Make sherpa fur star pillows for a patriotic accent

Make sherpa fur star pillows for a rustic patriotic accent pillow. The warm red, off-white, and blue give it a vintage feel. Always on a mission to share my love of pillows with the family, I wanted to try my hand at blending these really neat fabrics with a rugged flair into something cuddly. There is something about the juxtaposition of the soft and rugged with the feel of the super-soft, fuzzy, faux fur and the well-handed feel of the faux suede together that makes my heart swoon. Setting off the look by adding the leather tassel accents seemed just the ticket to lasso my favorite lads in.

Tools & materials list for star pillows:

Fabric scissors and heavy-duty scissors
Sewing machine and coordinating thread
Needle and heavy-duty thread
Embroidery floss and embroidery needle
Leather
Shannon Fabrics – Sherpa Fur Ivory, Cuddle Suede Cappuccino & Navy
Fairfield Processing – Polyfil fiberfill
Sizzix – Big Shot die cut machine, Bigz Die – Star #3
Adtech Pro100 Hot glue gun and glue sticks
Pressing cloth

Instruction for star pillows:

When working with Sherpa Fur, cut the fabric from the back side, pausing to take care to keep fibers separated as to not chop the pile.

Cut a single large rectangle to act as the canvas for the Cuddle Suede accent strip.
Using Navy Cuddle Suede, cut two strips of fabric a desired width and the length of the two shorter ends of the Sherpa Fur rectangle.
The accent strip, using the Cappuccino Cuddle Suede was determined to a size that leaves plenty of plush fabric on either end.
The Navy Cuddle Suede stars were made using a die cut to make three stars. Affix the stars with an iron on fusible webbing. I used Stick on the back of the stars and ironed them on the band of Cappuccino Cuddle Suede using a pressing cloth.
The band was finished on both long sides by topstitching with a long machine stitch.
The stars were delightfully detailed by hand stitching,. A blanket stitch adds a rustic feel and outlined the stars and gives them texture.
Once the Accent strip was assembled, I placed the finished band on the Sherpa Fur. Folded in half and right sides of fabric together, I then machine stitched the project closed.
It is helpful to use a good ½ inch seam and form the fabric into a tube.
While project is still inside out, center the seam of the tube, then stitch one entire end closed, stitching on the Navy Cuddle Suede.
Then stitch 2/3rds of the other end closed, as well. Once the pillow is turned right side out, the seam should be on the backside of the pillow.
Fill with Poly-Fil, and securely close the opening by machine or hand stitch.

To make the tassle for the star pillows:

Cut strips of leather two inches by 10 inches, and mark on the back with a pen and ruler how far apart you would like the fringe strips to be.
Mark your vertical lines to use as a cutting guide.
Cut the strips leaving a half-inch uncut.
Cut a thin strip of leather to form the loop for the tassel.
Hot glue in the loop then wrap the strip around the loop and secure the edge with hot glue. Hand sew the tassel on each corner using a heavy-duty thread and toss that pillow on the nearest chair or couch.