Strawberry Pillow

This Strawberry Pillow from I Love to Create is easy to make and fun to display in the summer months.  This handmade pillow is good enough to eat, and makes a great decor item for the living room, kitchen, or even outdoors!

Materials:

• Tulip® Fashion Glitter™ Shimmer Fabric Paint (Shimmer Light Pink, Shimmer Lime, Shimmer Pink, Shimmer Red)
• Tulip® Beads in a Bottle™ Paint (Semiprecious)
• Tulip® Fabric Paintbrushes™
• Polyfill
• Thread
• Fabric marking pencil
• Hand sewing needle
• Ruler
• Sewing machine
• Pink cotton fabric – 2/3 yard
• Sewing pins
• Lime cotton fabric – ¼ yard
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Wash and dry fabric to remove sizing; do not use fabric softener.
    
2. Lay pink fabric on work surface and brush Shimmer Red, Shimmer Pink and Shimmer Light Pink paints on fabric, blending colors on fabric for highlights and lowlights as desired. Let dry completely.
    
3. Repeat on lime fabric with Shimmer Lime paint.
    
4. Fold pink fabric in half to create two layers, then use a ruler and fabric pencil to sketch in an equilateral triangle (all sides the same length), with one side of the triangle along the fold line. We created ours with 18.5” sides.
    
5. Cut triangle out along two sides, leaving the folded edge intact.
    
6. Refold fabric with right sides together, then sew along one open edge of triangle with a 5/8” seam allowance.
    
7. Open up fabric and rotate the seam line just created until it aligns with the fold line and your open side is at the top. Measure and mark a horizontal line perpendicular to seam about 4” up from tip. Sew along line then cut excess fabric from tip.
    
8. Reposition fabric so that sewn side seam sits to one side of triangle, the folded side on the other and the open edge at the top. Press bottom of triangle open and flat, creating a diamond shape. Measure and mark horizontal lines 1” below top and 1” above bottom points of diamond shape then stitch along lines. Trim off excess fabric (top and bottom points of diamond).
    
9. Turn triangle right side out to reveal strawberry shape. Stuff strawberry with Polyfill.
    
10. Gather the corners from the fold and the side seam and pinch together in the middle of the top of strawberry. Hand stitch in place. Gather the remaining corners and stitch in place with the corners previously sewn. Continue gathering and sewing fabric at the top until Polyfill is fully encased in strawberry.
     
11. Print pattern provided from the URL link and cut out. Use patterns to cut two stem pieces and one base piece from lime fabric. (http://www.purlbee.com/the-purl-bee/2010/8/21/mollys-sketchbook-strawberry-pillows.html)
     
12. Place stem pieces right sides together and sew along flat edges and stem. Trim away excess fabric then cut small notches into the right angles of the stem. Turn stem piece right side out and stuff stem only with Polyfill, allowing some of the stuffing to poof out of the base of stem. (This will provide support for stem, helping it to stand up straight.)
     
13. Place base and stem piece right sides together (encasing the stuffed stem in between the pieces) and pin together once leaves are aligned. Sew together with a ¼” seam allowance, leaving one side of one leave un-sewn. Cut notches into the curves of all leaves, as well as the sharp angles. Turn top piece right side out.
     
14. Press the raw edges of the un-sewn side of leaf inside and pin shut. Stitch together with a blind stitch.
     
15. Pin top piece in place on top of strawberry then hand stitch in place, sewing the top of strawberry to the underside of top piece for each leaf.
     
16. Brush Shimmer Lime paint onto top piece. Let dry.
     
17. Use Onyx (black) Beads in a Bottle Paint to create “seeds” all over strawberry. Let dry.