Wedding Wednesday: The Ring Bearer Pillow

This week, we’re tackling another one of the little DIY projects that my family and I did up for The Boy and my quickie Alaskan civil ceremony - this time, it's the ring bearer pillow. After my flower girl niece insisted that she could not possibly do her job without "a Ring Boy", I went ahead and hit a local JoAnn's Fabrics for some fabric to make one.

 

Well, to be more accurate – three. See, I have had this image (torn from a Martha Stewart magazine as inspiration for a friend's wedding) for years:

 
Image Courtesy of: Martha Stewart

These stacked ring pillows are SO CUTE and finished off with a hit of piping. I showed the picture to my mom (a talented seamstress) who volunteered to make them (the night before the ceremony!) if I would get the supplies. DONE! I picked out a pretty green linen-like fabric for two of the pillows and a cute retro-y floral fabric for the third one (plus pre-made piping in turquoise [to save time]).

Supplies:*

• 1/8 yard fabric for each pillow (at least one pattern and one solid)
• A package of pre-made piping
• Length of ribbon
• Thread to match the linen
• Fiberfill
• Sewing machine and sewing supplies (needle, pins, etc.)
• Scissors
• Cardstock

  

Step One: Have your mom make it. Hee. No, the first step is to cut out a template from cardstock. I did a 5.5"x5.5" square (which allowed for a .25" seam allowance). Lay out the fabric (right sides [the side with the pattern] together), place the template on top, trace around it, and cut out. Repeat on remaining fabric until you have 6 squares total (two of each kind).

  
  

Step Two: Attach the piping. Place piping around the right sides of one of the pieces of fabric. Pin in place. Sew around the pillow bottom using a hand-done basting stitch; stop about .5" before the overlap. To finish the ends of the piping, fold cut edges under, and hem by hand. Remove the pins.

  
  

Step Three: Assemble the pillow. Lay the pillow top on the bottom, with right sides facing (the piping will be caught between the two layers). Align edges, and pin. Starting about 2" from the corner on one of the sides, sew around the pillow using a .25" seam allowance, and leave a gap wide enough to slip a few fingers into. Trim the fabric at the corners on a diagonal (this allows clean looking corners). Turn right side out. Fold the raw edges of the gap inside the pillow and gently press the folds flat with the iron to set them in place. Stuff the pillow with the fiberfill. Using a slip stitch, hand-sew the gap closed.

 
 

Step Four: Rinse and repeat with the other two pillows. Layer the pillows on top of each other and secure togther using a tacking stitch in the center. Next, add the ribbon ties. Cut two pieces of the 1/8-inch-wide ribbon about 1 foot long each; using small, neat stitches and a tidy knot, sew the centers of the ribbons to the center of the pillow top. Now complete step three to finish off the top pillow.

 

This project is pretty simple – it’s just time-consuming (making three pillows over and over). But the finished product looks AMAZING (and comes in under $6.00 if you already have the sewing supplies and use your coupons!). Well, Tulle Nation - will you be making your own ring bearer pillow? Or are you thinking of doing something completely different from a traditional ring bearer pillow? What's your inspiration? Share your thoughts in the comments!

 

*disclaimer