Easy DIY Colour Me In Pillow!

National DIY Day is coming up soon and I have been bit by the creative bug ever since I became an ambassador! To get you prepaid for the big day, I’ve started putting together some fun DIY’s that you and your family can do together! I’m so excited to show you this project because my son has been bugging me to teach him to sew for months. Each time I make a new kid item for a friend or family member, he wants it too. This past Christmas I made a Colour Me In Pillow for one of my nephews so I thought it would be the perfect place to start!

My son and I put together this easy DIY Colour Me In Pillow that you and your preteen can make too! (My son is almost 10 so use your best judgement when deciding if they are ready for this project!)

DIY Colour Me In Pillow Tutorial

What you’ll need:

• Low volume fabric to be coloured in- we go ours from Ikea but Michael Miller has some fun patterns too!
• Zipper- 2 inches shorter than the width of your pillow form
• Square Pillow form- whatever size you choose!
• Wonderclips– they’re kid friendly instead of pins
• General sewing supplies

First let’s cut out 3 squares the width & height of your pillow form. Ours is a 14 inch form so that’s the size of squares we went with!

Take one square and fold it in half. You will top stitch across that fold using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. This stops it from stretching over time. My son got to do this stitching!

Take that folded piece and lay it on top of one of your squares. Stitch around the 3 sides as the picture shows below using an 1/8 inch seam allowance. Little man did awesome at this part too!

Here’s where I stepped in to sew! Take your zipper and place it face DOWN on your piece with the pocket. Make sure it is centred and clip it down. We will be stitching from the metal zipper end to the stoppers where the zipper opens (the arrows below) Sew down using a 1/4 in seam allowance.

Flip it over and repeat the same for the other side. Be sure to line up the edges of the panels as well!

Open up your zipper half way. For those excess zipper end bits, we’re going to pull these guys down and clip them out of the way.

Now clip around the entire exterior. You’ll have a small section to stitch on either side of the zipper and be sure you backstitch at the beginning as well as the end and be sure to pivot at the corner. Use a 1/4″ seam allowance. My sons stitching got a little wild as he went around the edge 😉 I did a row of zigzag stitching around the edge as well because this fabric really frays!

 

Now flip it out and give it a good press!

Stuff that pillow in and enjoy! If your little person wants to colour in the inside of the pocket, just flip it to the other side and it is ready to colour!

You can store your markers in that pocket or even some books!

We love to use Crayola fabric markers so the design is permanent. You could use washable markers and change your Colour Me In Pillow design with every washing, just don’t sleep on it, or you’ll have a colourful face!

My son is so proud of his pillow and is so excited to show it off to all of his friends!

National DIY Day Charity Sponsor

As a National DIY DAY ambassador I am proud to support AdoptAClassroom.org and their mission to give teachers a hand by providing much-needed classroom materials so that their students can learn and succeed. National DIY DAY and The Little Bird Designs is committed to supporting classrooms and providing tools for students and teachers to enhance the creative learning experience.

Support AdoptAClassroom.org by Texting a Donation Today! Text the word “Give” to (678) 582-8594 and you will be prompted through a secure system to make a donation of your choice!

If you want to stay updated about all things blog related or updates to my shop, sign up for my newsletter today. I have an extra special project in the works for National DIY Day plus information for an event to happen the day of! If you share your Colour Me In Pillow on Instagram be sure to tag me @lilbirdsdesign so I can check it out!