A Crafty Fox

Quilting. Books. Lifestyle.

Pointed In The Right Direction Pillow (Tutorial and Giveaway!)

The other day, surfing through blogs, I found this amazing quilt. I immediately thought of all of the scraps of LouLouThi I had left over from cutting charm packs for our etsy shop. This turned out to be a super quick and easy project and I am so proud of it, that I thought I would share the ‘how-tos’ of it with you.

In The Right DirectionThe supplies you are going to need are:

60 (ish) 1-3″ x 5″ scraps OR 1 LouLouThi charm pack with the charms sliced into two pieces  (not in half)
6″x WOF piece of solid fabric (I used Kona White)
21″ square of batting
21″ square of fabric for pillow front backing
EITHER a 20″ square of solid for back of pillow & an 18″ zipper OR (2) 20″x14″ pieces of fabric
Rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
Scissors, pins, thread, iron and spray starch

Supplies Needed

First, I trimmed off my selvedges, and began to lay out my scraps. Lay out your first two scraps just like this:
Lay out your Scraps
Continue to lay all of your scraps out until you have 19-20 in a row. I tried to make sure that my rows didn’t have repeats, but I don’t think a repeat would make too much of a difference in the finished product. If, like me, you have chubby logs and skinny logs, try and make sure that the right and left sides are balanced so that your arrows roughly point down the middle. If all of the chubby logs are on one side, your arrow will tilt.
Layout Scraps: Part 2
Once you have them all laid out, stack them carefully with the bottom right log on top and each subsequent log underneath ( or whatever system works for you 🙂 ) Take them in a neat pile to your sewing machine and sew the first two ‘logs’ together like this to form your first point:
Sewing the strips
Keep adding logs in alternating directions, just as they were laid out on your cutting mat
Adding the logs
For me, I liked the way it looked to sew all of the seam allowances towards the points. And it made ironing all of those seams a breeze. And I hate ironing, so anything that makes it easier is a good thing in my book!
Sewing the Seam Allowance
Once you have your 20 logs sewn into a strip of points, repeat until you have 3 strips of points. Press seams towards the points. Lay out on your cutting mat and trim off the extra triangles. You will want to trim it until you have a strip 5″ wide by 18″ long.
Trim the Sides
I tried to line up the points in my ruler, but it is much more important to have a 5″ wide strip than a strip with points perfectly in the middle.

Once you have trimmed all three of your point strips, it is time to cut your 6″ piece of solid into

(4) 2″ x 18″ strips
(2) 2″ x 20″ strips

Assemble the pieces as shown here:
Assemble the Pillow Top

Once that is all assembled, your pillow top is done! Yay! Now, layer the backing, batting and pillow top together, baste and quilt as desired. I just did some simple outlining and meandering in the solid. I chose not to quilt the arrows due to the degree of busy-ness already there. Please, feel free to quilt this however your heart is singing for you to do it. Hopefully, this kind of shows how I did mine:
In The Right Direction Pillow

Now, just trim down the front and finish in the style that is most comfortable for you. I added a zipper to the bottom and just used a 20″ piece of kona white for the back.

Now, if you have stuck with my first ever tutorial this long, I think you deserve something. Leave me a quick comment and one lucky reader will get enough LouLouThi scraps to make their very own ‘Pointed n the Right Direction’ Pillow. Just let me know where you are writing to me from.

Have fun!

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Related posts:

  1. Show Off: A Pillow Pattern with Bonus Y-Seam Tutorial (part one)
  2. Show Off: A Pillow Tutorial (part two: the one with the Y-Seams)
  3. Web of {Butter} Flies: A Tutorial
  4. How To Make A Mummy Pillow In Under An Hour – {Halloween Week!}

Comments

  1. Hi! I’m your mom and I’m sitting behind a laptop in *HOT* Florida reading this tutorial and thinking “What a clever girl I have!” and wishing I had some of those gorgeous LouLouThi scraps to make a Pointed in the Right Direction Pillow for myself. Or you could make me one. That would be OK too, and a lot less labor on my part. The pillow is awesome and this is a great tutorial. And if you have any extra scraps…

