Mini Charms – Make a bench pillow

Mini Charms are collections of 2.5″ x 2.5″ squares of fabric.  You can make your own from your stash or purchase them.  These are great for small projects, easy reference or just for collecting!  Nah, kidding, who would collect them? LOL You must use them!  This particular mini charms pack was given away as a sample from Quilt Market so you cannot purchase it but you can buy the fabric and make your own.  The line is called Jasmine from Valori Wells by Robert Kaufmann. I snagged this image from Missouri Star Quilt Company who carries the fabric collection.

You can use many of the same patterns with mini charms as you can charm pack.  Charm packs are 5×5 squares.  Originally, I made this pillow for an oversized antique chair I have in my studio.  Once it was finished it was all wrong and I did not like it there.   I tried it on my sofa and it is not quite right there either.  I thought about turning it into a tote bag with a stripe running up the center but my friend came over and decided it was perfect for her front room.

Above is the sofa that it did not work on and below is the vintage chair that it did not look right on either. 

Supplies for the mini charms pillow:

• your favorite mini charms
• fabric for pillow cover
• basic sewing supplies
• Bench Pillow

To make the mini charms pillow:

1. Choose your fabric and pillow size and determine the measurements to cut your fabric. The front of the pillow will be 1/2″ bigger on all sides than the pillow measurement, for example my pillow is 16″x38″ so my front piece is 17″ x 39″.  Sew the mini charms together to form a long strip.  Mine needed to be about 39″ long. Sew the fabric to both sides to make the size of fabric you are going to need.
2. The back is divided in half, the two pieces for the back of the pillow will overlap to create the “envelope” closure.  The vertical measurement will be the same as the front so and the horizontal measurement is determined by dividing the pillow in half and then adding 2.5″ for the overlap.
3. It does not matter the size of your pillow a 2.5″ overlap will work for even larger pillows. To cut your fabric you can use a clear ruler and fabric marker and draw on the back side of your fabric.
4. Next, fold and iron the edges of the back pieces that will be overlapping to create the envelope closure. Fold the edge of both pieces over 1/4″ and then 1/4″ again. Pin and sew both pieces at 1/8″.
5. Pin the front and 2 back pieces together with the right sides facing each other.  The two back pieces will overlap.  Pin all the way around the entire cover and ew the front & back together with 1/2″ seam allowance.
6. It is a good idea to finish the raw edges on the inside of the pillow cover. You can serge the edges or  use pinking shears as I did to prevent fraying.
7. Turn the pillow cover right side out and use your finger to press the corners out and insert your pillow form through the envelope opening and your finished!