I wanted a craft that I could do as a mom, that didn’t require lots of sewing… since I have no clue on that front… but was still fun and looked good.

I had a friend that did no sew pillows a while back as gifts for her family and I thought that was a great idea. No sewing required… I was hooked!

With the end of August around the corner, I decided to go ahead and get started on my pillow gifts, since I knew it would take some time, in between all the other parts of my life. So, I searched and found some great directions from Exploring Womanhood to share with you.

The one great thing about this project is that you can go with any theme you want, so you can tailor these gifts for specific people. This is a great homemade gift that shows your love.

So, here you go!

Supplies Needed:

• A pair of good scissors (If your scissors are dull, it will take a lot longer to complete!) OR rotary cutter and mat
• Ruler or tape measure
• Two 3/4 yard pieces of coordinating fleece. This should be enough to make two pillows (you need a 25″ x 25″ square for a 14 inch pillow form.)
• 14″ pillow form
• Remember:
  • You need two separate pieces of fabric for the pillow; one will be the front, one will be the back. You can choose two coordinating fabrics or the same fabric. The choice is yours!
  • Fleece mini panels look very nice, but be sure there is enough material at the edge to cut the fringe without cutting into the pattern.
  • Watch for sales at your fabric store, as you can save a lot of money that way, often more than 50%. Also check the remnant bins. You may be able to find a large enough piece and it will often be discounted.

Directions:

1. Cut off rough selvage edges. (This is the side that is machine finished, not cut.) Trim only as much as necessary, usually not more than 2 inches on each side. At this point, make sure that your cut sides are relatively straight. (They don’t have to be perfect!) Do this on each piece of fabric.

2. Lay your fleece wrong sides together, with edges matching up. (Often times with fleece, it’s hard to tell which side is the wrong side and it often doesn’t matter which side you use as the front or back.) **Some people choose at this point to pin the layers together; this is a personal preference. I’ve found it quicker not to pin, and I’ve never had a problem with slippage or keeping the sides aligned.

3. Cut a 5×5″ square out of each corner (through both layers of fleece) and discard.

4. Cut 5″ into both layers of fleece at 3/4″ intervals around all four sides. Please note: This is 1/4″ smaller than what was done on the no sew blanket project. The smaller fringe is nice on a small pillow, but you can do a 1″ fringe if you desire. Tie overhand knot close to blanket edge by using one strip from the front and one strip from the back to create finished fringe edge. You will find that two sides stretch more than the other two. Tie both stretchy sides and one non-stretchy side.

5. Insert the pillow form in the pocket formed by the ties. Then tie the remaining side. It is very helpful to tie every other at this point and then go back and tie the pieces in-between.

Several notes here:

• To help make your strips approximately wide (again, it doesn’t have to be perfect), you can use a tape measure across the top of your five inch section so that you not only make your cuts about 1″ apart but also only five inches deep.
• To make the tying look more even, I tie every other one, all the way around the blanket, then flip the blanket over to the back and tie the rest. That way neither side is really the front or the back!
• Experiment with the way you tie the knots for different looks. You can make the knot show in either fabric as well as the fringe in either fabric.
• The nature of fleece makes two of the sides stretchy. Don’t fear! Just be gentle when tying those sides (the selvage sides) so that your fringe isn’t stretched out of shape! The knots do not have to be tight to remain tied and keep the blanket together.

See No Sew Blanket

This project is brought to you by Exploring Womanhood.

At Pajama Mommy, we strive to find fun and entertaining crafts that the whole family will love and have fun participating in. As a parent, please use your judgment to choose activities that you believe are safe for your child and family.