Holiday Tutorial on Quilt Story - Scented Pillows

I was lucky enough to have a guest post featured on Quilt Story as part of their Holiday Tutorials series.  Each Thursday through to December you'll find a new tutorial by a range of great bloggers.

The Holiday Tutorials at Quilt Story are not to be missed! 

October 4th: Kerry from verrykerryberry (Hexagon Handle Holder)

October 11th: Amber from A Little Bit Biased (Holly Berry Pillow Cover)

October 18th: Darlene from Sew Cal Gal (12 Pocket Bag)

October 25th: Kirsty from Handmade by Kirsty (Scented Pillows)

November 1st: Jesse from Messy Jesse

November 8th: Tabatha from Bending Pins

November 15th: Ali from a.squared.w

November 22nd: Happy Thanksgiving!

November 29th: Karen from Sew Well Maide

December 6th: Pennie from Tuppence Ha'Penny Quilts


My tutorial is for scented pillows which are very easy and a quick stocking filler.  These are great for putting in drawers or if you scent it with lavender they can assist with sleep and relaxation.

Materials:
Fabric Scraps
Ribbon (if you want to make a ribbon pillow)
Coordinating Thread
Water Soluble Pen (optional)
1 lb or 450g Rice (uncooked)
Essential Oils

For the pillow:
Cut 2 pieces of fabric 51/2"x31/2"

For patchwork:  Cut 4 pieces 11/4"x11/2"  (or if you are making a few pillows, cut strips of 11/4" wide)

For stripes:  Cut 2 pieces 11/2"x31/2"

For ribbon:  Cut 2 lengths at 31/2"

Step 1:  Mix uncooked rice with 15 drops of essential oils in a zip lock bag.  Allow the rice to sit for a couple of hours to dry.

Step 2. Sew patchwork or stripes together.  For patchwork sew the 11/2" edges together and press seams.  For stripes sew 31/2" edges together and press seams. (seam allowance is 1/4" throughout)

Step 3.  With your pen mark each long side 1/4" in from edge and press along that line.

Step 4.  With one piece of pillow fabric, right side up, pin patchwork 21/4" in from the left side and top stitch along each side. Or for the stripes, pin 2" in from the left side and top stitch along each side.

For the ribbon I placed the first strip 11/2" in from the left edge and allowed 1/4" gap in between.

Step 5.  Pin pillow fabric, good sides together, and mark 3/4" in from each edge on one short end.  This will be your guide on where to start and end stitching.  Sew from top right corner around to your other pin.

Step 6.  Trim corners off and turn out the right way.  You can use a stuffing tool or a chopstick as I do to push your corners out.

Step 7.  Press pillow, making sure the opening is pressed inwards.

Step 8.  Add scented rice to the pillow.  I used approx 1/4 cup.

 

Step 9.  Lastly, top stitch around the outside of the bag, ensure that the opening is caught in the top stitch to seal the pillow.  When you reach each corner give the pillow a shake and move the rice to the opposite corner.

Then all that's left to do is wrap your pillows.