Last year the Christmas tree we put up was skirted at the bottom with a fluffy fake snow skirt. These non-sewn skirts have always struck me as kind of sad, so I went out to the fabric store to find fabric for a tree skirt. I came away with a whole-cloth fabric for the skirt by Debbie Mumm, which included several “craft squares” of happy Christmas-themed penguins. The problem with these squares is this: I can’t just throw them out like I can the fabric bits with the tree skirt instructions. To solve this issue I’ve spent the last weeks creating a table runner and pillow sham featuring two of the three squares with other Christmas-y fabrics.
I thought the pillow turned out so cute, that I would post the pattern. Please let me know if there are any errors (I’ve written out the pattern after the pillow was complete, not as I made it, so there might be some mistakes!). This pattern features a decorate flange and is intended for a 14” pillow. Happy Sewing!
Materials:
Dark Fabric: ½ yard (of 45” wide fabric)
Medium Fabric: 1 fat quarter
Light Colored Fabric: 1 fat quarter
Print: 1 fat quarter
Batting: at least 20” square (I used scraps from an earlier project)
Cutting:
Quilted Square:
Print:
- Cut 1 square of 10 inches
Light Fabric:
- Cut 2 rectangles of 10 x 1 ¼ inches
- Cut 2 rectangles of 11 ½ x 1 ¼ inches
Dark Fabric:
- Cut 2 rectangles of 11 ½ x 1 ½ inches
- Cut 2 rectangles of 13 ½ x 1 ½ inches
Medium Fabric:
- Cut 2 rectangles of 13 ½ x 1 inches
- Cut 2 rectangles of 14 ½ x 1 inches
- Approximate 20 inch square for backing
Batting:
- Approximate 20 inch square
Decorative Flange:
Light Fabric:
- Cut 6 rectangles of 1 ½ x 3 ½ inches
Dark Fabric:
- Cut 4 rectangles of 14 ½ x 3 ½ inches
- Cut 6 rectangles of 1 ½ x 3 ½ inches
Pillow Backing:
Dark Fabric:
- Cut 2 rectangles 14 x 20 ½ inches
Notes:
- Be sure to wash all fabrics before you begin sewing with them. Some fabrics may shrink at the first washing, while others do not. Even more problematically, the dyes used in vivid fabrics (especially reds and greens) aren’t always set when purchased, which means they may bleed on to the other fabrics giving you some strange spots on lighter fabrics.
- You’ll want to use a rotary cutter and quilting square/ruler to cut out the fabrics for accuracy.
- All seam allowances are ¼ inch unless otherwise noted.
- After sewing each seam, iron it flat, with the seam allowance pressed towards the darker colored fabric.
Assembling the Pillow Sham
1. With right sides facing each other, sew the 10 x 1 ¼ in. rectangles of light fabric to the left and right sides of the print square.
2. Sew the 11 ½ x 1 ¼ in. rectangles of light fabric to the top and bottom of the print square.
3. As in step 1, sew the 11 ½ x 1 ½ in. rectangles of dark fabric.
4. As in step 2, sew the 13 ½ x 1 ½ in. rectangles of dark fabric.
5. As in step 2, sew the 13 ½ x 1 inches in. rectangles of medium fabric.
6. As in step 2, sew the 14 ½ x 1 inches in. rectangles of medium fabric.
7. Stretch the pillow quilt top over the batting (I used a cotton-poly 80/20 blend) and backing fabric and pin. Quilt as desired.8. When quilting is completed, trim the excess batting and backing fabric, squaring the pillow block.
9. Sew the twelve 1 ½ x 3 ½ in. rectangles of dark and light fabric together to make the rail fence blocks as indicated. Make 2 blocks of each color sequence indicated (4 blocks total).
10. Sew two of the rail fence blocks to the right and left ends of the 14 ½ x 3 ½ in. dark fabric rectangles as indicated. Make 2.
11. Sew the remaining two 14 ½ x 3 ½ dark fabric rectangles in. to the right and left sides of the quilted pillow block.
12. Sew the fabric strips completed in step 10 to the top and bottom of the quilted pillow block.
13. Finish one of the 20 ½ in. edges of each of the large dark fabric 14 x 20 ½ in. rectangles, by twice turning the edge at ¼ inch. Then sew along the turned edge as indicated.
14. With right sides facing each other, pin the pillow front to the pillow backing as indicated. The two backing pieces should overlap a few inches, to form the opening for the pillow. Sew all the way around the outside edges.
15. Turn the pillow sham right-side out. Topstitch around the edges of the sham.
16. Pin the pillow sham flat around the outside edge of the medium fabric. Stitch in the ditch around the outside edge of the medium fabric.17. Turn the pillow sham right side out, and insert your pillow in the opening at the back. Celebrate your sewing success!
