My obsession with “bunny butts” (as the Boy calls them) continues. This set of Easter pillow covers is my latest project and i think they might be my favorite project yet! They’re such a cute edition to my Easter decorating. I’m sharing the pattern and tutorial for the Easter bunny pillow here. If you ‘d like the pattern for the coordinating Easter egg pillow, check out my guest post over at The Kim Six Fix today.
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Ready? Let’s get started!
Materials:
- ½ yard of fabric for the main pillow cover (for one pillow – if you’re making the set, you’ll need a full yard.)
- Scrap fabric for the bunny, tail and grass
- 2 large flower buttons for decoration (optional)
- 3 1” buttons for the closure on the back
- One package of coordinating piping
- Pellon EZ Steam or similar double sided iron-on adhesive, or adhesive basting spray
- One 16” pillow form
- Patterns for the bunny pieces (download here)
Start by cutting out the pillow cover. You’ll need a 17” square for the front, and two 17” x 13” rectangles for the back. Set the backing pieces aside.
Fold the pillow front in half and finger press to mark a center line.
Trace the bunny, tail and grass pieces onto one side of the iron-on adhesive and apply to your fabric scraps following the manufacturer’s instructions. (If you’re using spray adhesive, you can trace the shapes directly onto the wrong side of the fabric.)
Cut out the shapes. To make sure the shapes lined up, I applied the grass first and centered the bunny on top. Fold both pieces in half and finger press to mark the center lines. Line up this line with the line on the pillow front and adhere in place.
Set your sewing machine for a short, narrow zig zag stitch and sew all the way around the edge of the bunny shape with matching thread. Switch to thread to match the grass and sew around that piece the same way.
Center the tail over both pieces, adhere in place, and stitch with matching thread and the same narrow zig zag stitch.
Add buttons for decoration (if desired) and hand stitch in place.
Have you ever made a pillow cover or bought an inexpensive pillow that had empty, pointy corners? Here’s how you avoid that!
Lay the pillow front on your work surface. Measure in ½” from the top and side on each corner and make a small mark.
Fold the pillow front in half horizontally and mark the center at each edge. Fold in half vertically and mark the center at each edge.
Using a ruler, draw a line from each center mark to the corners.
Trim the pillow cover along the marked lines. Set the pillow top aside.
Fold under a 1-1/2” hem along one long side of each of the two back pieces. Fold again to create a double hem and press. Topstitch close to the edge. Set one back piece aside.
Make three buttonholes on the other back piece (one in the center, and one 4” from each end).
Clip the buttonholes open. Lay the other backing piece on your work surface right side up, and lay the buttonhole piece on top (also right side up), using the topstitching as a guide to line up the pieces.
Use a pencil to mark through the center of each buttonhole to indicate the button placement.
Set the buttonhole piece aside and sew buttons into place over the center marks.
Button the two pieces together and lay them right side up on your work surface. Center the pillow front on top, right side down, and shape the corners of the pillow back by trimming it to match the pillow front.
Sandwich the piping in between the two pillow cover pieces and pin or clip into place. (I LOVE my Clover Wonder Clips for basting pipings and bindings. No more stabbed fingers! Seriously, get yourself a set. They rock.)
To ease the piping around the curves, clip the fabric close to the stitching line to allow it to stretch. Be careful not to clip the stitches!
When you get back around to the point where you started pinning the piping, cut the ends so they overlap by about 2″. Open up the seam on one end and clip the piping cord (but not the fabric) back until the two ends just meet. Turn under the raw edge of the fabric and wrap it around the starting end of the piping to enclose all the raw ends.
Stitch all the way around the pillow, as close to the piping as possible.
Turn the pillow cover right side out and insert the pillow form. All done!
I wanted my Easter pillows to look like a matching set so I used the same background fabric on each, and made my own piping. The Easter bunny pillow is piped with the same yellow fabric I used for the stripes on the Easter egg versions, and it has bright pink buttons to match the pink in the egg pillow. The same green fabric I used for the grass on the bunny version was used for the piping on the egg version, and the egg has bright green buttons to match the piping. They’re the perfect addition to my Easter decorations!
If you’d like the pattern and instructions for the Easter egg version, head on over to The Kim Six Fix!
Love this! I like decorating with “bunny butts” for Easter too 🙂 Thanks for linking up with Merry Monday!
I’ve made a banner, tote bag and pillow so far. I may have finally run out of bunny butt ideas, at least for this week!