Christmas in July: Throw Pillow

Welcome to Benartex's Christmas in July Blog Hop here at Sew in Love with Fabric! We'll be sharing holiday-themed tutorials this week and beyond, so be sure to stop by each day to see a new tutorial and have a chance to win some fabric to get your own holiday sewing started!

Today Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation is here with an easy throw pillow design using Allison Hayward's Ornamental Splendor collection. Check out Kelly's tutorial and then head over to her blog to find out how you can win a fat quarter bundle of Ornamental Splendor.

Hey there, friends!  I'm Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation, and I'm delighted to be a part of the Christmas in July blog hop!  Holiday sewing is much less daunting to me when the season is far away.  With no deadlines looming, I really get to take time to enjoy my Christmas projects.

This 18 inch pillow is made with the beautiful Ornamental Splendor line, and I love that the design gives the impression of a big Christmas gift, without looking exactly like it.  The larger pieces in this pillow really let the fabrics shine, and of course it also makes this a super quick project (and who doesn't love those when gift-giving season is upon us)!

For this project, you will need-

*four contrasting prints, one fat quarter each (three prints for the block, and one print to bind the pillow)

*background fabric, 1 fat quarter or quarter yard (I used Kona White)

*1/2 yard backing fabric

*1/2 yard muslin (for pillow lining)

*18 inch pillow form

Cutting Instructions-

*from background fabric, cut two 7 inch squares

*from print 1 (red "gift box"), cut (1) 7 inch square plus (8) 4.5 inch squares

*from print 2 (green "bow"), cut (1) 2.5 inch square plus (1) 7 inch square

*from print 3 (white print "ribbon"), cut (4) 2.5 x 8.5 inch strips

Begin by making your half square triangles for the pillow.  Align one 7 inch print square with one 7 inch white square, and sew with a quarter inch seam all the way around.  Then cut diagonally as shown.

Open them up and give them a quick press, and voila!  All eight of your HST's are ready to go!

Next, piece the corner units for the block.  Each corner unit will require one green HST, one red HST, and two red squares.  You'll need to make four corner units.  Lay out and piece your corner units like this.

Once you have the corner units all pieced together, it's time to add the "ribbon" and "bow" to your gift box.  Just use the sashing strips to join the block together.

Once your block is done, you can turn it into a pillow in a number of different ways.  I like to back my block with muslin, which becomes the pillow liner, and essentially treat it like a mini quilt.  I also add binding to my pillows to give them a little extra flair.  You can check out my detailed pillow construction method HERE, complete with tons of photos.

I'm so excited to be able to give away a bundle of the Ornamental Splendor fabrics I used in this quilt!  Hop over to my blog home, My Quilt Infatuation to find out how to win this gorgeous fabric!  Happy Christmas in July!

And be sure to stop back each day of our blog hop for a different Christmas in July tutorial featuring our holiday fabrics!

Here's our schedule:

Monday: Santa Sack by Chris from Made by Chrissie D using Happy Holidays Snowmen

Tuesday: Tree Skirt by Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts using Homespun Holiday

Wednesday: Throw Pillow by Kelly from My Quilt Infatuation using Ornamental Splendor

Thursday: Wonky Star Placemats by Kristen from KD Quilts using Santa's Here

Friday: Christmas Card Organizer by Melissa from My Fabric Relish using Frosty Forest

Monday: Table Runner and Napkins by Nikki from The Girl Who Quilts using Frosty Forest

Tuesday: Wintry Wall Banner by Wendy from Ivory Spring using Shades of Winter