Tween's Room Floor Pillow

I looked up "Tween" online to make sure my daughter fit the category and laughed out loud when I read Urban Dictionary's definition of a "Tween"...

 

"A creature that is said to be between 9-12, who for some reason have immense 'confidence' in themselves"

 

Yes, my daughter is a tween.

 

 

Though I do have to say she's a pretty awesome little tween, and it's no wonder she wants everyone to know it. I can't think of a better age to be a girl (maybe 33, I'm having quite a lot of fun right now!). She's old enough for sleepovers and nail polish, but young enough for teddy bears and kisses good night. P's favorite things are her best friends, earrings, Harry Potter books, and webkins. It doesn't get much happier than that :)

 

 

 

Recently P moved out of the bedroom she shared with her little sister and into her very own room. She's having to share closet space with me and all my sewing supplies but she loves having a place to call her own. A big comfy floor pillow for her and her BFFs is just what her room needed.

 

 

 

After making this I decided our living room could use a couple too, as well as The Boy and Little C... it's that comfortable! Of course what makes it the softest pillow you ever felt is the minky fabric. I used bright pink chevron and turquoise dimple cuddle fabric from Shannon Fabrics.

 

For this project you will need...

1 yard pink chevron cuddle,

1 yard turquoise dimple cuddle,

6 yards of white jumbo rick rack,

2 yards stiff fusible fabric interfacing,

a big box of polyester fiber fill stuffing. 

Your first step is to create a pattern for your circles. I used the backside of a piece of wrapping paper. I folded my paper in half to find the center, then using that center point and a piece of string and a pencil as a compass I measured out and cut a half a circle with a 15 inch radius (you only need a half circle, you can line the straight edge up with the fold of your fabric).  

 

Next pin your pattern piece to your fabric. Line up the straight edge of your circle with the fold of your fabric.

 

Cut our your circle and open it up...

 

You'll need 2 circles, one for the top and one for the bottom. Shannon Fabric's cuddle fabric is 58-60 inches wide so I was able to just barely get two circles with a 30 inch diameter each.

 

Now from your blue fabric cut two 12 x WOF (width of fabric) strips.

Attach your interfacing to the wrong side of your blue cuddle fabric according to manufacturer's instructions. This will hold the side together and help the pillow keep its shape.

 

Next sew your strips together, end to end. Pin your blue fabric carefully around one of your circles and sew it into place...

 

According to my math (ok, not MY math... my 5th grade son's math, he's top in his class!) you'll need approximately 94 total inches of blue to go around your circle. Make sure you have an extra inch on each end for the seam, so a total of 96 inches. If you need to trim a little off as you get near the end of your sewing it won't be a problem. I finished off the ends of the blue cuddle by folding it over to create a seam and sewing the seam down with a straight stitch to finish it....

 



 

Now that the bottom is sewn in place you'll do the same to add the top circle except you'll add the white rick rack in between the pink chevron and the blue dot. Make sure you pin it in place very well so it doesn't slip as you catch the rick rack in the seam while you're sewing it together.

 

You can see how well I've pinned below to keep the rick rack in its place.

 

When you are finished your pillow will look like this...

 

 

Now it is time to get out your big box of polyester fiberfill. I got this 5 pound box at JoAnns. Regularly it was 21$ so don't forget to use a coupon. It took the whole box to stuff the pillow ... something I wasn't really expecting.

 

Stuff your pillow nice and stiff.  Over time the fiberfill will flatten out, so you may need to re-stuff once a year or so.

 

After you've stuffed to your heart's content, sew up your hole. I used a long needle and 2 strands of strong thread.

 

 

Now this last part is the hardest part... deciding who's going to try it out first!

 

And then you have to convince them to share. I won't pretend that P's little sister isn't very jealous. Oh well, back to the store for more fabric.  I think I'll make one for me too!