Bedtime Story Pillow Make bedtime stories extra-special with a sweet and charming pillow. A handy pocket stores your favorite storybooks, while the front panel opens to reveal a sweet surprise -- even more beautiful embroidery. Project Needs & Notes - 16" x 16" pillow form - 1/3 yard twill (for door section) - 2/3 yard lightweight canvas (for inside door and back of pillow) - 1 yard print flannel (for front of pillow, pocket, and back inner lining) - 8 1/2" x 8 1/2" high piece of stiff fusible interfacing (for door section) - Medium-weight (2.5 ounce) cutaway stabilizer - Temporary spray adhesive - Air-erase pen for marking - 1 1/8 yards of 1" wide decorative fringe trim (for around door) - 1 yard of 1/2" wide decorative trim (for inside door) - 4 1 1/4" large decorative buttons - Needle and thread - Seam ripper Designs used in this tutorial include: - M3706, Fairy Door with Celtic Flair - M3765, Fairy with Flower Finished Size: 16" x 16" Prepare the fabric for the front of the door section.
Draw a 9 1/2" x 9 1/2" square on the twill. Leave a couple of inches of excess fabric around the shape. Mark the center of the square. Draw horizontal and vertical axis lines through the square. The center of the lines should be the same as the center of the square. A template is a printout of a design, and it's an excellent tool for planning where to stitch. Print a template of the design from your embroidery software. If you do not have embroidery software to print templates, try Wilcom's TrueSizer, a free program. Center the template inside the shape. There should be at least 2 1/2" of space between design and the edges of the shape. Mark the center point, as well as the vertical and horizontal axis lines. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together, aligning the marks on the hoop with the lines on the fabric.
Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is aligned with the center point on the fabric. Embroider the design. After embroidering, trim the excess stabilizer away from the back; cut out the shape.
Cut a piece of stiff fusible interfacing to 8 1/2" x 8 1/2". Align the interfacing on the back of the embroidered piece; press, following the instructions on the interfacing packaging. Lay the embroidered piece right side up and spray the edges with temporary adhesive. Smooth the decorative fringe trim along the edges of the shape with the fringe facing in. Lay the embroidered piece on top of the twill, right sides together. Pin in place, and cut around the shape of the front piece. Sew a 1/2" seam along the outer edges of the fabric leaving about 5" open along the bottom. Turn the fabric right side out and press the seams. Turn the fabric of the opening in 1/2" and press. Top-stitch a 1/4" seam along the entire outer edge of the door section.
Mark a 9" x 9" square on the lightweight cotton. Mark the center, embroider the design, trim away the excess stabilizer, and cut out the shape just as you did for the front of the door. Fold the edges of the fabric over 1/2" to the wrong side and press. Cut a piece of print flannel to 17" x 30". Fold the fabric together lengthwise (short ends aligned), wrong sides together. Pin in place and top-stitch a 1/4" seam along the top fold. Sew a 1/4" seam along the side and bottom edges. Center the embroidered piece on top of the flannel you just cut, right side facing up. The bottom of should be 4 1/2" up from the bottom of the flannel. Pin in place.
Add 1/2" wide decorative trim to the outer edges of the embroidered section. Sew a 1/4" seam along the entire outer edges of the shape. Add a decorative button about 1" in from the center left side. Mark 1" in from the center of the right side of the fabric. Sew a button hole at the mark. Then, add a pin at the top of the button hole and use a seam ripper to cut the hole open. Align the door on top of the center embroidered section. Pin in place and mark the placement for the button through the button hole.
Add a button at the mark you just made. Add a second button 1" in from the center left (this button is decorative). Tack the door in place by sewing a few stitches at the center, top, and bottom of the left side of the door section. Cut a piece of the flannel to 17" x 17" for the front panel. Cut a piece of the lightweight canvas to 17" x 17" for the inner lining piece. Lay the inner lining down first, wrong side facing up. Align the front panel on top, right side facing up. Align the assembled pocket/door piece on top of the front panel, right side facing up. The bottom of the pocket/door should align with the bottom of the front panel. Pin in place. Sew a 1/4" seam
along the entire outer edges of the fabric. Cut two pieces of the lightweight canvas to 12" x 17". Cut two pieces of the flannel to 12" x 17" for the lining. Align the pieces together, right sides together. Pin in place. Sew a 1/2" seam along only one of the side edges on each piece. Fold the pieces along the seam, press, and pin in place. Topstitch a 1/4" seam along the seamed edge and along the three remaining raw edges. Lay the front panel of the pillow flat with the right side facing up. Align the back pieces on top, right sides together. The sides of the back pieces should align with the sides of the front piece. Overlap the back pieces in the center. Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the entire outer edges of the fabric.
Turn the fabric right side out and insert the pillow in-between the folds of the back pieces at the back of the pillow. The handy pocket in this charming pillow is the perfect place to store a bedtime story. Perfect for kids' rooms, or a story corner!
Open the front panel of this cozy pocket pillow to reveal a hidden surprise. Here a fairy garden door opens to show the fairy inside.