Make a Sparkly Snowflake Pillow for Christmas!
It's the holidays, and that means it is time to redecorate our houses from top to bottom. (Just kidding, but it feels like it sometimes!) This easy Cricut iron-on snowflake pillow I made for Christmas has an added bonus of sparkle - from some Swarovski crystals!
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Snowflake Pillow
This pillow would look great in your living room, bedroom, or home office to bring a bit of holiday cheer to the space. If the grey fabric doesn't work with your decor, try using light blue, or beige for a neutral look - or go for a trendy retro look with pink fabric!
Supplies Used:
Grey Cotton Fabric (18" x 40"" for 18" pillow)
Cricut Maker machine (Amazon.com, Cricut.com)
Cricut Glitter Iron-on Sampler - Moonlight (Cricut.com, Amazon.com)
Cricut Everyday Iron-on - White (Cricut.com, Amazon.com)
Cricut Easy Press 2 (Cricut.com, Amazon.com)
Cricut Easy Press mat - 12x12 (Cricut.com, Amazon.com)
Jewel Setter Tool (Amazon.com)
Beacon Gem Tac (Amazon.com)
Swarovski Flat Back Crystal Mix - Aqua (purchased at Michaels)
Swarovski 7mm Xirius Flat Back Crystals (Amazon.com)
Heat n' Bond Ultra Hold 5/8" tape (or sewing machine)
To create this pillow cover, start with a piece of fabric that is the right size for your pillow form. The trick to having a pillow appear to be nice and fluffy is to have your cover be actually slightly smaller than your pillow form's size! So, to make this pillow cover, I used these dimensions: 18" x 40"
The 18" is the height of the pillow. The 40" I got by taking the size of the pillow and multiplying it by two (2x18=36). Then I added 4" on to it for the overlap and seams on the back edges. So the fabric length is 36+4=40". That same calculation can be used to make a similar pillow in any size!
snowflake pillow
Once the fabric is cut, it is time to cut and apply the iron-on. I do this before finishing the pillow case because then I don't have to worry about getting my design centered on a finished case. I simply finish the case to center the design!
This is a busy design with a lot of elements, but if you look closely, you'll see that only a few of them overlap. And they only overlap onto the white. This is because glitter iron-on can't be layered - it can only be a top layer on top of everyday iron-on. So the design places some of the glitter elements near each other....but they never overlap.
I recommend starting the application of this design with the large white snowflake, and then building the other smaller elements in around it.
snowflake pillow close up
Once the iron-on is all applied, the crystals can be glued in place. The large ones inside the small blue snowflakes are arranged in a circle, but the tiny ones in the other snowflakes are more random. Applying the crystals is really simple - it only requires a dot of Gem Tac and then pushing it on the surface just like applying an embellishment to paper. A sticky tip gem setter tool can really help you keep from losing your crystals (and your mind) while trying to attach the tiny ones.
To finish the pillow, start by folding each of the 18" long ends under (away from the iron-on design) twice with a width of 5/8" and then use the ThermoWeb Ultra Hold tape to hold it those edges in place. (Or pin it and stitch it down if you sew.)
Next, lay the fabric out flat design side up. Fold first one 18" edge and then the other into the center so the overlap in the middle over the design. Adjust the fold and overlap until the design is centered inside the fold and the fabric measures 16.75" across the front from one fold to the other. (This is 18" minus two 5/8" seams.) Cut ThermoWeb Ultra Hold strips and iron them to attach the top and bottom. An extra short strip will be required where the fabric overlaps on each end. (Or pin and sew it.)
More detailed instructions (including photos) about how to finish this pillowcase can be found in my previous Paris-themed pillow project.
snowflake pillow on couch
Once that is done, you can turn your pillowcase right side out and it is ready to be stuffed with your pillow form!
Enjoy your holiday snowflake sparkles!