  2. I’d definately send the scraps to mom or make her that pillow, and if there’s extra i would love some too!

  3. Woohoo! I love this tutorial! 🙂 Great work! And I’m loving the loulouthi fabric – this is one of the very first projects I’ve seen using it! 🙂

  4. Hi! I’m from sunny (finally!) California. 🙂 I’m a relatively new follower of your blog – this is a great first tutorial. I really like your tip about sewing all your seams in one direction to make ironing easier later. Why didn’t I think of that!? 😉

  5. Hi, I’m Jen and I’m sitting at the computer in central Pennsylvania reading your lovely tutorial, taking a break from sewing, while my dear husband is sewing some binding for me (<3) as he watches Harry Potter for the bazillianth time.

  7. Hi! I’m not your Mom but I’m a fan of your tutorial, love this braided look, and I’m also enthralled with LouLouThi. I can’t wait to get some of that fabric to play with but I’m torn because I have fabric I need to use up first.

    I wouldn’t feel guilty about scraps, though. Still, how can you NOT send them to your very proud Mama?!

  9. I am writing from not so sunny (yet!) Seattle. I love this collection. Such a great tutorial too (I think I have some Amy Butler scraps waiting for a project like this). Thanks for the giveaway!

  10. Thankyou for such a great tutorial! The pillow is gorgeous – love the Heather Bailey quilty version too.
    I’m typing to you from chilly (winter has really hit today!) northern New South Wales, Australia. 🙂

  12. ok, seriously i love this. i always admire this pattern, but how can i compete with your moms comment? classic?
    im in hot NE indiana.

  14. Love your tutorial and the fabric. I’m in Boston trying to work up the motivation to get ready for work.

  15. wonderful tutorial! I will definitely be using it! (coming from Chicago…laying in bed with my 2 and 4 year old.) 🙂

  16. Well aren’t you just the clever girl?? Adorble pillow. I am loving that new AMH fabric. I am writing this from Canton, MI (Near Ann Arbor, kinda in the metro Detroit area). It was fun to meet you at market this spring!!

  17. Excellent tutorial! I want to make a new pillow for our living room (in our new house!) and these scraps would be perfect; we love color (and AMH). Thanks!

  18. I’m sitting at my computer in Bermuda… oh wait this is Indiana it just feels like we’re in the tropics lately!

  19. Good morning from ridiculously hot Texas! I love this pillow; I’ve been wanting to make some pillows for my living room lately!

  20. Hello! I’m in ‘rainy season’ Bangkok and wondering if I have enough talent to make that gorgeous cushion!

  22. I LOVE the design of this pillow, thanks for the chance, I have not done a pillow yet and would LOVE to make one! I am in Virginia, btw…where it is uber hot today! lol

  23. What a sweet pillow! I’m writing you from my kitchen table with the sun shining in!!

  25. LOL at your mom! I don’t know if I can compete with that, but I would love some of your scraps. I’m going to try to make this pillow this weekend with some of my own scraps – thank you!

  26. Wow! This looks pretty simple, even for me who is not a big quilter! I’d love to try this!
    I’m from Quebec Canada.

  27. I love this pillow! I cannot wait to try my hand at it… now just to find the time for ANOTHER project. Enjoying your blog in Virginia. Now back to cutting and sewing!

  28. You’ve done a great job on the tute, my 14 year old daughter is ready to do a pillow. We are reading from the beautiful Appalachian mountains. Blessings

  29. Great first tutorial! I like the tip on how you ironed the seams (I am also not a fan of ironing). I am writing from Sunny Minnesota. jmniffer

  30. What a great pillow! I have been itching to make some pillows for my couch and this is great inspiration! Thanks!

  31. Greetings from the San Francisco Bay Area, where we actually saw blue skies yesterday for the first time in what seems weeks! Love the tutorial. Looks like a fun summer project for my 8-year-old daughter (with my help of course).
    Mcglen8…at…gmail.com

  32. Your pillow is gorgeous!
    I’m in Canada (Ontario) & I found you during the SMS giveaway… and found this post through fb! Was the most interesting thing in my newsfeed 😉
    And, bonus! ~ a scrap giveaway! That’s awesome!
    Also, the comment from your mom made me smile 🙂

  33. I know it’s hot in a lot of places, but when it gets to 100 degrees F in OHIO, it causes bunch of complaining. (Not to mention the sweat and the fact that most everyone becomes a stay-indoors-and-become-a-couch-potato-for-the-day)! 🙂

    ps – Your mom is hilarious!

