Okay hive, if you’ve kept up with my posts and managed to separate me out in your head from all the other fabulous bee bloggers, you know I’ve mentioned these darn ring bearer pillows a number of times. As we approached the wedding, and I was feeling heavy levels of resentment, this is one of the only wedding projects I managed to actually do myself.
I’d given sewing the pillows a couple of tries. I don’t know why I insisted on doing it all by hand, but I did. This post will only be a step-by-step instruction manual for someone who already knows how to sew pillows by hand.
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| Personal photo: Gather supplies. This was several spools of ribbon to be chosen for decorating later. |
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| Personal photo: Can’t forget pillow stuffing. |
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| Personal photo: Needle, thread that perfectly matches your fabric, fabric glue, and rings for attaching anything you’d like. |
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| Personal photo: Step 1) Trace pattern onto fabric for exact pillow shape. I made two because I had two ring bearers. If you’re decorating with ribbon, select choices and cut to a length that is just longer than the width of one side. |
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| Personal photo: Step 2) Pin decorative ribbon in such a way that the stitches of the pillow will secure it in place. Believe me, this is much easier than trying to sew the ribbon into place later. Make sure the pins are secure and you are holding the ribbon symmetrically and evenly. |
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| Personal photo: Step 3) Invert fabric and pin around the perimeter, making sure the decorative ribbons are secure in the right spot. Begin sewing the pillow, leaving about 3 inches not sewn together on one side. Take care to make sure the corners are reinforced. |
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| Personal photo: Step 4) Cut excess fabric off the sides of the pillow. Check over each seam to make sure they are secure as you don’t want puckering when you flip your fabric right side out. This part will be sooo much easier if you just use a machine to do your sewing. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 5) Accept help from your cat so she doesn’t steal your thread. I made sure she didn’t eat any thread, since I learned here on Weddingbee that can cause disastrous results. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 6) Stuff your pillow. If you are making more than one pillow, stuff them all so you are sure they’re the same amount of fluffy. Try not to pull on the open edges where your stitches began. Having to re-sew those later will be a pain. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 7) Attach rings. This is just a sample I tried, but you can see the rings more clearly here. I stitched around the rings through the ribbon and the pillow. Tight, close loops around it will hold it in place. You can put the rings right next to each other or further apart. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 7B) I wanted to add some curl to one of my decorative ribbons, so I found a bottle with the perfect size for the curls and went for it. Cut the length of ribbon you want, wrap around the bottle, and secure with a rubber band. I left mine for a couple weeks to ensure it would stay curled. It’s still curled now 8 weeks after the wedding. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 8) Add curled ribbon to the rings you’ve sewn onto the pillow. Arrange as you’d like. You can even add in another stitch to make sure they stay in place. |
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| Personal Photo: Step 9) Admire your completed pillows. Also, plot for matching flower girl baskets. |
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| Ring bearers in action at our wedding |
Are you attempting a DIY ring pillow? What makes your pillow (handmade, or purchased) unique?
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