How to Make a Pillow
A Bolster in Half an Hour or Less

I want to show you how to make a pillow to decorate your house. Bolster pillows are little round pillows that look like candies! Their most common use is to support the neck, but they're also great for decoration.

Use them for your bed or for a couch, even for a nice big chair.

They can be hard to sew because of the circles on the sides. I'll show you how to make one avoiding the hard part.

You only have to sew rectangles! This is a great project to practice hemming and straight stitching.

The best part is that they're so easy to make, you can make many to practice and then put them all over your house. They'll look really cute.

Supplies

• 2 pretty and matching fabrics
• Pillow filling
• Matching ribbon 1/4" wide

Patterns and Cutting

You will need three rectangles to make this bolster pillow. One for the body and the two for the sides. Use a different fabric for each one.

Decide how long and wide your pillow will be. Add 1/2" to each measurement for seam allowances and trace a rectangle. This will be the body of the pillow.

Make the side rectangles using the measurements of the body

How to Make the Pillow

1. Finish the edges of all the pieces with a serger or zig zag stitch.
2. Hem the side rectangles:
   • Make a 1/4" narrow hem on the short sides.
   • Then make a machine hem on one long side. Fold 1/4", and then 3/4".

3. Fold the body rectangle in half lengthwise, with the right side of fabric towards the inside. Sew to close the long edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. You now have a tube of fabric.

   

4. Join the small edges of a side rectangle to create a circle (the right side of fabric should be outside) and put it inside the tube.

• Match the circle's edges to the tube's seam.
• The hemmed side goes in first.
• Align the other side to the tube's edge and pin. The circle should fit perfectly, without overlapping.
• Sew around the edge with a 1/4" seam allowance.

When you pull the side rectangle out, it looks like this.



And when you turn it inside out it should be like this. Repeat for the other side.


5. Pass the ribbon through the hems of the side rectangles. I used a plastic needle to do it. Close one side by pulling the ribbon and tying a bow.
6. Stuff the pillow through the other side, and close

Awesome, you're done! Now you know how to make a pillow.

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