Why wait till February 14th, we can make every day as romantic as Valentine’s Day. I designed and sewed a heart Chenille Valentine Pillow for my living room and couch. I can hug the pillow with love, just like hugging my loved one every day!!!
Sipping a cup of coffee with some sweetheart sugar cubes or slip a cafe mocha truffle into a glass of hot milk and enjoy my day off. Life is good hugging this soft and fluffy heart chenille valentine pillow.
“February is always full of pink and red colors, surrounded by roses and chocolates, fine dining with champagnes and candlelight, with hearts flying all around… love is in the air. The world belongs to 2 of us, no kids to interrupt, no errand to run, just only 2 of us, so peaceful and romantic….. mmmm…how wonderful!!!”
This 18″ x 18″ valentine pillow has a removable pillowcase; a zipper closure pillowcase to be precise. It is removable so that you can remove the cover and wash it periodically. The front of the pillowcase has a soft faux chenille effect of a heart shape pattern made from flannel fabric.
Faux chenille is popular among textile artist as it gives great texture and interesting effects on their work. The technique is by simply stitch and slash to produce a beautiful faux chenille effect on the fabric surface.
It involves stitching together two or more layers of fabric one on top of the other in parallel diagonal lines, followed by cutting through the top layers leaving the base layer intact. When the top layers are cut, the cut edges of the fabric layers on top are exposed. They are then made to look frayed by machine or hand washing to agitate the edges so that the thread ends of all the layers are exposed. A fluffy effect similar to the pile of velvet or chenille is created.
Get ready with some fabrics and tools to start making this beautiful pillow cover. The instructions in the free sewing pattern and tutorial include all the step’s photos to further illustrate the details. The slash cutter is especially handy for making the faux chenille fabric.
Happy Valentine’s Day, Cheers!!!!
What’s Next
- Start making and share your completed handmade on Facebook and/or Instagram. Remember to tag us, @craftpassion, so that we are able to see them.
- Pin it to Pinterest for future To-Do List
- Share with your DIY groups for a diy-along event.
- Browse more free craft tutorials to DIY, especially our Valentine’s Crafts.
Heart Chenille Valentine Pillow Sewing Pattern
Why wait till February 14th, we can make every day as romantic as Valentine’s Day. I designed and sewed a heart Chenille Valentine Pillow for my living room and couch. I can hug the pillow with love, just like hugging my loved one everyday!!!
Enjoy sewing them!
Download and print separately: SEWING PATTERN
Materials
- Flannel, Pink, 20″ x 20″, 2 pcs.
- Flannel, White, 20″ x 20″, 2 pcs.
- Flannel, Red, 9″ x 9″, 2 pcs.
- Muslin or cotton, White, 20″ x 20″, 1 pc.
- Cotton Fabric, 10 1/2″ x 10 1/2″, 2 pcs.
- Zipper, 15″, 1 pc.
- Plain white paper, US letter size, 1
- 18″ Square Pillow Form
Tools
- Sewing machine
- Overlock machine (optional)
- Chenille cutter or slash cutter
- Sewing needle and pins
- Erasable fabric marker
- Printer
- Sharp point scissors
Instructions
Seam Allowance: 1/2″
HOW TO SEW HEART CHENILLE VALENTINE PILLOW
- Get all materials ready and cut into the correct shape and sizes.
Fold the paper heart into quarters to mark both vertical and horizontal center lines.
- Mark centerlines on the muslin base by folding into quarters then press to make the crease lines.
- Place the heart on the muslin base, align the center lines, pin, and trace with a fabric marker.
Remove paper heart.
Draw 45° lines on the muslin 1/4″ apart, invert the direction on the heart portion. [as shown in the picture of next instruction.]
- Place a red flannel below the muslin base, make sure it covers the heart.
Place a pink flannel below the two, align the corners.
Pin it to secure the layers.
Sew along the heart line.
