Criss-Cross Pillow, tutorial part 2

 

Hello! Time to give you the second part of the tutorial for the Criss-Cross Pillow (first part can be found here). Today I want to show you how to make the top into a wonderful pillow.

First thing to do, is quilt the top. For the lining you can use any piece of fabric, although cotton would be best. Because I like my pillow covers washable, I used a washable batting.

Quilt any way you like, free motion, straight lines, particular motives, in the ditch; anything is possible.

For this pillow I used a heavy linen fabric for the back, but this is again just as you prefer. Cut your fabric a little bit higher than your top, and about 8 inches wider. Make a seam at both ends, and cut it with one piece exactly have the width of the pillow. This is going to be on top.

On this side you can make buttonholes, or as I did, loops made of bias tape

Now put both top and back on top of each other (right sides out!), and stitch.

As you can see, I’ve zigzagged the seam. I like to do this, because then it is easier to attach the binding. It isn’t necessary though, and if you do, it doesn’t have to be too neat.

Next step is the binding. Cut strips of 2¾ inch, with a straight grain, and fold double.

 
Sew your binding on, with the open side along the seam of the pillow. You work on the right side of the pillow. Stitch with a seam allowance of ¼ inch. Stop ¼ inch before the end. Fold the binding straight up,

and fold it down, along the seamline.

Stitch, starting at the beginning.

This way you make all 4 corners. Close your binding and fold it to the back. Handstitch it.

The corners are nice and tidy.

Next step is the closure on the back. Of course you can use colourful buttons from your stash, but I always like to make my own fabric covered buttons.

Sew your buttons on and all what’s left is to insert a pillow!

 

As I mentioned in the 1st part of this tutorial , I’ve made a pillow like this before. But with a few differences:

The scraps used were overall just a bit larger, and accordingly, I made the white strips a bit wider, `1 inch. This means they are twice as wide!

And the back was made by quilted pieces:

Instead of a binding, I sewed front and back panels with the right sides together. So, no binding needed.

Groetjes, Dorien