Mr Grinch Pillow - a Pottery Barn Knock-Off

You're a foul one, Mr Grinch . . but I love ya!

My husband and I host Christmas every year, usually with a theme. For instance, last years theme was Ugly Christmas Sweater and everyone was asked to wear their version of an ugly sweater. Happily everyone complied and we saw a wide variety of 'beautiful' sweaters.

This years theme is all about the Grinch. The house will be decorated in a Whoville theme and we'll be serving two Whoville feasts (Who Hash for breakfast and Roast Beast for dinner). But the star of the show will definitively be these beautiful handmade Mr Grinch pillows, which are gifts I made for my beautiful nieces.

I saw this pillow at Pottery Bran for about $40 and wanted several of them, but I thought they were a bit too expensive. So, I decided to make them myself to save money. I was able to make them for less but they were a bit time-consuming but well worth it. They are beautiful!!!

If your up for the challenge, here are the instructions.

Step 1: What You Will Need

1) 20-inch square white or off-white broadcloth (enough to make an 18 x 18 inch pillow cover front)

2) 21-inch square red (plain or patterned) cotton fabric (enough to make an 18 x 18 inch pillow cover back)

I added at least an extra inch to accommodate for the zipper

3) Fabric markers (black, red, yellow)

4) 8mm red and white cup sequins

5) Fabric glue

6) Zipper for pillow cover back (optional) - If your not comfortable putting in a zipper, you can use the fold-over method, which works just as well

7) Grinch pattern for tracing

8) 18X18 inch size pillow (I got mine at a local hobby store, but I have seen them on-line)

Step 2: The Grinch Tracing Pattern

Take this file to a copy center and have them print it out on paper

Step 3: OR

Print out each section of the pattern and then tape them together to make the full Grinch pattern. This is what I did and it worked out great.

Step 4: Tracing Grinch Pattern Onto the Broadcloth

1) Print out the pattern

2) Center the 20x20 inch piece of broadcloth over the Grinch pattern

3) Using the black fabric marker, trace over the entire pattern

Note: I placed several pieces of double-sided tape between the fabric and the paper pattern to keep it from shifting during the tracing process

Step 5: Coloring Portions of Grinch

1) Using the red fabric marker color in the Grinch's Santa hat base

(Optional) - This step is optional, but the white broadcloth will show through and around the red sequins in the final product if you skip this step

The Pottery Barn pillow is red sequins over the white broadcloth, but to me it looked unfinished
It's totally up to you whether or not you add this step

2) Using the yellow fabric marker color the Grinch's eyes

The eyes on the Pottery Barn pillow weren't colored in, but again, I think it adds to the beauty of the pillow

3) Grinch is now ready for the bling (sequins)

Step 6: Begin Adding the Bling (sequins)

1) Place a small dab of glue to the back side of the sequins

2) Place sequins on the broadcloth in designated region (white for hat rim and pom pom and red for base of hat)

Note: this step takes several hours to complete, but stick with it. It's worth it !!

Step 7: Continue Adding the Bling (sequins) Until the Pattern Is Full

Step 8: Install Zipper to the Red Pillow Back

1) Cut the 21-inch red fabric in half and install a zipper

2) Sorry, I didn't get enough good pictures for illustrating how to install a zipper so please follow illustrations from an on-line source like Coats & Clark Sewing Book A to Z if your putting in a zipper

Step 9: Otional: Add Piping

This step is totally optional. The pillows look great without it, but if you want piping on yours, here's how

1) Cut a piece of pipping cord to approximately 80 inches

2) Cut red fabric to 1-1/2 inch wide strips and stitch them together to make a single 80 inch long strip

3) With WRONG sides together, wrap fabric strip around cording, matching cut edges

4) Using a zipper foot, stitch through both layers of fabric, as close to the cord as possible

5) Cut strip width down to 1/2 inch

6) Pin piping to RIGHT side (the Grinch side) of pillow cover, matching
cut edges

7) Using a zipper presser foot or a piping presser foot, stitch piping to pillow cover with a 1/2" seam, as close to the cording as possible

8) Clip piping fabric up to stitching when reaching corners

9) When you reach the end, take the unpinned extra piping at the end and overlap it on top of the first piping. A small “V” where the two meet will form and stich

10) Trim off the extra piping from both the start and finish so that the ends are in line with the edge of the fabric