Petal Pillow Tutorial

Today we’re going to make a Petal Pillow. Its very easy, cost me under ten bucks, and took about half an hour to make. Plus it will add lots of summer color (is it summer yet?) to your house.
 
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First you’ll need:
 
-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″. I used home weight fabric from Joann’s.
– 1/4 yard felt. Buy the good stuff on the bolt and not the cheap sheets in the kids crafts section. The stuff I used is made from recycled plastic bottles and is really stiff and thick. This felt came on a 60″ bolt, but if the bolt is smaller you might want to 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.
 
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Trace the rims of your cups onto your cardstock and cut out.
 
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Pin the templates to your felt and cut out circles. I was able to cut 3-4 circles at a time by folding the felt.
 
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Cut out roughly 30 large circles, and 20 small circles. You can always use more or less….but more the merrier I always say.
 
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Now cut your circles in half.
 
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Now your going to cut your 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.
 
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On the right side of the 19 in. by 19 in. square, trace a bowl or large plate marking a large circle in the middle. Leave 4-5 inches or so around the edges. (my circle is hard to see in the next pic…squint real hard and you’ll see it!)
 
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Line up the edge of a large petal along the line you just traced. As you sew the petals on, overlap the petals about a 1/4 inch. Continue sewing around the circle, adding petals.
 
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When you get near where you started, put a petal in between the previous petals, so they overlap. Then you can start putting petals underneath the previous set. I lined up the straight edges of my petals only 1/4 in. or so underneath the previous petals because I liked them packed in there. Again…the more the merrier and the closer they are the better it will look.
 
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If you want extra volume in your petals, you can curve them and fold the edges as you sew to make the petals stand up a little bit. I started curving and bunching them a little bit on the third or fourth row.
 
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After you’ve done four or five rows of large petals and you’re getting close to the center, you can switch to your small petals. Again, as you get closer to the center you can curve and bunch the straight edge of the petals so they stand up a little and look like real petals. When you get to the center add a couple petals that are good and bunched at the bottom for extra volume.
 
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Cut a small circle out of felt about 1 inch, or large enough to cover your edges. Sew down with a few stitches in the center of the flower.
 
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Your done with the hard part…now lets make your pillow.
 
Finish the short edges (12 inch and 15 inch) of your two back rectangles by folding one side under 1/2″ twice and sewing.
 
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Place your pillow front and back pieces right sides together, lining up edges. Put the larger rectangle down first against the flower right sides together, then put your smaller rectangle on top if it, right sides together. Pin well.
 
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Sew around the edges with a 1/2″ inch inseam. Because home decor fabric frays easily, serge or do a quick zig zag stitch around the edges. Trim your corners and turn inside out.
 
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Stuff with an 18 inch pillow form and your done! Yay!
 
Make a super easy petal pillow for cheap!
 
 

106 Responses to Petal Pillow Tutorial

  1. MARY FERRAZ CRIAÇOES May 24, 2010 at 6:53 pm #

    LINDO,LINDO,MARAVILHOSO PARABENS.DEUS ILUMINE TUA CRIATIVIDADE

  2. concretenprimroses May 24, 2010 at 7:20 pm #

    Es muy hermosa. Gracias para el paso o paso.
    Kathy

  3. mizdarlin May 25, 2010 at 11:03 pm #

    You are a princess for giving us this tute..so sweet! I think i'll really make myself crazy and sew this by hand…thanks!

  4. Las Creaciones de Boricua May 26, 2010 at 2:25 am #

    Que bonito!!!!!!!!! Gracias

  5. Las Creaciones de Boricua May 26, 2010 at 2:26 am #

    Thank you!!! Very petty!!!

  6. Crafty Batches May 27, 2010 at 8:53 pm #

    Oh my gosh, this is amazing! Thank you for sharing!!

  7. Rosanna Hope May 29, 2010 at 12:18 am #

    It looked hard and you made it so easy.. Wouldn`t be fun on the front of a purse?

