Star Wars Pillow~Challenges and Solutions

Star Wars pillow with ultrasuede flange

I was charged with the task of making a Star Wars pillow. How hard could it be, I wondered?   Granted, I wanted it to be more than two pieces of Star Wars fabric sewn together and stuffed.  But my. oh. my, this was a challenge.

A gray ultrasuede flange seemed like a good idea–a coordinating color and a different texture. Not wanting to mitre corners and seam the ultrasuede, I decided to press under the perimeter of one piece of Star Wars fabric.  That was edge stitched to the center of the gray, which had already been zig zag trimmed with my decorative rotary blade.

Next, I removed the ultrasuede that fell inside the pillow top.  A pillow form was placed on top of the flange and blue print.  Then I placed the pillow back with raw edges pressed under on top of the pillow form.   Very slowly, the back was  stitched the front, taking care to match up the stitching lines.

Careful as I was, some of the stitches showed on the ultrasuede.  I should have made the second piece a bit smaller, so all the stitches would fall within the blue Star Wars fabric.

To cover the stitches a wide silver cord was nestled between the flange and the print.   Stitched in place with monofilament thead, the cord was tediously and slowly joined to the blue.   All the stitching on the back fell within the Star Wars fabric. Whew!

The cord was wired, so the ends could be shaped to stand away from the pillow.  Of course, the fibers wanted to unravel, so I wrapped each end with several rounds of gray quilting thread.

Overall, I was pleased with the result—well, as pleased as an unenthusiastic Star Wars fan can be.

Have you made any Star Wars projects?