The Petal Pillow with MY Momma

So you've met my little sis and seen stuff she's done, but today you get a piece of my mom.  My mom is crazy-talented.  She sewed all our prom dresses and a billion other things over the years.  She also sews ridiculously fast, which I envy.  She makes her sewing machine sound like a race car.

As you know, my sister recently redid her room, so my mom joined in on the action and made her a cool pillow as well.  Here is it.  I'm going to call it the Petal Pillow because that just sounds pretty.

I'm going to show you how she did it, so let's get down to business.

If you want to make your pillow this size (which is very large) you will need 2 yards of fabric.  Cut 2 circles of fabric the size of the pillow you want.  (Her pillow has 4 rows of petals and is 27 inches accross.  You could do just 3 rows with a 21 inch diameter.)

Iron on fusible interfacing (like pellon) to one side of a large portion of fabric.  You'll be cutting your petals from this piece.  Put another piece of fabric underneath it so that when you cut out your petals you have all the layers you need.  Trace the petals onto the interfacing side. 

You will need enough petals to go all the way around the pillow and the petals will be placed tightly next to each other.  Place the petals wrong side together, sew the edges (leaving the bottom unsewn), invert them, and iron them flat.

Pin the petals in place and sew them on with a tight zigzag stitch (to avoid fraying).  If you need more of a guide you can draw a circle on the pillow with a water soluble pencil.

The petals get smaller as you move inward.  The petals are also sewn closer together as you move inward and they cover where the previous row of petal is sewn on.

As you move to the inner two circles the petals have one pleat so that they curve upward a bit, like a real petal.

In the center you can put a button.  Because her pillow is large she covered a plastic lid and inserted a little batting between the lid and the fabric.  It's kind of like a giant covered button.  She sewed it on with some decorative beads.

Lastly, pin all the petals in to sew the pillow together.  Place wrong sides together, sew, invert, stuff it with a lot of batting, and hand stitch the opening closed.

I think it would also look great in all one color or if each layer were slightly darker.  There are lots of possibilities, but any way you make the pillow it will add some fun texture and interest to any room.

If you want to make the pillow and you don't feel like you can draw the petals then let me know.  I can create a PDF download for the petals if you need it.

Yeah, my mom rocks.  You can tell her what you think in the comments.  She'll be reading them.

Thanks for dropping in!

ADDENDUM: You can get the PDF for the petals HERE.  My Mom did another pillow like this (pictured below) and in the PDF she gives new measurements.  She also pleated every row of petals and prefered that.

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