Hi, Everyone! My name is Jessica Dayon and I’m here to share Halloween pillow tutorial with you!
Today we will be making a fun, foundation paper pieced Halloween themed pillow! Don’t worry if you’ve never tried foundation paper piecing…I have 3 YouTube videos that walk you through making the block used in this pillow! It is a fun, new skill to learn! And, once you do, there are SO many great foundation paper piecing patterns out there.
The best part is Thermoweb has a really awesome product for this!! Stitch n Sew EZ Print Quilt Block Sheets are 8 1/2″ x 11″ sheets that you can print the foundation paper piecing template directly onto to. Then you use the printed sheets to make the foundation paper piecing pattern. Once you have finished piecing, the sheet tears away very easily!
Let’s get started!
Boo! HALLOWEEN PILLOW
This pillow finishes at 18″ x 18″
MATERIALS
a few fat quarters each of low volume fabric and 1 fat quarter (or scraps) black fabric (Used here: Boo Bash by Blend Fabrics)
1/4 yard fabric for binding
1 fat quarter fabric for the backing
Stitch N Sew EZ Print Quilt Block Sheets
21.5″ zipper
HeatNBond No-Sew Hem Adhesive, 3/8″
SprayNBond Quilt Basting spray
20″ x 20″ piece of batting
18″ x 18″ pillow form
Boo! Halloween Pillow Instructions
BASIC INSTRUCTIONS
Read through the instructions before beginning
All seams are sewn with ¼” seam allowance unless noted
RST means right sides together
WOF means Width of Fabric
CUTTING
From the fabric for the pillow back, cut 2- 10″ x 18.5″ rectangles
From the binding fabric, cut 4- 2.5″ x 42″ strips
PILLOW TOP ASSEMBLY
Follow my full tutorial for making the ray quilt block, which includes links to 3 YouTube videos I made teaching exactly how to make the block- HERE.
IMPORTANT- To make this pillow, the Ray quilt block template is reduced by 50% to yield one- 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ block (instead of the 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ as in the original). Instead of printing the pattern on my blog (which is the 6 1/2″ x 6 1/2″ block), print this template HERE – which has 4- 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ blocks on one page. You’ll need to print 9 copies directly onto the Stitch n Sew EZ Quilt Block Sheets. This will give you a total of 36- 3 1/2″ x 3 1/2″ templates to foundation paper piece 36 blocks.
Sew the blocks together, as shown below, in 6 rows of 6 blocks per row.
PILLOW TOP ASSEMBLY
Use the basting spray to baste the batting and pillow top together.
Quilt the pillow top as desired.
Make the zippered pillow back.
Join the 4 strips of binding together to make one continuous strip. Press in half widthwise.
Place the pillow back with the wrong side up then put the pillow top on top of it with the wrong side down (and right side facing up). Pin them together.
Sew the binding on to the front of the pillow. When you are attaching your binding, you are also sewing the pillow layers together. Remove the pins. Flip the pillow over. To secure the binding down, use the hem tape. Measure a length of hem tape and adhere it to the inside edge of the binding. Remove the paper, pull the binding around, and adhere the binding down to the pillow back. Repeat all the way around.
Finished! Enjoy your gorgeous pillow!
I hope you have enjoyed this tutorial and you found it easy to follow along with me! If you have any questions, please let me know! Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram so you can stay up to date with my latest free projects- @jessicadayon. Share what you made! I’d love to see your progress photos and finished pillow! Use the hashtags #rayquiltblockpattern #jessicadayonpatterns #thermoweb #heatnbond #spraynbond and tag me so I can see your version @jessicadayon
Also, you can find my blog HERE. On it, I share free quilt patterns and tutorials so go check it out! You can also find me on Instagram @jessicadayon where you can connect with me and see my daily work, current projects, inspiration, giveaways, quilt alongs, and all of my patterns.
Thanks for following along with me!
-Jessica
Alycia Maurer
October 26, 2019 at 9:25 am (5 years ago)Hi Jessica! Thank you so much for this pattern. I have some questions on the instructions. For this instruction (Use the basting spray to baste the binding and pillow top together.) do you mean backing? And by backing, is it a piece of muslin that is not listed in the list of supplies? Because if you quilt the backing to the top, then how do you attach backing for the zipper. And I didn’t see instructions on inserting the zipper and attaching the pillow back. Sorry for all the questions of if I misunderstood something. Thanks for your help!
Jessica Dayon
October 28, 2019 at 10:13 am (5 years ago)Hi Alycia!
There was a typo (I corrected it). It should have read baste the batting and pillow top together. I often don’t use a muslin layer or fabric layer on the back of the pillow (which would be the inside once you put the actual backing with the zipper on.
This tutorial does not include instructions for adding a zipper. You can do it any way you like or find a tutorial for adding a zipper to a pillow back (Polka Dot Chair has a good one). You just need the back to measure the same as the front when you are finished, which is 18 1/2″ square. Once you have the pillow back with the zipper made, the directions are above. You’ll lay down the pillow back, wrong side up. Then lay the quilted pillow top (right side up) directly on top. Pin together. Sew the binding on (while you are sewing the binding, you are also sewing the layers of the pillow together).
Let me know if you have any other questions. Thanks! Jessica