    Thanks again, Have a great weekend.
    Rosanna Hope

  8. Sally W. June 3, 2010 at 3:29 pm #

    Made one this weekend!! So cute and easy! Thanks for the clear instructions!

  9. mushiejc June 16, 2010 at 10:50 pm #

    Thank You so much for this tutorial – i tried it out and loved the result – posted a pic of it ony my blog!

    Love your blog by the way – very inspiring :)

  10. Sandi D June 22, 2010 at 2:32 am #

    Hey, I made one cuz your's is soooo awesome! Thank you for posting this tutorial…it made making this not scary for me!

    http://talesofthemiddleagedmommy.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/06/look-what-i-made-today.html

  11. kodie June 24, 2010 at 12:51 am #

    Love this! Mine took a little longer than 30 minutes, but maybe that was due to the kiddos bugging me! Will be reviewing your tutorial (in a couple of days!) on my blog. http://www.cheepmomma.blogspot.com

  12. GirlMeetsBoy July 2, 2010 at 3:29 pm #

    Wow. That is amazing. Thanks for sharing :)

  13. I'd love to be call Qqita July 12, 2010 at 4:07 pm #

    thank god i found this site..=DD

  14. Marie e Rita July 15, 2010 at 8:25 am #

    Vi a sua almofada noutro blog e vim ver o pap da flor.
    Adorei o pap e o blog, repleto de sugestões e trabalhos lindos.
    Marie

  15. laurenaphelps August 3, 2010 at 3:46 pm #

    Thanks for the great tutorial! I posted a link on my blog. laurenaphelps.blogspot.com

  16. stormybrew57 August 11, 2010 at 12:10 am #

    Thanks so much for the pillow tutorial. I made some today and they came out great. the directions were great. I saw these for sale in a local boutique for 50 dollars!

    beth N. (stormybrew57@aol.com)

  17. Jami Nato August 13, 2010 at 7:54 pm #

    i am in love! i've seen this pillow at several stores and didn't want to pay the money for it…now i can do it myself. hooray!

  18. MaryJanes and Galoshes August 16, 2010 at 1:37 am #

    This is so pretty. I wonder what other flowers could be made.

    Taylor
    http://www.MaryJanesandGaloshes.com

  19. Mary @ RoomPolish August 31, 2010 at 10:18 pm #

    eee so excited to try this out for myself! Thank you thank you!

  20. Mary @ RoomPolish August 31, 2010 at 10:18 pm #

    …bookmarking right now…

    • Sarah December 27, 2015 at 11:29 am #

      I am adding this page to my home screen! I all of the stuff on the website are as good as this pillow, I am up for it!

  21. Kelsey September 6, 2010 at 3:52 am #

    so, I had seen a really cool pillow at Jama's house and thought "wow, that is the coolest pillow Jama has ever bought!" Then the other day I was messing around on you amazing website and saw this great tutorial. And then next time I was at Jama's I checked the pillow. Sure enough, had your momma's tag on it :) LOVE IT!

  22. billiemonster September 14, 2010 at 1:19 am #

    This is gorgeous! Wow, thanks for sharing! Will have to add this to my must-do list for sure. I'm your newest follower.

    ~ http://www.billiemonster.com ~

  23. Sanja September 16, 2010 at 10:15 pm #

    Odličan tutorijal!!! Fantastična i originalna ideja!!! Obavezno slijedim tvoj kreativni blog :))) Pozdrav

  24. jonahliza September 17, 2010 at 5:08 am #

    i looove this! thank you, so much. what a beautiful pillow.

  25. kuppe October 4, 2010 at 6:48 pm #

    Thank for such a great project. I am doing this with my kids.

  26. Ashley October 21, 2010 at 1:31 pm #

    I totally LOVE this tutorial and ran across it the oher day. I made it last night and would love to link the tutorial to your blog if you don't mind. Keep up the creative blog, I love seeing quilting that's not so old.

  27. Liz R. October 21, 2010 at 9:50 pm #

    love this!!

