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Summer Pillows- with free pattern :)

Summer Pillows- with free appliqué patterns
I’ve been having fun getting our outdoor room put together this year. The weather has warmed up and we find ourselves spending time out there most evenings.

When I bought the sofa for outside, I decided to go with a neutral cushion.  I love the color. It hides dirt and blends in well with the garden, but I thought that the couch could use a bit of pop!
How to make summer pillows

I went to look for fabric to make pillows from and was not happy with anything that I found. (You know how you get an idea in your head, then can’t find what you want).   Then I remembered a tote bag my daughter bought a couple of years ago. It was this really great sunbleached canvas.  I thought that maybe I could recreate the same look with colored canvas.

When I bought the canvas it was stiff and icky… (great term huh!)… So I figured out a way to soften it up and bleach it out a bit. (details in the tutorial below). The trick worked and I got the soft sunfaded canvas that I wanted.

I ended up making 3 pillows in all.  Instructions are included for making the crab pillow – you just follow the same steps for the other two.  I’m going to leave these pillows outside- it’s a bit of an experiment, we’ll see how they hold up this summer.

Crab Pillow and Anchor Pillow, how to make them
The Anchor & Crab Pillow

Here’s how to make them!

You will need:

Yardage of Duck Cloth (yardage depends on size and number of pillows you are making- I bought mine at Joann’s).
Pillow forms (size of your choice, the crab is 12×16 and the other two are 14×14)
Buttons for eyes
Natural cording
Heat N Bond Lite

To begin (do NOT skip this step)

Wash each color of duck cloth in the washing machine on the highest heat setting. Add fabric softener to the wash.  (do NOT wash more that one color of fabric at a time).  After it is washed, throw it in the dryer using 2 softener sheets. Repeat if you want it more washed out.

Press lightly

Cut out your pillow covers.  As a rule of thumb your pillow covers will be the same size as your pillow form. (you do not add seam allowance) so for a 14×14 pillow cut 2 pieces of fabric 14×14

Trace the crab image (found here) onto heat and bond lite.  Iron onto pink fabric. Cut out crab. Arrange crab on pillow cover where desired. Remove heat n bond lite backing and press to set.

Top stitch around the edge of the crab.

Summer Crab Pillow Pattern
Place the cording on the edge of the pillow cover- starting and stopping in a corner. Using your zipper foot, stitch as close to the edge of the cording as possible.
cute Appliqué pattern for crab
Sew on crab eyes.
Clip the corners of the pillow. This will allow the cording to lie flat round the corner.
Cute Summer PIllows

With right sides together, sew pillow cover back to pillow cover front.  Just stitch on top of the line you just made for the cording. Leave an opening in the bottom to feed the pillow in.

Slide pillow form in and slip stitch closed!

Anchor Pillow

To make the Anchor pillow, I followed the same steps but I used an anchor image from Martha Stewart found here.

Sun Pillow

The Sun pillow is made from adding 1″ strips of green fabric and the word sun. (the font is Arial Black)

Cute Summer Pillows

Have fun making them!! I can think of a few other cute designs, I’ll have to share if I make some.

DIY Summer Pillows

Just a quick post script: These pillows did fade in the sun.  If you want them to not fade I would recommend using outdoor fabric.   There is loads to pick from at the fabric stores, so you should not have a problem finding any.

If the pillows had stayed in the shade all summer and been taken in in the winter they would have been fine.  (not faded too much).

Linking up:

