Patriotic Flag Pillow Tutorial
Happy July! A couple of months ago, I did an Instagram takeover for Moda Fabrics and posted a quick video tutorial of this fun flag pillow that you can whip up in an afternoon. But sometimes it’s nice to have instructions in writing, so I thought I’d put that tutorial here on my blog as well, just in time for some last-minute patriotic sewing on this 4th of July weekend!
(If you’re more of a visual person and haven’t seen the video tutorial, you can find it in my Highlights under the bio on my Instagram account, @figtreeandco.)
This pattern is scrap-friendly, so dive into your scrap stash—or grab a few fat quarters for a more controlled look.
Gather Your Materials
- Assorted red, cream, and blue scraps or fat quarters, plus some quarter-yard cuts of red and cream fabrics for the long stripes
- Batting, cut to about 13” x 26”
- Pillow form, 12” x 24”
- Backing fabric: the size will depend on whether you’re doing a zipper closure or an envelope closure
- A zipper, if you prefer your pillow covers to have a zipper closure
Cutting Instructions
Out of blue fabric, cut
- (4) 2” x 3 ½” rectangles (for star)
- (4) 2” squares (for star)
Out of one cream fabric, cut
- (1) 3 ½” square (star center)
- (8) 2” squares (star points)
Out of several different cream fabrics, cut
- (3) 1 3/8” x 19 ½” rectangles (flag stripes)
- (3) 1 ½” x 25 ½” rectangles (flag stripes)
Out of several different red prints, cut
- (4) 1 3/8”x 19 ½” rectangles (flag stripes)
- (3) 1 ½” x 25 ½” rectangles (flag stripes)
Piece the Sawtooth Star
Use the sew-and-flip method to sew flying geese blocks for the star points:
- Mark a guideline from corner to corner on the back of (8) 2” cream squares. Place one cream square on top of a blue 2” x 3 ½” rectangle, right sides together, aligning edges. Stitch along the marked guideline. Trim ¼” from seam, flip the cream fabric out, and press. Repeat on the other side. Repeat to make 4 flying geese.
Assemble sawtooth star block:
- Use the image above as a guide to assembling your sawtooth star.
- Sew a 2” blue square on the left and right sides of two flying geese blocks. Press seams toward the side squares. (Top and bottom rows)
- Sew the remaining two flying geese blocks to the left and right side of your 3 ½” cream square, paying attention to the direction of your geese’s center points (they should point inward, toward the center square). Press seams toward the center square. (Center row)
- Sew the top and bottom rows to the center row, paying attention to the direction of your geese’s center points (they should point inward, towards the center square).
- Press seams out and trim block to 6 ½”.
Piece the Flag Stripes
- Sew the (7) 1 3/8” x 19 ½” rectangles together along the length of the strips, alternating red and cream strips and beginning and ending with red strips. Press seams toward red strips.
- Sew this pieced block to the sawtooth star. Press toward the stripes.
- Sew the (6) 1 ½” x 25 ½” rectangles together along the length of the strips, alternating cream and strips and beginning with a cream strip. You will end with a red strip. Press seams toward red strips.
Finish the Pillow
- Sew the star/stripe section to the longer stripe-only section.
- At this point, if you’d like to trim the flag to a different width, go for it!
- Back the pieced flag with batting and quilt as desired. (For my pillow, I used big-stitch/sashiko-style quilting around the outside of the star and lengthwise down each stripe.)
- Use your preferred methods to stitch the pieced flag front to your pillow backing fabric. (There are tons of great tutorials on Pinterest for creating both zippered and envelope closures!)
And just like that, you’ve got a sweet, scrappy, patriotic pillow!
We have some patriotic bundles available in the shop if your stash needs a little boost! You can find them HERE.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this quick tutorial. If you make one of these flag pillows and post it on Instagram, please don’t forget to tag me so I can see it!
This holiday weekend will probably be very different than what we’re all used to. Whatever your plans, stay safe and healthy, and have a wonderful weekend!
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