  28. juliakhairiah November 7, 2010 at 3:06 am #

    I love it,this is gorgeous what a beautiful pillow.

  29. kuppe November 10, 2010 at 12:06 am #

    I made it. It is so gorgeous. Thank you for the
    wonderful instruction. I can't wait to do more.

  30. דודה לירון November 16, 2010 at 12:06 pm #

    Wow!!!

  31. ÖRGÜÇANTAM November 18, 2010 at 2:05 pm #

    WOWWWWW, SÜPEEERRRRRRRRRR

  32. Trish November 22, 2010 at 2:29 pm #

    I'm new to sewing (I just got a sewing machine last month!) and have been looking around for a project that looks awesome, but seems like even a novice like me could do. I think I found it! I can't wait to try it out :)

  33. Shelley December 11, 2010 at 1:49 pm #

    Beautiful pillow! I know a couple of teen girls that would love one of these :)

  34. andie December 12, 2010 at 1:46 am #

    Just made this today with your tutorial!!! It is wonderful! I added it to your flickr group. My daughter has been eyeing these at pricey stores like Pottery Barn. $25 or more!!! She wants an orange and a hot pink. I will be doing the orange one this week. Thank you so much!!!

  35. Jennifer December 23, 2010 at 4:48 pm #

    Thank you for the tutorial. Here is my use of it. http://bellakates.blogspot.com/2010/12/felt-hair-barrettes.html

  36. Tanya (a Taste of T) January 3, 2011 at 3:34 am #

    I love this! Sew pretty (yes it's a sewing pun)

  37. Sew Sane Jane January 5, 2011 at 2:36 am #

    Thanks for the tutorial, I've made two! I love these – the texture adds a lot to the bedding. I did end up using felt rectangles from the fabric store for one of them – I just couldn't help myself – they had textured felt! Turned out great!!!!!! Thanks

  38. Coach A January 10, 2011 at 7:21 pm #

    Thank you for sharing! I can't wait to try this out! I just got a sewing machine for Christmas and this is definitely going on the To Do List!

  39. Marissa January 15, 2011 at 3:11 pm #

    This is great! I will for sure have to try this!

  40. Cat January 19, 2011 at 11:23 pm #

    I love the pillow, but didn't want to make an 18 inch pillow so I scaled it down for a 14 inch pillow.

    http://bit.ly/hdSXk3

    Thanks for sharing this tutorial.

  41. tale of many cities February 3, 2011 at 5:25 pm #

    could this be any CUTER?! i don't think so!! :) {new fan!}

  42. staysea February 8, 2011 at 5:08 am #

    I can't wait to try this! Thanks for sharing.

  43. Janice Bishop February 8, 2011 at 5:51 pm #

    Thanks so much for the cute idea and wonderful tutorial. I made one for my daughter. It turned out great!

  44. Dominique @ Craft Couture February 10, 2011 at 3:14 am #

    Very pretty! I will have to make one. Thank you for the tutorial :). New follower

    dominiquescraftcouture.blogspot.com

  45. Claire February 18, 2011 at 1:07 am #

    Great tute -can't wait to make a few!!

  46. Jenn(ifer) February 20, 2011 at 10:36 pm #

    Thanks for the awesome tutorial! So easy to follow!!
    I made one last night. I went with "the more the merrier": 40 small circles, 45 big ones ;)
    It was pretty easy, took about 3 hours… Here are some pictures (and I linked to your tutorial):
    http://heim-elich.blog.de/2011/02/20/designerkissen-10640739/

  47. Krista Benskin March 17, 2011 at 8:25 pm #

    Thank you for this wonderful tutorial! I am now officially obsessed with making these pillow covers. I posted a picture of my results on my blog http://livingcreativelife.blogspot.com/2011/03/new-pillows.html. I included a link to your tutorial and blog. Thanks Again!

  48. Emilie B. March 21, 2011 at 9:40 am #

    Thank you, it's a very good idea !

