"Bursting" Heart Pillow Tutorial: Valentine's Sewing Project

It's almost February! What?!!  Time to get ready for Valentine's day. Here is a fun pillow I made so I'd have something cute to set on my couch for Valentine's Day.  I  call it my "Bursting Heart" Pillow!  You can make one too!

My "Bursting" Heart pillow was inspired by this cute Alchemy Sweet Slices Pillow by Amy ButlerAmy Butler.  Amy used to offer it as a free pattern on her site.  I saw it at Quilt Market and fell in love with it.

"Bursting" Heart Pillow Mini Tutorial

Since I needed my pillow to resemble a heart I ended up making my slices a little differently than the pattern.  I tried out an applique method my sister told me about that she used on a recent Valentine's day quilt she made. Keep scrolling to see how I made my pillow front. Maybe you want to make one too!

Start out with a square of paper that is the same size as your pillow form.  Mine was 20 inches x 20 inches.
Draw a big heart on it.  Remember that when you "burst" your heart it will get bigger so don't make it too big. I ended up ultimately making mine 1/4 in smaller all the way around because I started too big.  Draw lines from the center of the heart to the edges. The more lines you draw the smaller your slices will be. Draw a line to connect the outer points along the curves to make each slice a triangle.

Next trace the triangle filled heart onto the paper side of  Paper backed fusible fabric adhesive such as Heat 'n Bond Lite(affiliate link). Number each triangle so you can keep them in order.  Cut the triangles out right on the lines.  Fuse the triangles to the back of different fabrics and then cut around the triangles about 1/4 in. TIP: I used 7 fabrics, making sure to repeat each of them 2 or 3 times. For a nicer looking pillow try to space out the light and dark colored fabrics evenly. Squint your eyes and you can tell what pops out.

Next, press the raw edges over the paper starting with the corners first....

... and then the sides

Now remove the paper leaving the adhesive attached to the back of the fabric. Use the tip of an iron to fuse the raw edge of the fabric to the center.

Trim any excess fabric that gets in the way of your tiny point.  The downfall of this method is that the points don't fuse leaving them precariously open until you stitch them down.  If you want perfect points you'll get better results using Amy's method where you cut out 2 triangles, sew around them and turn them right side out before appliqueing them to the front.    I'm okay with scrappy so I'm sticking with this method. 

Now put your heart puzzle together on the right side of your pillow front making sure it is centered. For my front fabric square I used Osnaburg with a layer of white muslin under it. Osnaburg is a cheap utility fabric that has a natural linen look. I cut it at 20 inches square for a 20 inch pillow form which will be a little snug on my 20 inch pillow form. I like it better if my finished pillow cover is a little smaller than  my pillow form i

Now "burst" your heart by pulling out the triangles that you wish. Until you have it looking the way you like it.  Now you can gently iron it down and the centers of all the triangles will fuse in place.  I ironed it while it was on the floor since I figured there were enough layers to protect my carpet.  If you are laying it out on a wood surface or cutting mat transfer it to an ironing board before ironing over it. I also pinned each triangle in one spot just to be sure it stayed put while sewing and to hold my muslin layer in place.

Now stitch around each triangle.  I sewed all the way to the edge on the skinny points.  As you can see, some turned out better than others. No big deal!! One reader suggested you could applique a little circle or heart in the center to cover the ends if you wanted to cover them up, but I like the messy look. 

Lastly put together your pillow back.  There are a variety of ways to close a pillow.  I made a zipper closure in in the back of mine.  See my  Sewing in an Invisible Zipper in a Pillow Tutorial.

Just as a note: If you are putting in a zipper, make sure to leave it partially unzipped so you can turn it inside out. Learned that one the heard way.

Now place your front and back with RIGHT sides together and stitch around all four sides. I used a 3/8 inch seam allowance.

Clip your corners to get a perfect point. And turn your pillow cover inside out.
One more tip: I like to stitch around the corners twice.  A little extra stitching helps prevent the corners from fraying out when you clip them.

And there you have your beautiful Bursting Heart Pillow.  Please let me know if you make one! I'd love to see your version.

This one looks a little lonely, I'll let you know if I make it a friend!

Comment below if you like this Tutorial and help me pin it to Pinterest! If you make a Bursting Heart Pillow, I'd love to see it! Tag me on FB or Instagram @bluesusanmakes.com #burstingheartpillow  or send me an email.

Happy Valentine Sewing!

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