Fleece Flower Petal Pillows

Hi, I'm Laura, and I'm addicted to fleece!  (Phew, it feels so much better to get that out in the open  :)  )

Seriously, though, can you blame me?!  Fleece is inexpensive, comes in tons of different colors and patterns, is soft and cozy, and doesn't fray or require hemming/finishing of edges.  So far, I've used it to make Fleece Boa scarves, a cute Reverse Applique scarf and a No-Sew Fleece Pillow.  My only problem with this fleece obsession is that I've found myself "collecting" it.  I'll find remnants at the fabric store for next to nothing and I just can't pass it up.  Plus, I have lots of good sized scraps here at home left over from all my projects.  I recently started working on re-organizing my craft room and filled several large plastic bins with fleece yardage and remnants.  Now that winter scarf season is over, I knew I had to come up with another fun way to use one of my favorite fabrics.

Aren't they a cheery little addition to the bed?

So, to celebrate the start of Spring,  I decided to make some pretty, bright and colorful Spring flower pillows using some of that leftover fleece!!  They took a little while, but were really quite easy to make and the girls LOVED them.  I made these first two as a surprise for them, but I think I might enlist their help and make a bunch more.  I did sew around the edges of our pillows and on the leaves, but the majority of the project was just done with hot glue (and I'm sure you could even hot glue the edges of your pillow together to make this a completely no-sew project!) 
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Here's what you need:

Fleece (1/2 yard in the color of your flower, plus some coordinating scraps for the center and leaves)  You could also use felt, but I think fleece is softer!

Scissors

Hot Glue Gun

Here's what to do:

1.  Cut two circles out of your fleece.  The size is up to you.  I traced a large bowl and my circles were about 14".  Sew (or hot glue) around the edges, leaving an opening for stuffing.  Next, using a piece of chalk or marking pen, trace a smaller circle for the center of your flower and three additional rings to make a bullseye design.  ( I somehow missed the picture of the completed bullseye, but you can get the idea).  These guidelines will help you place your petals.

 2.  Cut out four leaf shapes.  I just eyeballed them.  Then sew the leaves together along the outside edges and add stitched leaf veins.  (You could also just hot glue the edges and draw the veins on with fabric paint or markers.)

3.  Add stuffing to your pillow and stitch (or glue) closed the opening.  I then used pinking shears to trim the edges of the pillow and leaves to make it a little more decorative (optional).

 

4.  Using hot glue, attach the leaves to the edge of your pillow.

Everything is sewn.

The edges are "pinked" and the leaves are attached.

5.  Cut out a bunch of petals.  Again, I just eyeballed a petal-like shape.  You could make them wider/narrower/more rounded/more pointed, etc. depending on what you want your flower to look like.  I made them in two sizes, a larger one for the outer petals, a smaller one for closer to the center. ( The petals I made were approx 3" x 1 3/4" for the larger ones and 2" x 1 1/2" for the smaller ones)

I actually cut out and used a lot more, probably 50-60 or so.

6.  Starting on the outer ring of the bullseye you traced, start gluing down your petals.  I found it worked best to put a line of glue along the bottom of the petal, pinching the center to give it a little dimension, then attaching it.

A line of hot glue.

Pinching the center to give the petal dimension.

Attaching the outer row of petals.

7.  Once the outer row is complete, start working on the next ring of petals.  I added an additional drop of hot glue to each petal to help hold it down and cover the line where the first ring of petals were attached.

Use an additional drop of glue on the inner rings of petals.

Working on the next row of petals.

8.  Keep adding petals until your flower is complete.  I used the larger petals for the outer two rows, a mix of large and small for the next row, and all small petals for the inner row.

Almost done!

9.  Cut out some circles to create the center of your flower.  (I used pinking sheers again).  For each circle, add a bit of hot glue to the center and squish it to form a little ruffle-y shape and attach them to the center of your flower to fill it in. ( My circles were roughly 1" big)

My circles. They don't have to be cut precisely.

"Ruffle-ing the circles and attaching them to form the flower's center.

And you're finished!  Isn't it pretty?