecting end of the garland. Arrange an assortment of button box buttons on the tree, between each garland length. These are your tree ornaments.

6. Lay the red felt square pillow back on your work surface. Place the pillow front on top with the tree side up. Match the edges and pin. Sew the pinned side and top edges together using a 1-inch seam allowance. Do not sew the bottom edge. Insert the 14-inch pillow form into the case from the bottom. Pin the bottom edges together and sew using a 1-inch seam allowance.

7. Trim the edges of the pillow with pinking shears. This will provide a decorative edge to the pillow and also straighten any shifting that may have occurred during sewing. On the top of the pillow, hand sew a decorative button over each corner.