A Dash of Panache: Poinsettia Pillows

By Kate Riley November 18, 2009

When I first got married ten years ago, I started collecting Christmas decorations.  Christmas is my favorite time of year, and I’d always dreamed of having my own home filled with the sights, sounds, and scents of the season.  Every year, I like to add something new to my growing collection.

This year I was inspired to create some decorative pillows with felt. The nice thing about felt is that it is inexpensive, it doesn’t fray, and it adds just the right amount of coziness for those upcoming winter months.  I wanted to create something bold, something stylish, but nothing too busy.  Poinsettias were my inspiration.

Here’s what I came up with:

poinsettia trio

Red version, up close:

red poinsettia final

If you want to create your own version of these simple sew poinsettia pillows, here’s the step-by-step.

Simple Sew Poinsettia Pillows

Supplies for a 14 to 18” pillow:  pillow insert, 2/3 yard of felt for the pillow form; 1/2 yard of felt for the petals and button; button cover kit or color coordinated button, zipper and thread to match.

supplies

Step One: Cut a single petal out of felt, then use it as your template to create 12 large petals.  Repeat to create 8 to 12 medium petals.

trim petals

Step Two:  On one side of your pillow form, start by centering two petals, and sewing them to your pillow front two at a time.  Sew only halfway up each petal to allow the edges to pop off the pillow form.

position petals

Step Three:  Work your way around in sets of two petals, slowly layering the flower pattern with the addition of each set of petals.  Start with the large petals, then add the medium petals on top.  Again, only sew halfway to allow the petals to curl up off the pillow.

layer petals

The nicest part about sewing your petals only halfway is it forms a crease in the petal which helps it curl, and then pop right off the pillow form to make a bold statement, even from across the room.

red petals

Step Four:  Use your button kit to create a felt covered button for the center of your flower.  Attach your button with a needle and thread.

button cover kit

attach button with thread

Step Five:  Turn your poinsettia inside out, and sew all three sides together to fit your pillow form, whether it’s 18” or 14” or anything in between.  Sew just the corners of the fourth side to prep for installing your zipper.

sew sides

Step Six:  Attach zipper foot to machine.  With your pillow form inside out, turn your zipper upside down, and sew each side to the pillow.

install red zipper

That’s it, easy peasy !  The greatest part about using a zipper is you can take the pillow cover right off and use the pillow insert the rest of the year.

Another alternative, rather than sewing your poinsettia onto a pillow cover, is to simply create the flower as described in steps 1-4, and attach to an ordinary pillow with a piece of velcro.

For the holidays, these look like little presents embellished with a bold botanical.

poinsettia duo

For the green version, I used cozy corduroy.

green courduroy poinsettia

This version sits in my family room, and adds a fresh seasonal touch to the existing green tones in the space.

pillow in family room

 

family room close up

 

More great pillow designs with felt for this season:

pillow collectionpair of poinsettia pillowsFrom top, left to right:  Bobby Berk pillow; Alexandra Ferguson pillow; Crate+Barrel pillows; Classics and Country snowflake pillow.

If pillows are not your thing, take a glance at this poinsettia themed decor:

poinsettia rugsRugs from Frontgate and Ballard Designs

 poinsettia decorPoinsettia candle; Swarovski ornament; flocked ribbon at Target; Tea for Two; glass ball ornaments.

Are you creating anything new for your home this holiday season ?

74 comments

  1. The red and white ones look good.
    Like the way you have given the step by step directions.
    Thats the good thing about Blogs.
    Sharing.

  2. The pillows are gorgeous. If you keep doing all these great projects that require a sewing machine, I might just have to break down and buy me one:)

  3. Those are the most beautiful Christmas pillows I’ve seen! I’m pretty sure I would keep them out after Christmas. They’re too pretty to put away!

  4. SO SO SO SO CUTE! I LOVE IT! Vera Wang has a similar pillow (not christmas but felt flowers) available at Kohls and it is so cute but super expensive! I cant believe it can be made so easily! (or at least you make it look so easy!) LOVE IT !

  5. Attaching the poinsettia with velcro is a fabulous idea. Gorgeous Pillows! Thanks much for sharing!! LindaSonia

  6. Oooooooh! So pretty! I am excited about the green & white pillow. I’ve been collecting green and white christmas decor for our living room this year. Maybe you can be convinced to include a green & white version in your Etsy shop (in case I don’t have time or patience to sew one myself.)

  7. BEAUTIFUL! The green one would match my LR as well….. But the white pillow with the red flower is simply perfect! Gorg! BTW, I’m planning to try out your spa towels as one of my first sewing projects ever….. Maybe if I get that one down, I can try a pillow….but I’m a little nervous about this zipper thing…..

