Bursting Heart Pillow Tutorial: Valentine’s Sewing Project

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Written by

Sarah Markos

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Bursting Heart Pillow Tutorial - scrap busting project for Valentine - Blue Susan Makes


It's almost February! What?!!  Time to get ready for Valentine's day. Here is a fun heart 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 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 Tutorial - DIY valentine decor

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!

How to make a Bursting Heart Pillow

1. Draw a Heart

  • 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 smaller all the way around than the picture below 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.
Trace the heart - draw slices on paper

2. Trace the Heart Slices & Fuse the Heart Slices to Fabric

  • 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 heart pillow try to space out the light and dark colored fabrics evenly. Squint your eyes and you can tell what pops out.
Fuse slices to fabric - Bursting Heart Pillow Tutorial - Blue Susan Makes

3. Fold the Raw Edges Toward the Center

  • Next, press the raw edges over the paper starting with the corners first….
Turn under the raw edges-

... and then the sides

Fold over raw edges
  • 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.
Fold over raw edges
  • 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 appliquéing them to the front. I'm okay with scrappy so I'm sticking with this method. 
folded point at each slice

4. Lay out the Heart Slices

  • Now put your heart puzzle together on the right side of your heart 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.
Heart layout for pillow

5. Burst the Heart Slices

  • 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.
Heart Burst Layout
  • 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 of the heart pillow to cover the ends if you wanted to cover them up. I like the scrappy messy look.
stitching at Center of Heart  - Blue Susan Makes

6. Build your Pillow Backing

  • Lastly put together your pillow back. You can put a zipper down the middle of the pillow with a lap closure or use an invisible zipper to put it in the side. For more help installing a zipper in the side see my  Sewing in an Invisible Zipper in a Pillow Tutorial.

Just as a note: Whatever you do, make sure to leave it partially unzipped so you can turn it inside out. Learned that one the heard way.

Sew zipper in the back of pillow

7. Sew the Pillow Backing to the Front

  • Now place your front and back with RIGHT sides together and stitch around all four sides. I used a 3/8 inch seam allowance.
Stitching side seams of pillow - Blue Susan Makes
  • 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.
sew pillow corner twice - Clipped Corner - Blue Susan Makes

Your Bursting Heart Pillow Finished!

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!

More Valentines Sewing Ideas...

About Sarah Markos

Hi, my name is Sarah Markos and I love to sew! Mostly things out of fabric. I'm a little addicted to buying and looking at fabric. Especially vibrant, colorful fabric. I love to make things like Halloween Costumes, Pillows, Clothes, Quilts, but most especially Handbags.

31 thoughts on “Bursting Heart Pillow Tutorial: Valentine’s Sewing Project”

  1. Fabulous and so innovative! I love the technique and would never have thought of it. Thanks for sharing, and Happy Valentine's Day.

    Reply
  2. Thank you Pamela! I would love to turn my tutorials into PDFs to make them easier to print, alas I do not have the time to spend doing that. So sorry! Good luck!

    Reply
  3. Thank you Pamela! I would love to turn my tutorials into PDFs to make them easier to print, alas I do not have the time to spend doing that. So sorry! Good luck!

    Reply
  4. PDF TIP: If you turn on "reader view" in your browser and then print from that page, using the "save as a pdf" printer command, voila, you have a pdf and all the links and pictures with instructions are intact without the side bar contents.

    Reply
  5. Cute idea! I think I might leave the ends that point to the center unfinished, but then applique a heart or a circle to cover them, sort of like you do with a Dresden plate.

    Reply
  6. I agree with anonymous. If the tips of the triangles do not come out the way you like, an appliqued heart would work well to cover them. Howeve, I like the look of your points especially the curved one. It adds a little whimsy to the design. So many possibilities, so much fun. Thanks for sharing.

    Reply
  7. Hello! If you hover over any picture a little "P" will emerge and you can click it and pin the project from there. Hope that helps!

    Reply
  8. I was drawn to this of all the quilt patterns I love it’s many colors and patterns looking forward to doing this one Thanks

    Reply

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