Personalized JUMBO Fleece Pillow

Casey's niece Kylie has a birthday coming up very soon.  I thought for awhile on what we should get her after talking with her mom.  Kylie said "ANYTHING BUT CLOTHES"...ha I so remember when I was that age and the SAME way...no clothes...it's all about the toys!  Casey's sister said Kylie LOVES to read!  We got her some books for Christmas and she read them so quickly and happened really enjoy the serious.  Instead of just getting her books this year, I decided to maybe make her a creative place where she could read her books.  They already have bean bag chairs, so that was out.  Then I thought of a reading mat of some sort which would be nice, but not very private for when you need your quite time to read.  I combined the privacy idea with a mat and decided to make her a tent with mat and pillows!! She will have her own oasis in her room where she can hide out and read a good book, play, camp out, whatever he little heart desires. 

After I got approval from Casey's sister that I could make a big tent (collapsible) for Kylie, the planning began!  Last night I completed Phase 1: personalized pillow for the birthday girl.  I of course can't leave out the little sister ( trust me, I know from experience that when there are two of you, a little something for the other doesn't hurt).  That being the case I decided to make Kinsey her very own personalized fleece pillow for the tent as well.

MATERIALS NEEDED

Fleece

Felt

Stencil

Iron on Heat N' Bond

Chalk or Fabric Pen

Pillow Form or Stuffing

Sewing Items

Step 1: Create the stencil for the name either from the computer or using an existing alphabet stencil.

Step 2: Cut out the letters and trace them onto the felt.

Step 3: Measure the fleece to the correct size for the pillows.  I measured 2 ft X 2 ft, adding a 1/4 ' onto each side for seam allowance.

Toby wanted some attention so he laid down on the fabric and tried to eat my ruler

Step 4:  Cut out the letters from the felt as well as HEAT N' BOND to fit each one.

 Step 5: Iron on the letters to the fleece fabric in the appropriate place.  Make sure to place a cloth in between the iron and the letters when ironing.

Step 6:  Sew the letters onto the fabric where the front of the pillow will be for extra "security", outlining the edges of each letter.

Step 7: Turn the fleece fabric inside out and fold in half to form your pillow outline.  Pin down the edges and sew.  Remember to leave a 5" opening so you can turn the pillow right side out and stuff.

Step 8:  Stuff the pillow with Pillow Form/Stuffing until your reach the fluffiness you want.  I ended up using 3 bags of pillow stuffing for my pillow.  Since I only had three bags, I could only complete one pillow last night.  The other one will have to wait for more Poly-Fil.

Step 9: Close the opening by folding in the edges, pinning, and sewing shut.

Now you have a VERY COMFY jumbo fleece pillow!

I made Casey test it out and he was surprised at how comfy it was.  Now on my to do list is to make him a smaller one that he can sleep on ha. 

I can't wait to get the whole project finished and show you all the final tent masterpiece.  Next on my list is to finish the other pillow for Kinsey and then start building the tent.  Stay tuned!!