Luxury On A Dime: The Getting Gathered Pillow Tutorial

Want to rival the luxurious throw pillows in high-end catalogs for a fraction of the price? And have the added bonus of serious durability?  It's easy with my new Getting Gathered Pillow Tutorial. It's perfect for accenting a chair or couch, or adding extra style to a bedroom. And it's able to withstand whatever gets thrown at it.  Literally.  With 3 kids in my house that could be just about anything.  I don't dare have anything laying around that isn't washable these days. It's nice to have something that is and gives a little taste of luxury in the house!

To Make Your Own You'll Need:
- Square Pillow form (I used a 12"x12" size) 
- 1/2 yard Luxury Fabric (I used 300 count Cotton)*
- 1 yard Decorative trim or ribbon 
- 13 buttons (3 for back closure, 10 decorative for front)
- Sewing Notions (shears/rotary cutter, ruler, disappearing marker/chalk, pins, iron, hand sewing needle, thread & sewing machine)

*What is 300 thread count cotton?  A 100% natural long staple Indian Cotton which, as the name says, has a thread count that's higher than most by-the-yard fabric (normal quilting cotton is just 100-200 thread count).  This is the material used in good quality bedding & sheets.  It has a nice sheen and feels butter soft, yet it's very practical since it's machine washable and really hardwearing.  Being 54 inches, wide the yardage is ideal for home accessories too, as they usually have larger widths than other projects.

Start with a length of fabric that is at 3 times as wide as the pillow form and 1 inch taller.  For my 12"x12" pillow I did 37 inches wide by 13 inches high.  Then mark into thirds, widthwise, with disappearing marker:

Cut the two back pieces, the first being 13 inches in width by 12 inches high and the other being 13 inches in width by at least 3 inches in height:

Fold over one length side of each of the back pieces by 1/4 inch and press.  Then fold over again 3/4 of an inch and re-press.

 Topstitch fold and sew 1/4 inch from fold on each piece.

On the smaller back piece, draw evenly spaced lines for buttonholes just below the topstitching:

Stitch buttonholes and cut open.  I used some silk thread for my topstitching & buttonholes.  It feels softer and has a little extra shimmer to add a nice fancy touch.

With right sides facing up, overlap the back pieces so that the folded top of the smaller piece is 3/4 inch over the bottom fold of the larger piece and pin together on either side:

On front fabric baste 1/4 inch from top and bottom raw edges and over the 3 marked lines.  Gather all rows by pulling up the bobbin threads and adjust gathers to be 13 inches across (measure with ruler to check the width and even the gathering):

Cut two pieces of decorative trim and pin along the two middle gathers and topstitch into place:

With right sides facing, pin front and back together and stitch .5 inch from edge all the way around:

Trim raw edges and clip points off corners and turn right side out.  Hand sew on buttons and place pillow form inside.

Now the pillow is ready to add a little luxury flair!

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