How to make a simple Valentine heart pillow

About a month ago I decided to make a heart pillow for a few reasons: 1. the previous pillow cover I sewed for this feather insert had grated on my nerves for years (too small, wrong fabric pattern) 2. I was excited to do a Valentine-inspired post while still creating something anyone could use, anytime (I mean, right? Heart pillows = timeless) and 3. I am determined to become a little more sewing machine literate.

So. Here's what I did & you can follow along if you'd like!

I started at Hobby Lobby for fabric. Fabric stores offer more choice and generally a more knowledgeable staff but I had some other things to pick up at HL so I went ahead and poked around there. After the very nice fabric clerk told me they didn't carry linen, I went looking in their upholstery fabrics and found a soft, beautiful oatmeal colored linen. 

For the heart I was looking for a pink corduroy but when I couldn't find it, I instead chose a soft pink flannel. 

My materials list:

1/2 yard linen

1/4 yard light pink flannel

Fabric glue

Velcro

(You'll also need pins, needle + thread for hand sewing & a sewing machine (unless you'd like to do the whole thing by hand which will take a bit more time but is totally do-able!)

I measured a 20 inch square - twice - on my linen. My pillow insert is 20 inches square but you'd like your pillow case to be a smidge smaller than your pillow so it puffs up nicely. Last time I made the mistake of measuring small (think 18 inches) and THEN losing size to sewing the edges. This time I measured true to the pillow knowing it would get just small enough once I sewed the edges together (not as complicated as I just made it sound). 

I cut my squares and then ironed the material to make it easier to sew. I used to skip this detail because I loathe details, but came to find out it does help a great deal. After I ironed the fabric, I pinned it on all sides.

Then I used my machine to sew only three sides. (After all, you'll need a hole for your pillow insert!)

I eyeball/measured a heart in my flannel fabric and cut it out, then pinned the heart to the middle of the pillow fabric.

I hand sewed the heart on the front of my pillow (see below for frustrating note).

I used fabric glue to glue down velcro on the remaining open edge of the pillow. 

I put the feather insert in and voila! A sweet & soft heart pillow for your Valentine or just as an all-year reminder to cuddle with on your couch :)

Notes: I'm thinking about removing the velcro and adding snaps or ties since the velcro is kind of bulky & ugly. I'd also use a darker pink next time, though the soft pink is beautiful, too (maybe just a scooch darker). And, lastly, I first sewed the heart on but removed the pins as-I-sewed. Big mistake. I had to remove ALL the stitches and start over because it puckered, badly. See below. Whoops!

How about you? Any great diy Valentine (or other) ideas? 

Comments

[Granny/MIL]

Tuck the open side edges under and pin closed. Sew on your machine.

[Hope]

Do you mean w/ the velcro or w/out? If it's w/out, then how do you close the pillow but still open it to clean cover? xo