  49. Denise :) March 26, 2011 at 11:45 am #

    Very darling! I whipped one up for my niece, who's also very darling! She was thrilled. Great job on the instructions, too. Thank you!! :)

  50. Stacy April 14, 2011 at 5:34 pm #

    Just finished this pillow. LOVE IT! Thanks so much for the tutorial!

    pilesofprojects.blogspot.com

  51. Cap Creations June 2, 2011 at 5:42 pm #

    I think your pillows are pretty great! All of them! I am new to sewing and can't wait to try your sprocket pillow!

    Will you please consider joining the Pillow Fight? And is there any way I can get you to guest post the sprocket pillow tutorial over at my blog to encourage people to join the pillow fight?

    More info here on the pillow fight http://capcreations.blogspot.com/2011/06/i-dare-you-to-join-this-pillow-fight.html

  52. Judy Creates June 11, 2011 at 3:34 am #

    love love love

  53. Di June 14, 2011 at 2:29 am #

    Hi,
    This is a lovely cushion, am going to make it. Thank you, thank you.
    Di

  54. sedwards August 5, 2011 at 12:26 pm #

    gorgeous pillow. just made one for a friend and i love it. (going to be hard to part with!) the perfect pop for any room!

  55. Jennifer D. August 16, 2011 at 4:27 am #

    I love this pillow!

  56. Jilly September 21, 2011 at 9:40 am #

    At first seems, it looks hard, but you done it very easy. Mine took a little longer than 30 minutes, Your tutorial inspired me to make my own version with various techniques.
    gifts for men

  57. sanderella October 2, 2011 at 11:31 am #

    Love it thanks for making out so simple..

  58. Cassie2theBooth October 8, 2011 at 5:06 am #

    I originally found this post as a guest post from V & Co. I have to say… thank you for such a detailed post! I FINALLY got around to posting the steps of me following your amaze tutorial on my blog here.
    Thanks again! My friend loved the pillow. I think navy and teal or navy and yellow scheme next? Thanks again!

  59. Paula Dantas October 8, 2011 at 7:56 pm #

    Que coisa mais linda……..vou tentar fazer uma pras minhas filas e depois mostro em meu cantinho.Já estou te seguindo,espero sua visita
    http://lindarosaartes.blogspot.com
    Beijinhos

  60. Brandy J. October 17, 2011 at 2:41 pm #

    FABULOUS tutorial!! Thanks for sharing.

  61. ggtwo October 20, 2011 at 3:29 pm #

    This is really neat. A must try for me. Thanks for all the good stuff and great ideas.

  62. Anika Tauai October 20, 2011 at 7:21 pm #

    I'm using this tutorial to make one of these for my daughter's nursery! It sure beats buying one off of Etsy (though I love Etsy)for $40! Thanks for this tutorial!

  63. Lily Ruth's Mama November 4, 2011 at 5:39 pm #

    I did it!!! Thank you :-)

    I love the look. My next project is another one with maybe 2 or 3 smaller flowers in the same style on one pillow.

    *big kiss* THANKS AGAIN!!!

  64. O cantinho da Lê January 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm #

    I Absolutely loved your pillow and it´s so much easier than I thought it was to make it. I´ll try to make one myself.
    Thank you!!!

  65. Elizabeth M January 17, 2012 at 10:43 pm #

    Thanks so much for this tutorial! I made two of these pillows for my room, and they turned out wonderfully!

  66. Ibujawa January 18, 2012 at 6:16 pm #

    Thank you thank you so much for the tutorial..I've made mine here : http://ibujawa.tumblr.com/post/16068622262/petal-pillow :)

  67. Jessica January 21, 2012 at 5:50 pm #

    Thank you for sharing! This was a fun project and I'm so happy with the country sunshine-y feel of the one that I made.

    http://sewingourlifetogether.blogspot.com/2011/11/diy-flower-pillow.html

  68. The Clanton Gang January 23, 2012 at 9:03 pm #

    THANK you for the awesome tutorial! I made the cute pillow over the weekend to go with my Valentine decor. It's adorable. I've already sent a link to your site to at least a dozen friends. :)

  69. JGlock March 12, 2012 at 2:12 pm #

    Great tutorial! I am going to try this technique with old denim jeans! I think the weight of the denim will be similar to the hand of the felt. I'll post a pic if it turns out! ;)

  70. Vijeya Kannan April 20, 2012 at 1:29 pm #

    Great one..

