Valentine’s Day Tutorial: Shabby Chic Heart Pillow

Valentine’s Day approaches and with a full Sewing Club class, I thought I would create some fun new projects for the students. The faux chenille could easily be placed on a tote bag, skirt, or t-shirt, which I hope to finish soon for the students to see all the possibilities 🙂

What you need to create a pillow:

1/2 yard white canvas fabric

2 fat quarters or large scraps of quilting cotton for the hearts

heart templates: 1 large and 1 slightly smaller

Step 1

cut the white canvas for the pillow cover.

1 piece 12.5″ square

2 pieces 8″ x 12.5″

Cut the heart shapes using templates

Step 2

Sew the larger heart to the 12.5″ square piece of white canvas. Fold and find the center of the square and place it however you like.

Pin and sew it in place, 1/8″ or 1/4″ from the edge. You want the edges to fray a bit, so don’t sew it as you would a traditional appliqué, on the very edge of the fabric. Instead sew just inside the edge.

I also don’t use fusible web for this reason–though you could use basting spray or wonder tape instead of pins.

Step 3

Use a non-permanent fabric marker to draw at least 1 stitching line, diagonally across the heart.

Or draw all the lines (recommended for kids).

Pin the smaller heart on top of the larger heart, centering it. Sew across the stitching line(s). The lines sewn on the floral heart are 1/2″ apart

and the stitching lines on the solid heart are 3/8″ apart. I drew the first stitching line, then used the presser foot as a sewing guide for the rest of the stitching lines.

Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end of each stitching row.

Step 4

With small sharp scissors, carefully cut in between the stitching lines. Be careful not to cut the large heart underneath.

Step 5

Optional: add a heart appliqué to a back piece in the same way the large heart was sewn to the front.

Step 6 Make the pillow.

Finish a 12.5″ side on each of the smaller white canvas fabric pieces with a double folded hem.

Step 7 (method 1)

Layer the white canvas either right sides together and sew around all four sides. Make sure the finished edged are in the middle of the back.

Clip the corners and turn right side out through the envelope opening in the back. Press neatly into a square shape.

Sew around all 4 sides 1″ from edges. I mark my pivot points at the corners to make it uniform all the way around. Doing this eliminates the need to finish the raw edges inside and gives the pillow an additional design element.

Step 8 (method 2) [See this tutorial for photos]

Layer the white canvas fabric pieces wrong sides together, having the two back pieces overlapped in the back with the finished edges in the middle.

Pin and baste (sew long straight stitches) around all 4 sides.

(I didn’t take pictures of sewing the bias binding on–comment here if you would like a tutorial of my method) Make some bias binding 2.5″ wide by cutting fabric strips on the bias and sewing together on the diagonal to join if needed. Fold and press the strip wrong sides together.

Pin and sew the bias binding on with a 3/8″ seam allowance. Turn to back and press. Clip and sew the binding onto the back by hand.

Here are the pillows before washing.

Step 9

Wash and tumble dry your pillow. Here is what the faux chenille hearts look like after washing.

Pretty fun, huh?

How cute is this?! This is a perfect project for students. It gives them an easy and quick project that will help them to develop their sewing skills, skills such as controlling their speed and direction while using the sewing machine.

I don’t recommend using the Olfa chenille cutting tool when teaching kids. (I saw a demo at quilt market and it looked pretty cool!)

Cutting with scissors is an important sewing skill that needs to be practiced in order to become better. It is necessary for kids to cut out their own projects and develop those fine motor skills while learning how to cut various fabric shapes and patterns.

There is only 1 space left in the upcoming Sewing Club session, so register today if you want to come make this with us!

Hope you have a fun Valentine’s Day 🙂