Flower Pillows

This project was SO SO SO much fun! Part way through this project my Tiny Tailor died. So I got a new sewing machine! (Apparently the Tiny Tailor is meant for tailoring...not sewing felt onto pillows.:)) 

Here's what you need to get started:

-- A little over a 1/2 yard of fabric….19 inches to be exact. You can get away with a half yard if you already have it, just cut your pieces to 18" instead of 19". 

-- 1/4 yard felt. Buy the good stuff on the bolt and not the cheap sheets in the kids crafts section. Buy a half yard just to be safe.

-- A large and small cup (or other circles) for tracing, a large bowl for tracing, a pen, scissors, and cardstock to make your template.

Trace and cut out the circles in your cardstock. I used two different sized circles. One was 2.5 inches and the other was 3.5 inches in diameter. 

 I traced and cut out roughly 30 large circles, and 20 small circles. Then I cut all of the circles in half.

Next I cut my fabric into three pieces.

1 large square 19 inches x 19 in. , 1 rectangle 19 in. x 15 in. , and 1 rectangle 19 in. x 12 in.

On the right side of the 19 in. by 19 in. square, I traced a bowl which made a large circle in the middle. I left 4-5 inches or so around the edges. The line I drew was to help with placing the petals in a perfect circle.

I lined up the edge of a large petal along the line I had traced. As I sewed the petals on, I overlapped the petals about a 1/4 inch. I continued sewing around the circle, adding petals.

 After I did four or five rows of large petals and I got closer to the center, I switched to the small petals. As I got closer to the center I curved and bunched the straight edge of the petals so they stood up a little and looked like real petals. When I got to the center I added a couple petals that were good and bunched at the bottom for extra volume.

I finished the short edges (12 inch and 15 inch) of my two back rectangles by folding one side under 1/2" twice and sewing. I placed my pillow front and back pieces right sides together, and lined up the edges. I put the larger rectangle down first against the flower with the right sides together, then put my smaller rectangle on top if it, right sides together. I used lots if pins. :)

 I sewed around the edges with a 1/2" inch inseam. Because home decor fabric frays easily, you can serge or do a quick zig zag stitch around the edges. (I don't have a serger, so I just did the zig zag stitch). I trimmed the corners and turned it inside out. Tada!!

This was by far the most I have enjoyed doing a sewing project! Hope all the instructions weren't too confusing! :)