Thirty Hand Made Days

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  • Who’s up for a Summer Quilt Along? After a couple of delays (can you say Typhoon?) we are ready to launch the #LetsStayHomeQuilt Along! It will run for 8 weeks this summer and at the end you’ll have a finished quilt! I’ll be popping into my IG stories along the way to help you out and we even have a series of video tutorials to share! So if you’re brand new to quilting you can totally do this 👊🏻! All the details are in the link in my bio. Just click the link to the home page. . . . #summerquilt #rileyblakedesigns #foxfarmfabric #quiltalong #melissamortenson #polkadotchair #quiltersofinstagram #quiltsofinstagram
  • I want to invite you guys to join me in a class at the Garden of Quilts festival this September. 🧵 ✂️ It’s taking place at Thanksgiving Point in Utah and I could not be more excited to be teaching. I’ll be teaching two classes. . ONE: My Santa’s Hat Shop Quilt. I’ll show you how to foundation paper piece the blocks - it’s so easy you can do it even if you new to FPP (these cute blocks were made by @the_tattooed_quilter ). . . TWO: I’ll show you how to make these fun storage bins (swipe for the photo) They are made with foam and are so useful! I have several in my house and they are great for storing everything from sewing projects to makeup. . . I’ve added a link in my bio for all of the details about the classes. I’ll also add swipe up links to my stories today. I hope I see some of you there! ❤️ Patterns are tagged in the photos -
  • Yesterday was my daughters high school graduation. Her twin brother (who is younger than her) graduated 2 weeks ago (confused yet? Cause sometimes keeping track of all of it confuses me 😂). All 3 of our kids have now graduated and sometime in the next few months we will be empty nesters. . No more car pools, choir concerts, early morning seminary or late night sports practices. There are some things I won’t miss (like planning our life around the school schedule) and some things I will miss tremendously! I know that this parenting thing never ends and we are only transitioning to a different type of “parenting stress” but I’m looking forward to what it brings. . However I have to admit that part of me is terrified about this next phase. It seems a bit lonely - but more time to sew I guess 🤷🏼‍♀️😂.?
  • Spent yesterday evening at a home show at @nortoncommonsky . I shared some of my favorite details on stories. Like this gorgeous window vignette by @gretchenblack . Each home had so many AMAZING details and the “creative” part of my brain was so happy. Also for everyone that asked- we are not moving 😂. My kids graduated high school this year / I think moving on top of that would cause me to have a nervous breakdown. Too many changes at once! 😂😂
  • Block 3 in the #justforfunquilt just posted! You can click the link in my bio to find it. I’m calling this block Sunshine and Stars ☀️ 🌟 since it reminds me of a beach umbrella. 🏖 If you’re new- the Just for Fun Quilt is a block of the month that is running on my blog during 2019. It’s free and I’d love to have you participate! I’m going to try to do a Insta Story Q&A later today if you have questions about the Quilt Along. . . #quiltingtutorial #quiltsofinstagram #quiltblock #rileyblake #rileyblakedesigns #blossomfabric
  • Was anyone else absolutely smitten with Gilbert Blythe growing up? I think at one point I convinced myself I was going to marry him 😂😂😂. Riley Blake has a new Anne of Green Gables fabric line (by @zippyboro ) and I jumped at the chance to make something with it! I LOVED those books and the tv show so much growing up. I decided to update my Reading Pillow pattern (I posted the first one waaay back in 2011) - a lot of you guys have asked for a basic pattern over the years (no piping or zippers) and I’m happy to oblige. I also added a second size option too! Hop on over to the blog for more info - you can also now buy a printable pattern (with 5 different pillow patterns in TVs shop). Just click the link in my bio. . . #rileyblake #rileyblakedesigns #readingpillow #readingpillows #kindredspiritsfabric #sewistsofinstagram #quiltsofinstagram #sewingtutorial

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. regina says

    June 15, 2011 at 2:05 AM

    félicitation c’est très mignon !!!!!!!!

    ça sent les vacances et le soleil !!!!!!!
    bravo
    amitiés de Régina

    Reply

  2. Amanda says

    June 15, 2011 at 3:03 AM

    These are wonderful! I’ve been meaning to make some beachy themed pillows for my boys, now I have no excuse! Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  3. Becky says

    June 15, 2011 at 7:13 AM

    Thanks for sharing these, I love them! And I was just thinking of making my sister an anchor pillow (she’s obsessed). I’m definitely going to have to try this!

    Reply

  11. VickiT says

    June 16, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    What a great idea and awesome pillows. Thank you.

    I have to add that I am totally jealous of you for having an area outside that you can put such a great looking couch to relax on. That looks like a great couch to go outside on a nice cool summer night and just relax on.

    Reply

  14. Jennifer @ Delightfully Noted says

    July 3, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    Holy cuteness, that crab pillow pattern is adorable! Too bad I can’t stitch if my life depended on it:) Love it!

    Reply

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