So excited to introduce one of our very newest contributors this year….Valerie from Élégantine!!! So excited to have her here with us! (All posts written by Valerie for Make It and Love It can be found HERE.)
Welcome, Valerie!!! :)
-Ashley
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Well, Hello! I am Valerie from Élégantine! and I am here today to share with you my very first tutorial on the Make it and Love it blog. I hope you enjoy my Delicious Donut Pillow Tutorial as much my kids and I did. It’s a quick and fun project and even though there is a trickier part, it’s still easy enough for your kids to participate. Yay!
The best part about this yummy pillow is that you can make it any size: make it life size, regular pillow size or why not a giant size pillow? Have fun and add your own personality by making it any flavor that you want! Chocolate donut, anyone? Yum!
Basic sewing supplies, tracing paper, washable fabric marker, polyester fill and basting spray (optional)
Fabric for the dough and icing: the amount of fabric you will need will depend on the size of your pillow. I like to use fabrics with different textures. You can use quilting cotton, fleece, flannel, minky, corduroy, wool blankets, etc. Have fun experimenting with different fabrics! Make sure to use a fabric that is stable enough to hold the shape of the pillow well.
Sprinkles: pompoms; mine were mini and neon, how cool is that? If you are making a delicious Donut Pillow for a very young child and are worried about safety, don’t worry, I’ve got you covered! Instead of using pompoms, I will show you how to make your sprinkles out of Kam snaps or fabric appliques.
* All fabrics and supplies used today to create this Delicious Donut Pillow Tutorial where provided by Club Tissus, my favorite Canadian fabric store.
Step 1:
First, trace a donut shape on paper and cut around it. Remember to add a seam allowance. I like to use 1/2”. Then, cut the center of the donut out and put aside. Trace a second donut shape and trace the icing free handed all around. Cut around the outer icing line. You don’t have to cut off out the center of the icing. You now have all your Delicious Donut pattern templates.
Step 2. Using the larger round template, cut 2 circles of fabric to create the dough. Do not cut the center out yet. Using the icing template, cut 1 in your chosen fabric.
Step 3. Pin or spray baste the wrong side of the icing onto the right side of one dough piece. Make sure it is well centered.
Tip: If you are using a slippery fabric (or any type of fabric that seams to have a personality of it’s own!) I highly recommend using temporary basting spray. Don’t worry, it won’t gum up your needle later on!
Step 4. Using a zig zag stitch, sew all around the icing shape, letting the needle come just over the edge. I like to use a stitch length of 1 and a width of 2.5. Keep in mind that these settings might change depending on your choice of fabric. The heavier the fabric, the larger and longer your stitches are going to be. It’s always best to experiment on a scrap of fabric first.
Note: If your icing fabric doesn’t fray (wool felt for example), you could straight stitch all around the icing for a different look.
Step 5: Place the dough pieces right side to right side. Using the small circle template, trace a donut hole shape in the center on one side using a washable fabric marker.
Step 6. Stitch directly on the line you just traced in step 5. Backstitch at both ends.
Step 7. Cut the center of the donut hole out, leaving an 1/2” seam allowance. Clip all around the circle into the seam allowance making sure not to cut through your stitches. The snips will release the seam allowance so your piece can be turned and pressed flat.
Step 8. Pulling from the center, turn the donut right side out and press the seam.
Step 9. Using a washable fabric marker, draw 1/2” lines on one side of both dough pieces.
Step 10. Using the burrito method, roll the donut on itself so the marks from step 9 will be right side to right side.
Step 11. Sew all around the half circle using an 1/2” seam allowance. When you reach the bottom of the curve, stop sewing – keeping the presser foot and needle down. Delicately pull the fabric inside the dough and continue to match the pieces right side to right side. Continue to sew all around the donut ending a few inches before reaching your starting point. Backstitch,
Step 12. Your donut will now be in a half moon shape like this. Locate the opening you left step 11 and delicately pull from the inside to turn the donut right side out.
Step 13. Give your seams a good press and stuff with polyester fiber. This is the part that my kids enjoy the most! Even my son who’s 22 months like to participate. I always end up with fiber all around the room but I don’t really care because they have so much fun! I let them stuff almost until the very end and then, when they say they can’t add more, I step up to compact the fiber and add even more.
Step 14. Hand stitch the opening closed. Leave a few cm (an inch or two) open and add even more fiber to fill the stitching area.
Step 15. Finish hand stitching the opening closed.
Step 16. Finally, hand stitch pompoms all over the icing to add a pop of color! And voila, you now have a beautiful Delicious Donut Pillow!
Here’s a couple of alternatives to the pompoms if you are worried about safety:
Kam snaps: after stitching the icing to the dough step 4, add kam snaps all over the icing using your manufacturer’s instructions. Consider adding small scraps of woven fusible interfacing under the snaps for maximum stability.
Another fun way to do the sprinkles is with fabric appliques: First, cut little pieces of fabric in circle or rectangular shapes. Glued them with a fabric glue stick or pin them onto the icing. Stitch all around with a narrow and short zig zag stitch like we did step 4 or straight stitch all around if your fabric doesn’t fray.
I really hope you enjoyed this Delicious Donut Pillow Tutorial! For more Delicious Pillows ideas, make sure to visit my blog Élégantine!
Until next time!
Valerie xoxo
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Looking for even more pillow inspiration? Try some of these ideas next:
Pleated Ruffle Pillow…with DENIM!!
Appliqued Plane & USA Map Pillow Covers (with envelope closure)
Friendly Monster Pillow (pattern pieces included)
Hi, I’m Ashley—the DIY-enthusiast behind this crazy blog!
