I hope you’re excited to see our free April pillow pattern! Each month this year, Amy Ball is sharing a free pattern for a patchwork quilted pillow! This month she has a free Patchwork Beehive Quilt Block Pillow Pattern.
I hope you’re enjoying our “Pillow of the Month” series as much as I am. Amy Ball has outdone herself with the pillow patterns each month.
Table of Contents
In case you missed it, here are the free pillow patterns we’ve shared so far this year.
- January: Patchwork Plaid Pillow
- February: Patchwork Heart Pillow
- March: “Sleep” Bed Pillow Pattern
As the year goes on, I’m curious how many of these pillows she’s going to be able to hold at one time!
Pillow Pattern Details
The pillow pattern this month is perfect for Spring and Summer! It’s a bright and cheery Beehive quilt block turned into an 18″ pillow (or cushion as they call it in the U.K.)!
You can make this pillow out of various yellow scraps of fabric like Amy did or from one fat quarter of yellow fabric.
Amy free motion quilted her pillow, but if you’d like to quilt it with straight line quilting instead, be sure to check out our beginning machine quilting tutorial.
How to Make a Beehive Pillow
As Spring has sprung and our friends, the bees are buzzing around again, making a quilted hive pillow seemed perfect.
The simple patchwork piecing of this design makes this a quick to make, so I added some extra pizzazz by using lots of different free motion quilting motifs. If you choose a more basic quilting design, you can turn this into a super quick make!
Patchwork Beehive Pillow Pattern
supplies
- 7 pieces Yellow Fabrics Large scraps or 1 fat quarter
- 1 piece Black Fabric
- 1 Fat Quarter Background fabric
- 1 Fat Quarter Light backing fabric
- 1 piece
Batting 19” x 19”
- ½ yard Pillow Back Fabric
- 1 Pillow Form or Cushion Pad 18" x 18"
Instructions
Cutting:
- From yellow fabric cut: 14½” x 3½” (1), 12½” x 3½” (1), 6½” x 3½” (2 of the same print), 10½” x 2½” (1), 8½” x 2½” (1), 6½” x 2½” (1), and 4½” x 1½” (1). From black fabric cut:2½” x 3½” (1) From background fabric cut: 18½” x 2½” (1), 7½” x 1½” (2), 6½” x 2½” (2), 5½” x 2½” (2), 4½” x 2½” (2), 3½” square (2), and 2½” x 6½” (2).From Pillow back fabric cut: 18½” x 12” (2).
Block Construction: Use a ¼” seam allowance unless otherwise stated.
- Take two yellow 6½” x 3½” rectangles and one black 2½” x 3½” rectangle. Sew one yellow rectangle to one long edge of the black rectangle. Then sew the second yellow rectangle to the other side of the black rectangle. Press.
- Sew one yellow 14½” x 3½” rectangle to the top edge of the unit from step one then press.
- Now take two background 2½” x 6½” rectangles and sew them to either side of the unit from step two. Press and set aside.
- Take one yellow 12½” x 3½” and two background 3½” squares. Sew the background squares to either side of the yellow rectangle. Press and set aside.
- Take one yellow 10½” x 2½” and two background 4½” x 2½” rectangles. Sew the background rectangles to either side of the yellow rectangle. Press and set aside.
- Take one yellow 8½” x 2½” and two background 5½” x 2½” rectangles. Sew the background rectangles to either side of the yellow rectangle. Press and set aside.
- Take one yellow 6½” x 2½” and two background 6½” x 2½” rectangles. Sew the background rectangles to either side of the yellow rectangle. Press and set aside.
- Take one yellow 4½” x 1½” and two background 7½” x 1½” rectangles. Sew the background rectangles to either side of the yellow rectangle. Press and set aside.
- Arrange the units from steps three to eight and one 18½” x 2½” rectangle using the diagram as a guide. Sew together and press well.
Quilting:
- Now it’s time to make a quilt sandwich. Place your light backing fabric square (right side facing down) with your batting on top, then add the patchwork pillow front with the right side facing towards you. Make sure all the layers are smooth and flat then baste the layers together using your preferred method.
- Quilt as desired. I have used a different free motion quilting motif on each section of the hive; loopy meander, meander, square spirals, ribbon candy, switchbacks, swirls, and square spiral chains. Other quilting ideas: diagonal straight lines across the whole pillow front, vertical straight lines across the whole pillow front, or hand quilting.
- Once you have finished quilting, trim off excess backing fabric and batting and square up your pillow block if required.
Finishing:
- Take one pillow back 18½” x 12” rectangle and hem one short edge by pressing the raw edge to the wrong side by ¼” then again by another ¼”. Press well and sew. Then repeat for the second pillow back 18½” x 12” rectangle.
- Pin or clip the pillow back pieces to the quilted block, right sides together, all around the four side.
- Sew around all four edges using a ¼” seam allowance, securing the start and finish with some back-stitching.
- Trim the corners, turn the pillow cover the right way out, carefully poke out the four corners and then press.
- Stuff with an 18” square pad and enjoy your new Beehive pillow!
About the Designer
Amy Ball is a modern quilt designer and founder of Coffee Rings Studio. Amy regularly contributes projects to magazines and creates online courses and workshops for beginner quilters. Subscribe to Amy’s newsletter to receive your free ‘Guide to (near) Perfect Patchwork’ and follow her on Instagram at @coffeeringsstudio. Also, check out Amy’s digital and paper patterns in her Etsy shop.
More Projects by Amy
All About Sewing Machine Feet | Quilting
All About Sewing Machine Feet | Patchwork Piecing
The Ruler Rules: Online course – get the measure of your quilting rulers and learn how to use them with confidence and accuracy.
Tonya Steele says
Such a lovely site and I am learning. Will be a repeat.