Memorial Moments - Pillow Tutorial

This is a great, easy, and fast keepsake. It would be a great project for mother's day, upcoming grandparents day, or even a fun slumber party craft activity.

Want to do it? Let's go.

First you need one square of white cotton duck fabric per pillow with one fun patterned fabric the same size. You can do them any size that you desire.  These pillows that I made are relatively small because they were for relatively small people. You will also need some fiber fill to stuff inside of your pillow. I stole my filling from an old pillow that I had saved a long time ago. You will also need fabric crayons or markers.

First let your children decorate the white cotton duck with the crayons. We also used some permanent markers because they grabbed them while I wasn't looking. Follow the directions on the crayon or marker box to heat set the design.

Next place the right side (the side you just colored on and the pretty side of the decorative fabric) together and sew around three sides. Leave a large hole in the fourth side.

Turn the pillow inside out where the decorative sides are showing and have your personal slaves stuff them while wearing princess gowns.

Stitch the last side closed using a whip stitch or your sewing machine and your pillows are done.

We did three pillows with a 5,4, and 2 year old in about 20 minutes. That's some quick memory making action!

If you want to do this for a group activity such as a sleepover or girl scout thing than I would sew all the pillow forms in advance, let them decorate them, and then stuff them and sew shut.

If you make this, send me a picture! I want to see!

Pillows... easy as pie but not as yummy....

For the first three years of our marriage, we had a plaid futon in our living room. It was great when we were first married with a new house and no money or furniture. We even had a lion king beach towel hung as a curtain for the first two years. However the only good thing that comes out of trying to climb out of the futon depths at nine months of pregnancy is a great joke for your husband. So finally His Royal Highness, the love of my life, bought me a real couch. It has arms, stuffin.... the whole enchilada, complete with pillows straight from the 80's. Not really, they were new pillows but the fabric was horrible. Everytime I looked at them, I promised my lips curled up a little. I planned to remake the pillows for the past two years with my heart set on an expensive fabric from Hobby Lobby but frugality finally won over and it was the cheap fabric from Wal-mart that won the honorable spot on our couch.
Sewing pillows are as easy as it comes. I didn't even use my tape measure.
To start, cut two squares of fabric with right sides facing together at the same time. Make it a little larger than you want because when you stuff them, it'll make them a little smaller than you planned. Keep the rights sides together and sew three sides and some of the edges of the final side but leave an opening on the fourth side to add the stuffing. Because I know that my husband is a bull in a china closet, I double stitched the whole pillow.Turn the pillow right side out and stuff. Or withold breakfast from your children until they do it for you. Just kidding, I do not promote child labor. Now take thread on a needle and stitch the hole closed.Easy as Pie. Just don't get confused and fill your pillow with apples.