June 2026~ Gift Sewalong: Star pillow

Hi everyone and welcome to June's gift idea sewalong! 

I found the inspiration for this pillow on Pinterest ( where I pretty much get all my inspiration!) and I thought I would recreate  it to share as a gift idea!

This is a pretty simple project, but I think you have so many design possibilities so you can let your imagination run wild!

This is the version I designed:

Would you like to make one? Here are the instructions!

Materials needed:

Star applique die:  https://tidd.ly/3RabEM1  

Some scrap fabric for making the stars

Fusible web

A 16" pillow form

Rotary cutter and ruler

A piece of batting, approx 17.5 " square

A piece of "internal" backing , approx 17.5"  square ( this will be on the inside and not seen, so I recommend muslin or something light colored ( and cheap!)

3 pieces of fabric for the pillow front: 2 rectangles cut 5x 16.5" ( side pieces), and 1 rectangle cut 7.5 x 16.5" (center piece)

2 pieces of fabric for the pillow back: 16.5 x 14" 

Let's sew this pillow:

1) Start by sewing your rectangles together with a 1/4" seam and press seams open.

2) Attach the fusible web to the BACK of your chosen star fabric and then run your fabric through your cutter. I did all the same size stars so layered 3 squares ( with fusible) on top of the largest star and ran the die through my machine ( remember that you don't need to worry about grainline at all because the fusible won't allow your fabric to stretch wonkily.)  

3) This next part is a little bit tricky because we want to center those stars nicely in the middle of the pillow! Rather than doing the math ( bleh!), I decided to do it this way:

Fold your fabric in half from top to bottom, like this: 

Press.  Now unfold, and take your fabric and fold the bottom to meet the line you just pressed in the center, like this: 

Press, then repeat with the top. You should now have 3 horizontal guidelines.

Unfold your fabric and fold it vertically right down the middle, like this: 

Press. You are now ready to place your stars!

4) Grab some pins and stick one each through the middle of your stars  ( eyeballing is fine). Depending on the fusible you used you might need to remove the protective paper first. 

Now place that pin (with star) right on the 3 marked points, like this: 

( if it's important to you, make sure that all stars face the same direction)

Fuse down your stars, following the manufacturer's directions.

5) The next step is to applique your stars down. Layer your pillow top on top of the batting, and then layer both of these on top of the "inner backing" (muslin). Pin in place.  Start by stitching right on the seams between the rectangles to stabilize everything.  And then use whatever stitch and color thread you like to stitch your stars down.  

( My photos will not match my instructions because I was busy talking on the phone with my mom, so wasn't paying close attention to what I was doing. I stitched my stars down WITHOUT layering the top on the batting. It's not a big deal, but it did mean that I had to do some extra quilting around my stars so that they were fastened to the batting).

After stitching down your appliques, you can CHOOSE to do more quilting. You can quilt however you like: straight lines, diagonal, meander, OR you can cut some star shapes from paper ( using your die of course!) and trace those with an erasable marker, and then quilt along the resulting lines.

When you are all done, the back of your pillow front should look something like this: 

6) Almost done! Trim your pillow front so that the backing/batting are even with the top.

7) Grab your backing pieces ( 2 squares that measure 16.5 x 14") and turn the 14" side under 1 inch, press, and then turn under one more inch. Repeat on the other backing piece. 

Pin and then top stitch both of these seams. I stitched mine twice. Once close to the outer edge and second close to the inner edge, but it really doesn't matter.  

8) Time to assemble your pillow! 

Lay your pillow FRONT right side UP on your work  surface.

Now grab your backing pieces and  lay those facing DOWN, overlapping each other from side to side so that together they form the same size square as the pillow front:  

Do make sure that your sewn ends are facing towards the center!

Pin all the way around your pillow, paying special attention to where the pillow backings overlap ( you don't want to accidentally fold one of those).  

9) Use a 3/8"  seam allowance and sew all the way around your pillow. Take a peek inside to make sure everything looks good and isn't wonky, then sew again at 3/8". We want that seam nice and strong for when we insert the pillow form!

10) Trim the edges with pinking shears ( if you have them) just to prevent unraveling. 

11) Turn your pillow right side out, push out the corners, and insert your pillow form. And there you have a gorgeous, plump little pillow, that will add a fun decor touch wherever you need it. And by the way, these pillow covers wash up beautifully! Just remove the insert, wash in the machine, and hang to dry.

Here are some more pics of the two I made:

You can of course use ANY applique in the center of your pillow that you want ( just make sure they fit within the boundaries). And you can of course make your pillow to match whatever occasion/holiday/ space you need ;).

To make a fun "Canada" pillow you could applique a Maple Leaf in the center....( click).

And excuse me for "typecasting " here, but for those of you in Australia, how about a cute Koala...( click) 

And for our British friends, how about some of these?.....( click)

I know we have friends from all around the world, and I'm sure I could help you come up with an idea to represent your country if you need it, but these will have to do for now ;). And p.s. your applique shapes might and can go over the lines...no problem! 

Just use your imagination and have fun creating!

I do hope that if you make one of these pillows that you share it with us in the facebook group! If you are not a member, here is a link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/madewithaccuquiltsupportgroup.

[I am required to let you know that I use affiliate links in my posts, and if you buy something through one of my links I will receive a small commission, at absolutely ZERO cost to you. Thank you for supporting me in this manner!]

If you have any questions feel free to ask!

Happy creating!

Monique