Weddingbee Blog

Hive, I’ve been a tease. I talked about all these DIY projects I had coming up, and then I immediately started talking about everything else but that.

While I did have my bridal shower this past weekend, I will give you at least one DIY post before I get to re-capping that loveliness. If my title wasn’t obvious enough (everyone hasn’t seen Despicable Me, although they should!), this screenshot should help.

Image via Hello Again Girls / Screenshot from Despicable Me

What’s fluffy, but not a stuffed animal? A pillow of course! For my first DIY project I’ve (mostly) finished, I made the ring bearer pillows. Okay, okay, so I’ve only made one so far, but I wanted to share it. And the other will be identical, so there will be nothing new there.

I first learned to make pillows as a girl scout at age 10. I do have my beloved sewing machine that belonged to my grandmother, but I preferred to make these pillows by hand.

Step 1: Get fabric, thread, needles, pins, scissors, and other sewing supplies.

Personal Image: thread, needles glue, rings

Personal Image: fabric, stuffing, possible ribbons

Step 2: Fold your fabric over on itself to cut out the pattern for the pillow. Figure out the size pillow you want and trace onto the fabric. I was using slippery satin, so I pinned the two sides together (inside out!) to ensure a smooth pattern. I wanted a size similar to a box I had in the house, so I just traced that and cut around it.

Personal Image: I used a sketch pencil to trace the shape I wanted.

Step 3: Pin the fabric together at intervals around the line you’ve traced. I wanted a ribbon to go across the front of the pillow, so I pinned the ribbon also to keep it in place.

Personal Image: Pins all around with a ribbon for flair.

Step 4: Begin to sew along the line you traced. Take extra care at the corners to ensure a tight stitch. It’s easy to just go around the corner and end up with loose stitches that won’t hold their shape. If you don’t know how to sew, Google it, and watch one of the videos.

Personal Image: See how the stitches get even tighter at the corner?

Personal Image: Kitty Kettle thought trying to eat the thread was helping. She’s so sweet.

Step 5: Leave a bit open on one side to stuff the pillow. turn it inside out and make sure the stitches are strong, if there are any weak spots, re-sew them. I chose to leave the side with the other end of the ribbon open so I could hand sew it after I knew how full the pillow would be stuffed. If I hadn’t done this, the ribbon on the front might pucker.

Personal Image: See how sharp those corners are?

Step 6: Begin to stuff your pillow. Start with the corners, making sure they’ll stay stuffed and keep their shape. Don’t overfill the pillow or you won’t be able to hand-sew it shut. Also, make sure not to pull on the threads you’ve already stitched. No tearing seams, especially if you are using delicate fabric.

Personal Image: Just when you think you’re done stuffing, you should probably add a bit more to the corners.

Step 7: I added gold rings here that I’ll use to tie through the ribbons that hold our wedding bands. Pin the other end of the ribbon to the fabric and sew really small stitches to close the pillow. This uses a different stitch and might require another Google search to confirm your stitch before you begin.

Personal Image: Fold the extra ribbon end so it’s tucked into the finished pillow.

Step 8: Have a glass of wine and admire your work!

Personal Image: Wine not pictured.

I do wonder if I should jazz up the pillow some. I wanted a very simple clean look, and that’s what I got, but I anticipate concerns of it being too plain. I’m using sparkly ribbon when we actually tie the rings to the pillow and the ring bearers are 6-year old twins who are guys’ guys. What do you think?

Personal Image: Too much ribbon?

Have you ever sewn by hand? What was your first DIY project you’ll actually use at your wedding?