If you’ve ever wondered how to make a quilted cushion, you’re at the right place! Follow our maxi quilted cushion tutorial and make a comfy and fun accessory for your home!
We’ve got another great small quilting project for you! Well, I say small, because it’s not a whole quilt. But in fact, it’s a maxi quilted pillow!
If you want to make something fun and comfy, this is just the project you’re looking for. We used this exact design with complete beginners at a live workshop we taught at Center Rog here in Ljubljana. And they created some amazing quilted cushions in a matter of hours!
I’ll show you all the amazing pillows they made in a bit. But first, let’s take a look at how to make a quilted cushion!
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Maxi Quilted Cushion Tutorial
In this maxi quilted cushion tutorial, I will show you how to make a fun and supper comfy maxi pillow with a fun (and simple) HST design.
This cushion is designed so you do not have to deal with binding, which can save you some time – and is super beginner-friendly! (We also have a quilted pillow tutorial where we use binding to finish the edges, if you prefer that look.)
We love the graphic vibe these scaled half-square triangles give to the finished pillows. And the best thing is, you can have some fun with it and create a HST design of your own!
Maxi Quilted Cushion Supplies
To make a maxi quilted cushion (or two or three), you will need all your basic quilting supplies:
- Sewing machine
- Walking foot
- Thread
- Scissors, rotary cutter, cutting mat
- Quilting rulers
- Fabric marking pen
You will also need a comfy pillow insert. We used 26×26” pillow inserts we got from Ikea. I especially like the ones filled with duck feather filling, but you can choose whichever you prefer.
Fabric Requirements for 1 Maxi Quilted Cushion
One maxi pillow is made using a background fabric and a (contrasting) accent fabric. Cut the following fabric pieces:
Color A (background)
(1) 17 x 17”
(2) 30.5 x 15.5”
(1) 30.5 x 22”
Color B (accent color)
(1) 17 x 17”
Additionally, cut a square piece of batting, about 32×32”.
How to Make a Quilted Cushion
Now that we have all our supplies and materials ready, let’s make a quilted cushion!
STEP 1: Make eight half-square triangles
Using the two 17 x 17” squares, make (8) half-square triangles and square them to 8×8” HSTs (unfinished). Follow our 8 at-a-time HST tutorial here >
STEP 2: Design the quilt top layout
This is the fun part! Using the HSTs you just made create a layout for your quilt top. We recommend sticking to two rows of 4 HSTs with one large background piece added to the top or bottom.
Above you can see our layout and some other fun ideas. But you can come up with something completely different. The possibilities are almost endless!
STEP 3: Assemble the quilt top
Following the design you came up with, sew together the HSTs into two rows. Then, sew the rows together. And finally, attach to the 30.5 x 15.5” background rectangle.
STEP 4: Make a quilt sandwich and quilt
Make a quilt sandwich (you can use muslin fabric for the ‘backing’ – which will be hidden inside the pillow case, or skip backing altogether). Quilt as desired. We have some great straight-line quilting ideas here >
When you’ve finished quilting, cut away the excess fabric and batting to get a 30,5×30,5” square.
STEP 5: Finish the edges of the two remaining background pieces
Double-fold the longer edge of each of the remaining background pieces. Pin the double-folded edge in place and crease it with a hot iron.
Using your sewing machine, topstitch the edges.
STEP 6: Assemble the pillowcase
Assemble the quilted sandwich and the two back pieces you just topstitched in step 5.
Lay down the pieces as follows:
- The quilted sandwich down right size up
- The small back piece right side down (align the unfinished long edge with the top edge of the sandwich)
- The large back piece right side down (align the unfinished long edge with the bottom edge of the sandwich)
Sew along all four edges of the square with a ¼” seam allowance.
STEP 7: Sew the decorative border
Turn the pillowcase right side out and iron the seams so you get a nice flat pillowcase.
Now, sew around all four edges with about a 2” seam allowance to create a decorative border. Finish the seams and you are done!
Slide the pillow insert into the cushion cover and enjoy!
I love how mine turned out and I use it all the time on the couch – it is so so comfy!
And as promised, here are the maxi quilted cushions the lovely participants created at our workshop! How good are these? You would never guess some of them barely ever sat at a sewing machine before! Great job, everyone!
So what do you say? Ready to make a maxi quilted cushion of your own? We say YES!
