Pinwheel Pillows
Materials Needed (Makes one 18" pillow):
I used Bari J. Anthology Beloved Memoir Fern plus AGF Solids Linen
1 - 15-18” zipper
1 - fat quarter of solid fabric
1.5 yards - patterned fabric
1/2 yard of quilt batting
18” Pillow form. I like a down or down. Alternative pillow form. They are heavier than poly and overall make a more luxurious pillow. They are also easier to get into the pillow case.
Recommended: Ruffler/Pleater Foot for your sewing machine, Elmers washable school glue and a fine glue tip.
Cut:
Note: Starch all fabric before cutting. This will help you avoid stretching while cutting.
1 - 15” square patterned fabric
1 - 15" square solid fabric
1 - 19” square fabric of choice for back
8 - 4.5” WOF strips for ruffles
2 - 15” square pieces of batting
Make the pinwheel (using the four at a time half square triangle method):
Place the two 15” square cuts of fabric (solid and patterned) right sides together
Sew a quarter inch seam all the way around the edge of the two 15” pieces
Bring sewn square to the cutting table and cut through diagonally in each direction, corner to corner. You now have four pieces.
Place in pinwheel pattern.
Press all seams towards the darker fabric.
Using a 1/4” seam allowance, sew left side pieces together.
Repeat for right side pieces.
Sew right and left pieces together.
- Using something with a round edge like a can of starch to mark the corners and cut them to be rounded. This will make it easy to get your ruffle in place. Do this for both your finished pinwheel and the backing fabric. It helps to use the finished pinwheel as a template for the back.
Quilt your back and front panels:
Place quilt batting on the wrong side of each panel, the pinwheel and the 15” patterned back piece.
Quilt as desired. I used stitch in the ditch quilting for the front of the pinwheel, and traced the stripes for the patterned back piece.
Create your ruffle:
Sew all of the short ends of the ruffle strips together to make one long piece. I like to sew them together on the bias as it makes for a stronger ruffle.
Starch the wrong side of the ruffle, fold the long edge of the wrong sides together and press. The starch will help the fabric stick together and stay in place as you gather the ruffle.
Gather ruffle using your favorite method. I use a ruffling/pleating foot for all of my ruffles. It makes it 100x easier. Alternatively, you can use zig zag stitch over a thin elastic, then pull the elastic to form ruffles. Do this in sections to avoid any breaks in the elastic. Be careful not to pull the elastic all the way through the zig zig.
Attach ruffle to front pillow panel:
Note: I find it easiest to glue baste my ruffle in place rather than sew basting or pinning. Use Elmers washable school glue and a fine glue tip. These are available from Purple Daisies Quilting. Use a dry iron to press the fabric and dry the glue. Never use wet glue in your sewing machine.
Turn one short edge of your ruffle in 1/2” towards the wrong side of the fabric to finish the end.
Glue baste the raw edge of the ruffle to the raw edge of the right side, front of the pillow (the pinwheel). I usually start about an inch or so away from the right rounded corner of the pillow: Just beyond where the end of the zipper will be, but not too close to the corner.
Just before you get to the end where you turned the fabric in towards the wrong side, extend the remainder of the ruffle to the end. Mark where the start and the finish overlap by 1/2”. Cut so you have a 1/2” overlap. As you finish glue basting, tuck the raw edge of the ruffle into the folded over edge.
To finish the ruffle, take whole front to the machine, and top stitch just that finished end, then put the ruffle back in place with the raw edges touching, ready to sew the whole ruffle on
Sew the ruffle in place using a 1/2” seam allowance.
Attach the zipper to the front of the pillow:
Line one edge of the zipper up centered to the bottom edge of the pillow on top of the sewn on ruffle. Place it with the zipper facing the right size of the fabric. Pin or glue baste in place.
With your zipper foot on, sew the zipper in place on top of the already sewn on ruffle. You’ll want to start where the metal or plastic teeth of the zipper start and end where they end, leaving the margins loose at the ends of the zipper. Back stitch at each end.
TIP: As you approach the zipper pull, leave your needle down and raise the presser foot. Jiggle the zipper pull behind the foot, put the presser foot back down and continue sewing. This way, you won’t end up with a crooked line.
Attach the zipper to the back of the pillow:
Place the front and the back of the pillow right sides together. Align the corners and edges. At this point I usually use clips instead of pins to hold it in place. Note: It’s very important that these edges are lined up now so that the pillow aligns when you continue sewing it together.
Leaving the zipper open or mostly open, align the other side of the zipper to the back side of the pillow.
Again with your zipper foot on, sew from one end of the zipper teeth to the other as you did for the front of the pillow. Back stitch at each end.
Sew the back and front of the pillow together:
Keeping the zipper OPEN, place the right sides together. Pin or clip. Starting at the end of the zipper beyond the zipper teeth, Use a 5/8” seam allowance to sew all the way around the pillow.
Once you get back to the zipper teeth, pivot towards the raw edge 90º and sew to the edge. Back stitch. You can go back and do this on the other side of the zipper as well. Be careful not to sew on the metal or plastic.
Finish:
At the corners cut about three or four times just about to but not through the stitch line to help the corners easily turn.
Turn the pillow with the right side out and press.
Stuff the pillow with your pillow form and close the zipper.