  8. I love the pointsettia pillows! I can’t wait to try them…thanks for the great instructions!

  9. Curse you Kate – now I’m going to have to make more pillows. Just when my husband thought we had more pillows per capita in our house, I’m going to bring more. Seriously, I love them and even know the couch that’s going to get them. Thanks!

  10. Beautiful. I love the the green with the white flower. This is inspiring me to learn how to sew now!!
    Thanks for the how to. I’ll be back to visit some more!

  11. Wow- that’s really cool! I would never be able to make those!

    Love,
    MG

    *whosthatgamine.blogspot.com*

  12. Oh my goodness, these are fabulous!!!! Your pillows manage to be festive, whimsical, and sophisticated all at the same time – and thanks for the great tutorial (especially the zipper part)! That’s so funny, I was just about to say that you should totally sell these in your Etsy shop, but you were way ahead of me. :) Lovely!

  13. Adorable! I posted about a felt pillow I made a month or two ago that was so easy and cost only $7.99. I love your creation and the idea of using velcro so that it can be removed after the holidays is brilliant.

  14. I love to work with felt but tend to use the 100% wool kind. Do you know if any local stores stock this kind of felt? I realize it is much more expensive but I love the luxurious feel of the wool. I also might try this with some thrifted red wool sweaters to felt in the washer/dryer. My favorite that you made is actually the white on green. It’s so lovely.

  15. omg these are great and what an incredible diy! def could use these as a ring bearer pillow too, for those that are getting married out there its a great idea! and so chic and easy.

  16. These pillows are stunning – huge impact without being fussy or too glitsy – love them! Thanks for sharing another great idea.

  17. Absolutely gorgeous. But I think you should keep the pillow there year round!!! It just looks soooo beautiful there!
    Someday I will make some of those! Thanks for the inspiration!

  18. Thanks for sharing! I love the green version and have the same color green in velvet to use for mine. I was trying to think of a pillow to make with it this year and now I know- thanks!

  19. Great point about felt and how easy it is to work with. I love covered buttons but am a little daunted by the thought of the zipper foot!

  20. Oh my, these are beautiful! I don’t sew….at all but if I did I would make these in a heartbeat. They are so beautiful! I’m still working on the Manzanits branch project. I think I’m goign to just order the darn things online. Do you know how hard that wood is? Crazy!

  21. HANDS DOWN the best holiday “craft” project I’ve seen on any blog yet. I’m am so making a few dozen of these to give away for Christmast gifts!! I just LOVE how your green turned out and added a pop of Christmas to your living room without being to HoHoHo Obvious :)

  22. I appreciate that you give a tutorial on just about every creation you share on this site. That is so thoughtful. I love the pillows! All of them are beautiful and I can’t wait to make one. This would make a nice gift also.

  23. Your pillows are adorable. I am nuts about poinsettias.

    About 40 years ago I made a poinsettia wreath for my front door using felt. After I cut out the leaves from red felt, I glued (before the days of glue guns!)a narrow strip of the red felt onto the back of each leaf almost the full length of the leaf. Then I inserted florist wire into the channels of felt allowing enough length to insert the wires into a styrofoam wreath. I formed mutiple poinsettia flowers around the wreath. The wire allowed me to bend and form the leaves to my liking. Small bits of yellow felt in the center of each flower completed the project. Looked great on my front door for many Christmases.

  24. Hi CG!
    Thanks for entering the party, but could you please link to the party in this post? Else the word doesn’t spray…

    Those pillows are gorgeous! I adore the red one. One day I’ll find a button cover kit somewhere! Hasn’t happen yet.

  25. This is very cute! I haven’t seen this before. Of course, I’d want to try it before Christmas (fat chance.) I’ve posted a link on childmade.com. Thanks for the great tutorial!

  26. Thank you for th great tut!!!! I’ve made two of the pillows and love how they turned out.

    Thank you again!!!!

  27. Omigosh, I love these pillows. When I first saw the photo I immediately thought “beautiful, but too hard for me to make *sigh*” but after reading the entire post and seeing how easy it was to make I was so happy! I just so happen to have a huge pile of red felt sitting in my crafty-craft closet and now I finally have a use for it! Thanks so much for sharing. :O)

    ~ http://www.billiemonster.com ~

  28. I was trying to find a poinsettia pattern to make with felt and I came across yours, of course I can’t sew =)) but I wanted to let you know these are just gorgeous.

  29. I just made this pillow tonight as a gift for my grandmother (she specifically requested a handmade gift!) I’m definitely going to have to make one for me too! It’s such an easy project if you can sew a nearly straight line. The hardest part for me was the button covers! Do you use a special cover for thicker fabrics like felt? Thanks so much for sharing this (and all those that have come before) tutorial!!

    …and how did I not know you have an Etsy shop??

  30. I am sure in step #5 you ment to say sewing the pillow cover on three sides to turn it wrong side.
    Your pillows are lovely and you are so smart to come up with this craft. THANKS for sharing

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