- Turn to the flannel side and trim off the pink flannel from the center part of the heart. Cut close to the stitching line.
- Trim off the outer portion of the heart from the red flannel underneath the pink flannel. Cut close to the stitching line.
- Place a layer of white flannel on top of the trimmed pink/red heart, followed by a red flannel, then, a pink flannel.
Repeat the sewing on the heart, trimming the pink and red flannel around the heart line.
- Place your final layer of white on them, sew the heart.
- Turn to the base and sew the diagonal lines. Skip those lines which are too near to the boundary of the heart, i.e which has less than 1/4″.
This may take you a while to finish.
- Turn the work to the flannel side, cut an opening with a pair of sharp point scissors.
Cut only the flannels and not the muslin base.
You may use a slasher or chenille cutter to slash the flannel.
If you are using the slash cutter that comes with a long straight guide like what I am using, you will need to use scissors to cut those unreachable areas.
- Upon finishing the heart portion, continue slashing the rest of the lines outside the heart.
- Completed chenille making of a heart shape.
- Turn to the wrong side (muslin base side), mark 18″ square seam lines with 1/2″ seam allowance [total is 19″ at each side].
Trim the access.
- Prepare the materials of the zipper side of the pillow.
I layered a muslin to the not-so-thick back fabric to make it thicker, sew them together within the seam allowance.
Sew the zipper side of the pillow our preferred way or by following the below tutorial.
- Place the back pieces together with the right side together.
Make a stitch about 1″ from the top and 2 1/2″ from the side edge. Repeat to the other side.
Use the longest stitch length, sew the line between the 2 1/2″ you have just made. This is a temporary zipper closure to make zipper installation easier and neater.
- Open up and press. Fold the raw edges into the seam and press.
- Place the zipper on top, with the right side facing down. Align the zipper teeth along with the temporary closure you have made with the long stitch length. Pin.
- Turn to the right side, sew around about 1/4″ from the closure line.
Remove the stitches from the temporary closure and the zipper is ready to function.
- Place the zipper piece and chenille heart piece together with the right side together.
Sew along the seam line for the 4 edges.
Overlock stitch the raw edges to neaten the seam allowance.
- Turn to the right side, the photo shown is the chenille hear valentine pillow cover before washing.
Throw the pillowcase into your washing machine and wash with cold water, rinse, and dry. The chenille effect pops up immediately upon the wash. Or, you can brush the pillow with a soft brush to create the chenille effect instead of washing it.
Insert the pillow form into the cover and your Valentine pillow is ready to serve its purpose for the most romantic day/night of the year.
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Lili
Thursday 4th of February 2021
Lovely project. Thank you for sharing this tuto. Regards from France
Envelope Pillowcase (French Seam) - Easy Sewing Tutorial • Craft Passion
Wednesday 2nd of December 2020
[…] Heart Chenille Valentine Pillow […]
gilma emilias
Tuesday 7th of October 2014
gracias por compartir y tan linda explicacion gracias gracias
Translation (by Google): thanks for sharing and thank you so cute explanation
Katie
Tuesday 4th of February 2014
Thank you for helping all us us beginner's, I certainly appreciate you and others that help us. Do you ever show video's of your tutoral's?. Sure wish you would of your chenille valentine heart pillow. You are very talented.
JulieCC
Thursday 11th of April 2013
I'm with Norfaiza - the colors of the layers in the photo don't match the text directions. You said:
"Place a layer of white flannel on top of the trimmed pink/red heart, follow by a red flannel then a pink flannel. Repeat the sewing on the heart, trimming the pink and red flannel around the heart line."
BUT the photo shows the base (is it with the cut-open side up or down?) then a pink/red, a white, then a pink/red. I'm thinking I need to follow the colors in the photo, not in the text, correct?
Craft Passion
Thursday 11th of April 2013
Hi Julie, sorry to confuse you. The white layer is the second white at the center of the layers, not the base white.