bow pillow (tutorial)

A simple, understated pillow, with classic detailing and menswear-inspired fabric? Yes, please.

One of my favorite pillows I’ve made is an oversized bow pillow (which you can see in the background of this picture and in this post about pillows). The inspiration came from those silky bow blouses from the 80’s, but with a slightly more masculine feel with the gray plaid of the original pillow. It’s such an easy one to make that I thought maybe you would like one in your home, too. I’d love to show you how.

SUPPLIES //

fabric (medium to light-weight so the bow will lay nicely) / scissors / pins / needle + thread. Not shown: iron, sewing machine

MAKE THE PILLOW //

1 / cut two pieces of fabric 1″ larger than pillow form size. My form is 12 x 18 so I cut my fabric to 13 x 19. This will give you 1/2″ seam allowance.

2 / pin fabric pieces right sides together

3 / stitch around the perimeter, angling a few stitches on the corners and leaving an opening in the bottom center.

4 / trim extra fabric on corners

Turn right side out and you’ll have this:

MAKE THE SASH //

1 / cut long strip of fabric for sash. Your length will depend on how long you want your finished bow. I like the tails to just hit the bottom of the pillow. My sash was cut to 40″ long. The width is 5″.

2 / fold sash in half and iron flat

3 / starting on the folded side, angle the stitches to create a nice finished edge of the bow

4 / stitch along open edges of sash to close –  leaving an opening in the center (see below). Repeat steps 3 + 4 on other end of sash.

5 / trim ends

6 / be sure to leave a small opening in the center of the sash

7 / turn sash right-sides-out. Using a pencil or skewer can help.

8 / not shown: iron sash flat for nicely crisp edges

9 / hand-stitch opening close. Your finished sash will look like this:

TIE THE BOW //

1 / make a loop, leaving about 1/3 of the sash as the tail

2 / loop the other end of the sash up over the loop

3 / pull through center loop

4 / pull gently to tighten, adjusting the bow loops and tails to lay nicely

ADD BOW TO PILLOW //

1 / hand-stitch back of bow to hold together

2 / stitch to top left corner of pillow cover (make sure you only stitch through the front piece!)

3 / insert pillow form (I prefer down-filled like this)

4 / pin opening and hand-stitch to close

And here’s the finished piece:

Try it in a light-weight flannel, silk, or fabric found in the apparel section of the fabric store. It looks cute as a smaller lumbar shape, but also great on our sofa in a large square.

This is a great project for a beginning sewer as there are only a few straight stitches! Give it a try …