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    Home » Sewing

    EASY Log Cabin Block Quilted Pillow Tutorial

    Updated: Oct 8, 2021 by Melissa Mortenson · This post may contain affiliate links · This blog generates income via ads · 7 Comments

    Today I’m going to show you how to make a quilted pillow for Christmas or any other holiday! This pillow uses a simple log cabin block, stitches up quickly, and makes a beautiful gift!

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    Wait, is Christmas over?? Well, yes, it is… the silly thing about Christmas is that if you make gifts for someone then blog about it, it ruins the surprise.  That’s why today I’m going to share with you a tutorial for these little quilted throw pillows that I made for friends and family this year.

    Table of Contents
    • About Log Cabin Quilt Blocks
    • Supplies
    • Log Cabin Pillow Instructions
    • How to Quilt the Pillow
    • How to Finish the pillow

    The pattern is straightforward so that I could make about ten quilted pillow covers in a short amount of time.  You can also switch out the fabrics and use these for other holidays. So you can pretend they are Valentine’s Day pillows if you like.

    About Log Cabin Quilt Blocks

    The pillows are a basic log cabin block. Usually, when making a log cabin block, you need to pay attention to where the light and dark fabrics are placed in relation to each other. Often, all of the light fabrics are on the right-hand side of the block, and the darks are on the left-hand side of the block.

    Similar to these blocks from Cora Quilts:

    12093493704_c0b8b1b8bf_b

    Another layout features the lights in the center, with the darks on the outside.  When you sew the blocks together to make a quilt, these principles become very important and can change the entire look of your quilt.

    blue, gray purple and white scrappy quilt draped on back of couch

    You can also make the blocks scrappy; then you don’t need to worry about where the light and dark fabrics are. The scrappy improv quilt is an example of that.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    But, today, we are not making a big quilt, just pillows. Some of the pillows I made have all of the light strips around the center; others have them randomly placed.

    After I finished making them, I decided that I liked them with the light strips in the center, so I kept the random one for myself as a mish-mash. Whatever you do, take a second to see how you want them to the layout before starting.

    When finished, these pillows are about 15 ½″ square. You can put them in a 16″ pillow and have them super stuffed, or use a 14″ pillow form and have looser stuffing.

    Supplies

    • 4″x4″ square for the center of the pillow
    • 4″ wide strips of fabric in various prints
    • Rotary Cutter, Mat, and Ruler

    Log Cabin Pillow Instructions

    All seam allowances are ¼″

    Start by sewing one of the 4″ strips to the right side of the 4″x4″ square.  Trim the piece to fit the square.  Press.  Pin another 4″ wide strip of fabric to the sewn fabric squares. Stitch. Trim and Press.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    Work in a clockwise fashion, trimming and pressing each strip as you go.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.
    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.
    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    Keep working and adding strips until you’ve sewn a total of 8 strips to the 4″x4″ square.

    That’s it. Pretty simple, huh! Since I wanted my pillows to have a “scrappy” feel, I just used random Christmas prints.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    When you’re done creating the log cabin block, quilt the pillow.

    How to Quilt the Pillow

    Since these pillows are small, they are easy to quilt on your home sewing machine. For instructions to quilt the pillow, you can use our machine quilting tutorial.

    How to Finish the pillow

    There are a few different ways that you can do this. You can just cut a fabric the same size as the pillow front and sew them together. Sew a back on the pillow. Making sure to leave a hole to turn the pillow right side out. Then inserting the pillow form and hand sewing the opening closed.

    However, I would recommend using my Zippered Back Pillow Tutorial instead. That way, you can easily remove the pillow form and swap it out for the seasons. Use whatever method you like best to close up a pillow.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.

    Here they are shown with my Quilted Christmas Pillow from last year. Can you sense a theme here?? I think next year; I’ll make a tiny pillow to round out the bunch.

    Tutorial for a simple quilted pillow. A great way to use up scraps, would be cute to change out for the different Holidays.
    Project Teen by Melissa Mortenson

    More Projects You May Enjoy

    • 25 Free Patchwork Quilted Pillow Patterns
    • Mini Fabric Envelope Sewing Pattern
    • Meet My Valentine’s Day Fabric Collection
    • 40 Valentine’s Day Projects to Sew

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    About Author

    Melissa Mortenson

    Melissa Mortenson is a blogger, designer, and content creator. She is the Polka Dot Chair blog founder and has been sharing fresh and creative ideas with readers since 2008. She is the author of “Project Teen, Handmade Gifts your Teen will Actually Love.” Her work and designs have been featured on HuffPost, TODAY, Pioneer Woman, HGTV, BuzzFeed, Better Homes & Gardens, and many other established publications. Her first fabric line, “Derby Style,” debuted in January 2015 through Riley Blake Designs.  Additional fabric collections have followed it in subsequent years. A mom of 3, she considers herself lucky to be living in Kentucky.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Phyllis says

      January 16, 2015 at 9:20 am

      You made 10?! And you are already so busy! They are lovely though, thanks for the tutorial !

      Reply
    2. erin says

      January 17, 2015 at 7:07 am

      adorable! you have lucky friends!

      Reply
    3. Rebecca says

      January 17, 2015 at 6:31 pm

      There’s no link for the quilting instructions….

      Reply
    4. Christine Sherman says

      January 18, 2015 at 11:44 pm

      I’m enjoying the Christmas posts still. Quilts, pillows, runners, I love holiday makings so much 🙂 I have a few Christmas quilts I’m going to be working on instead of waiting until December!

      Reply
    5. SoCrafty says

      January 14, 2016 at 8:07 pm

      Can you please post more tutorials for your quilted pillows? I love them!

      Reply
      • Melissa Mortenson says

        January 15, 2016 at 2:40 pm

        Sure!! Now just to think of some new ones *wink* 🙂

        Reply
    6. WhiteBunnyCrafts says

      February 06, 2016 at 3:39 pm

      Can u post the link to your other quilted pillow tutorials? I made this one and it made such a nice Christmas gift!

      Reply

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    I’m also a Mom and a Maker. I am like most of you, just trying to do my best every day. Some days I succeed, many days I fail.  I find joy in creating, if you do too, then I hope that you find something here bring a little “happy” to your life.  Find out more about me here.

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