Bolster Pillow Refresh
Last year at the start of my sewing journey I made a large bolster pillow case with my Stella fabric design. It was my second ever project using a zipper and my first time making pipping. I’ve added some more decor to our bedroom since then and I want the bolster to pop more against our cream and grey bedding. The Stella is a dark green with flecks of gold florals scattered around but for this pillow case I wanted to work with velvet and bring in a bright jewel tone. I was able to find a deep golden orange velvet on Amazon. It brings in warm and energy to the bedding just in time for summer. My local Michaels doesn’t have as much sewing things and I was determined to make the pillow case now. The largest I found was a 14” cream zipper which is small but will still work. I’ve been liking the more modern clean look of the high end bolsters on sites like RH and Looli so for this pillow case im not going to use pipping.
Velvet turned out to be much more stretchy then I realized. I used my original pillow case as an outline to cut the velvet but had to keep in mind not to pull or hold to hard and stretch it while cutting and sewing. If I didn’t have the original pillow case I could have just measure the bolster pillow insert and add a half an inch seam allowance on each side. The end pieces are a little more tricky. I haven’t fully figured out circle shapes yet so I take extra time and dry fit each end before sewing. I made the body first, attaching the zipper before adding the round end pieces. I had to go slow and rearrange a few times to stop the stretching. I would have preferred an invisibale zip but none where available in the size I needed at my local Michaels. Attaching the zipper went slow to make sure the velvet didn’t slide or stretch while sewing. To attach the end pieces I clipped one piece to the body and then moved to the opposite end knowing it would stretch I made sure to not pull to much. Wherever I clipped last I would to the opposite end and clip that area to the body fabric.
Getting the insert in was a little tight since the zipper was smaller then the original but I got it in. With velvet the insert didnt slide so I had to wiggle it into place. I love to way this new bolster pillow turned out! It added a cool pop of color to our very neutral bedroom. I think the warm orange is perfect for these sunnier months and Stella (my cat) really likes to lay against it during her mid day naps.