    Kindly advise where can i purchase this wool felt

    i'm in india..

    thanks in advance

  71. Janet April 22, 2012 at 8:21 pm #

    Thanks for the great tutorial! I am definitely going to try making one of these!
    Blessings,
    Janet

  72. dmaria May 26, 2012 at 2:23 am #

    OMG!!! I thought this was going to be so hard to do but your instructions are so clear. And you simplified it so very well. Thank you so much I cannot wait to do this.

  73. AnaMB June 5, 2012 at 5:57 pm #

    I love it I love it I love it!

  74. Ann June 29, 2012 at 4:17 pm #

    Definitely want to give this project a go. Thanks so much for the tutorial – your cushion looks absolutely delicious!

  75. Ericka August 11, 2012 at 4:26 pm #

    I am risking sounding like a total dork here – after the first round, do you put the petals 'over' the existing round, not underneath it??
    Thank you so much – I'm heading to JoAnn's right now :)

  76. Melissa November 5, 2012 at 4:50 pm #

    So fun!!! I am making one today, would be great for Christmas decor too… and your stocking tutorial is so great!! I've made two already!!!
    Thank you for sharing your talent and inspiring creativity!!

  77. Muriyn Sylvester December 7, 2012 at 5:12 am #

    This is so cute! I used a felted wool sweater and it turned out amazing. Blogged here: http://tdcell.com/threadridinghood/wordpress/?p=126
    Thank you for sharing.

  78. Broke Ass Home January 2, 2013 at 6:40 pm #

    This is great! I featured it on my blog, here http://www.brokeasshome.com/2013/01/a-pin-that-i-pinned-that-i-did-flower.html

    Thanks for the tutorial!

  79. La Pecora Nera March 15, 2013 at 7:25 am #

    Wowwww, great tutorial!!! Thanks you for sharing us!
    Hugs from Italy, Emanuela

  80. Piratinhas Silva June 27, 2013 at 9:24 am #

    espectacular!! tinha de dar uma prenda as educadoras dos meus filhos e ja sei agora que fazer!!! LINDOOOOOOO

  81. Kelly February 6, 2016 at 7:16 am #

    What size fabric pieces would I need if I have a 19.5″ pillow form? Thank you!

    • Allison February 6, 2016 at 10:51 am #

      Hi Kelly, Just add a half inch to each of the measurements given and you should be fine. Even if you used the measurements as they are, it would still fit and just be a full pillow.

      • Kelly February 9, 2016 at 5:55 pm #

        Thanks for such a quick reply!

  82. Doris March 6, 2016 at 8:51 am #

    I Love your petal pillow!!! I’ve been looking for something to do with my mom’s clothing that no one wants (she recently passed away) and I’ll give these lovely pillows to my family members as a keepsake. They will be so thrilled! Thank You!!!

  83. Mitzi March 30, 2016 at 8:01 pm #

    Thanks for sharing, I think I can actually make this.

  84. Lynda Criswell April 17, 2017 at 9:59 am #

    Any suggestions for the best backing (first round circle) for all those layers?

  85. bj January 20, 2020 at 2:50 am #

    I do not like the feel of felt; has anyone used another fabric to make the petals? How did it turn out?

    • Allison January 20, 2020 at 12:30 pm #

      I also made with with a soft white fleece, it turned out fabulous! Any thicker fabric with a little stiffness will work.

  86. rajkkhoja September 16, 2020 at 7:48 am #

    Beautiful petal pillow. I like. Good job work.

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