Strippy Quilted Pillow Cover Pattern
January 15, 2025
Hi!
Today’s a ‘making’ kind of day, and I thought you might like this fun scrappy quilt project for our Strippy Quilted Pillow Cover.
A quilted pillow cover is always a great project to have on hand – whether you want to change up your decor, or for those times when you need a quick gift for someone.
We used left over strips cut from the side of a layer cake for ours, but this is a perfect project for using up scraps you have tucked away. If you’re using scraps for yours, take a minute to think about how you want your finished quilted pillow cover to look.
Are you after something bright and happy with random scrappy colours and patterns, or would you prefer something more muted – a more subtle selection of neutrals perhaps?
Would you like the strips to reflect a specific colour theme, like beachy, or for a specific holiday (Valentine’s Day, Easter, Halloween, Christmas…)? It’s worth spending a minute to figure this out first, then you can jump right in and whip up this pretty and easily quilted pillow cover.
Strippy Quilted Pillow Cover
This pillow cover measures approx. 18 x 18 inches.
You Will Need:
A total of 36, 1½ inch x 10 inch strips, in colours and prints of your choice.
Approx. ½ yard / metre of plain fabric to contrast, for the front diamond and the pillow back. We used a navy blue fabric.
Piece of fabric measuring 20 x 20 inches for the backing for the quilted front panel
Batting measuring at least 20 x 20 inches
Pillow insert to suit an 18 x 18 inch cover
Assembly:
This is a fun project, and there are several options available.
Basically, use the strips to create larger size pieces of fabric, and what you do with them then is up to you.
We made four sets of 9 strips. Lay them out (or keep it completely random – your choice!).
Sew the strips together lengthways, and press the seams.
Be careful not to distort the block when you’re pressing – it’s easy to pull it out of shape.
Measure to check, then trim to square up your block. Ours measured 9½ inches square.
Make four blocks.
We decided on a post and rail fence kind of layout for our pillow, with stripes going in opposite directions.
(As an option (if you get carried away making these strippy blocks) – you may like to make a table runner instead. Add some navy blue sashing and a border, and quilt and use your strips this way.)
We decided to add a feature diamond in the centre.
From the blue fabric (or more leftover blue scraps), cut four squares measuring 3½ x 3½ inches.
Place one square on the inner corner of the pieced block with right sides together, and edges aligned.
Sew diagonally across the square as shown.
We’re saving scraps in this project, so sew a second row a ¼ inch to the outside of the first.
Cut between the sewn rows.
** Keep these corner offcuts and I’ll show you something else to make with them next month – we’re going Zero waste with this project!**
Open out and press.
Put the small square aside for now.
Arrange your four blocks as shown.
Sew into pairs, taking care to match the blue points.
Press seams in opposite directions between the pairs.
Join the pairs to complete your top.
Place your backing fabric face down on a flat surface, then smooth the batting on top.
Put your pillow top on top of that, centred and smoothed flat. Pin the layers together in preparation for quilting.
We stitched in the ditch for all seams, and echoed the diamond shape within that shape a few times.
Trim to measure 18¼ x 18¼ inches.
This cover has an easy overlapped back.
From your blue fabric, cut two rectangles measuring 18¼ inches x 12 inches.
Fold one long edge over twice and press, the topstitch to make a hem. Do this for both pieces.
Lay your pillow top face up on a flat surface.
Place one panel on top with right side down (This uses another pillow as an example), lining up the top and side raw edges.
Place the second panel on top of that, lining up the bottom and side edges, as pictured.
Pin and sew around all four sides.
Turn right sides out and press well.
Add a pillow insert and you’re done!
I hope you enjoy making our Strippy Quilted Pillow Cover, and as always, we’d love to hear from you about what you’ve made, or which colours you’re going to make yours. Remember to keep those offcuts for next month, and I”ll share another quick and easy pattern with you then.
*To make sure you don’t miss that pattern, pop your First name and your email address in the box at the top right of this page, and I’ll send you a notification when the next blog post is published.
Enjoy your week!
4 responses to “Strippy Quilted Pillow Cover Pattern”
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cute pillow!
Thanks Ruth!
Very colorful.
I like this and it looks easy enough for a beginner.