  36. Hi! I have some plain, boring and, let’s be honest, ugly pillows in need of a makeover sitting on my couch in the getting hotter each day state of Kentucky. I would love to use some LouLouThi scraps to make a lovely pillow cover using your fabulous tutorial. =]

  37. Awesome! I just saw a chevron bag tutorial this morning and thought–oh yeah! This is like icing on the cake–love your idea!! OH, and please enter my name to win the scraps–that would be fabulous to win! I’m here from the sunny side of Chicago!

  38. Lovely pillow and great tutorial. I’m from Spain. Just starting to quilt 🙂

  39. What a great way to use up scraps! Thanks for sharing. I’m writing from Calgary, Alberta, Canada where it feels like we’ll never get a decent spring. 🙁

  40. writing from santa rosa, CA. thanks for the tutorial- i love scrappy projects! don’t want to let any nice fabric go to waste!

  41. I’m writing from Seattle-ish Washington…. it’s cold, gray, and rainy here. 😛 Love the pillow, it’s so colorful!!

  43. I love this! The tutorial is clear and I love the idea that as long as the strip is 5 inches wide it doesn’t matter if the points aren’t lined up!

    Brilliant idea, thanks

  45. Hello from Spokane, WA. Unlike other parts of the US it is nice and cool here. Hope you aren’t sweltering! Thanks for the great tute.

  48. That is a fab pillow! Love any new ideas for scrap stash busting. I writing from the overly sunny and hot middle of North Carolina!

  49. Awesome tutorial! And I love the fabric. Would like to make my first pillow with the scraps, too!
    Hope you’ll be sending them to Huntersville, NC.

  50. Greetings from British Columbia, Canada… where we are happy to have sun & be a high of 21 C today! What a neat pillow tutorial! Thanks for a chance to win! 🙂

  53. I love the pillow! I am writing from Michigan – its hot and muggy here right now.

  54. Thank you for the lovely giveaway. I adore the pillow- the fabrics are wonderful. I am writing from Troy, Michigan

  55. This is gorgeous. And you make it look so easy! I have been wanting to try this techniaue, but am a little bit scared of it!

  56. Your pillow came out beautifully! I’m writing from Hawaii. Thanks for the chance to win!

  57. Great tutorial – it looks like this is fun to make. I’m on the coast of NC in Beaufort. It’s hot here, but I love it here!

  58. Cute, cute pillow. I think my new house in Southeast Georgia needs one or two of those.

  60. what a fun and pretty pillow! i love the fabrics, the bold colours and patterns, would love a little bit to play with! thanks for the chance!

  61. What a gorgeous pillow – I love the loulouthi collection! I’m reading you from Sydney, Australia 🙂

  64. What a lovely way to use up oddments. You could end up with a pillow of memories of all the other garments/quilts you have made.

  68. Don’t count this as an extra entry, but I forgot to say I was writing from Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.

  71. Hi Amanda,

    It’s Peta from Sydney! I love your pillow, what a cool tutorial and I love AMH. Beautiful fabric choice!

  72. Hi, this is Deborah from Atlanta, GA. These are beautiful colors, and you’ve got a generous heart to share your fabrics with us.

  75. Loving your tutorial! I am imagining pillows in all of AMH’s lines, and maybe some Echino ones as well. Sending this your way from Southern New Hampshire, though I’m a Southern California through and through.

  76. I absolutely love it! I wonder if this would work with jelly roll scraps? I’m writing from Tallahassee, Florida!

  83. THis is gorgeous! And I would love the scraps to do it as well!! I’m from Alaska 🙂

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