Make it Modern Pillows – July 2025 Tutorial

It’s Jamie again from Sew Brainy Designs! It’s year 4 of my Make it Modern Pillows series! I’m so excited and I have some fun designs in store for this year! In case you missed 2022 or 2023 pillow fun, you can click the link below. Last year we started a fun Facebook Group so we can all sew along together!

June’s block had some simple some rotating stripes..

July’s block has some geometric flowers.

This year I’m using low volumes for the background. I went with Buzzworthy from the Hush Hush 4 line by Kristy Lea for this one.

I love these warm colors!

And the little bees in the background are so fun!

I did a 1/2″ grid quilting with Aurifil 50wt. off-white thread for this fantastic texture!

This month’s pillow features Confetti Cotton Solids by the RBD Designers. The colors I used were Thistle, Riley Melon, Super Pink, Guava, Fruit Punch, Piglet Pink, Tangerine, and Crocus.

There are soooo many nice new colors! Some of the new ones I used for this project were Thistle, Riley Melon, Guava, Fruit Punch, and Crocus.

Now let’s make a pillow!

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July 2025 Pillow Tutorial

Pattern Notes

• Please read through all instructions before beginning.
• Seam allowances are 1/4″ unless specified.
• Press all seams open (or in preferred direction).
• To avoid confusion, there is not FABRIC I.

Material Requirements

For the block (pillow top):

This pattern uses (1) BACKGROUND fabric [FABRIC A] and (8) ACCENT fabrics [FABRICS B-J]. Below are the requirements to make ONE 18″ block.

For the pillow body:

• (1) 22-24″ square piece of muslin or other fabric (for quilting the top)
• (1) 22-24″ square piece of batting (for quilting the top)
• (2) 13½” × 18½” pieces of backing fabric (for the pillow envelope)
• (1) 18″-20″ pillow form (my favorite one to use is the FJÄDRAR from IKEA!). I always use a pillow form that is one size larger than my pillow case to make sure it’s extra full.

Cutting Directions

From BACKGROUND FABRIC A, cut:

(2) 1½” × WOF strips, subcut:

• (2) 2″ × 18½” [A10]
• (2) 2″ × 15½” [A9]

(4) 1½” × WOF strips, subcut:

• (1) 1½” × 18½” [A8]
• (2) 1½” × 7½” [A7]
• (4) 1½” × 6½” [A6]
• (4) 1½” × 5½” [A5]
• (8) 1½” × 5″ [A1]
• (4) 1½” × 4½” [A4]
• (4) 1½” × 3½” [A3]
• (4) 1½” square [A2]

From ACCENT FABRICS B-G, cut:

• (1) 1½” × 5½” [B3-G3]
• (1) 1½” × 4½” [B2-G2]
• (1) 1½” × 5″ [B1-G1]

Piecing Directions

1. Sew (1) B1 and (1) A1 together on the long side and press the seam.

2. Cut (3) 1½” strips from the strip set.

3. Repeat STEPS 1-2 for FABRICS C-J.

4. Sew (1) A2 to the left side of (1) B1/A1 strip from STEP 2.

5. Repeat STEP 4 for FABRICS D, F, and H as shown below.

6. Sew (1) B1/A1 strip from STEP 2 to the LEFT of (1) B3 as shown below.

7. Repeat STEP 6 for FABRICS D, F, and H as shown below.

8. Sew (1) H1/A1 strip from STEP 3 to the LEFT of (1) B2 as shown below.

9. Repeat STEP 8 in the combinations as shown below.

10. Lay out (1) A1/B1 strip from STEP 2, (2) A1/C1/A1 strips from STEP 3, and (1) A1/B1/A1 strip from STEP 4 as shown below, noting the orientation of each piece.

11. Sew the (3) strips on the bottom row together on the long sides and press the seams.

12. Sew the A1/B1/A1 strip to the TOP of the unit and press the seam.

13. Repeat STEPS 10-12 in the combinations as shown below.

14. Lay out the cross unit from STEP 12 along with (1) A3, (1) A4, (1) A5, (1) A6, (1) C2, and (1) C3 as shown below.

15. Sew the A3 to the LEFT of the unit and press the seam. Then, sew the A4 to the BOTTOM of the unit and press the seam.

16. Sew the C3 to the LEFT of the unit and press the seam. Then, sew the C2 to the BOTTOM of the unit and press the seam.

17. Sew the A5 to the RIGHT of the unit and press the seam. Then, sew the A6 to the TOP of the unit and press the seam.

18. Sew the C1/A1/B2 unit from STEP 8 to the LEFT of the previous unit and press the seam.

19. Sew the B1/A1/B3 unit from STEP 6 to the TOP of the unit and press the seam. This is the FLOWER BLOCK.

20. Repeat STEPS 17-19 to create (3) additional FLOWER BLOCKS in the combinations shown below.

21. Lay out all (4) FLOWER BLOCKS and (2) A7 strips into TWO ROWS as shown below. Sew all (3) pieces in each row together and press the seams.

22. Sew (1) A8 in between the rows and press the seams to create the center of the pillow top.

23. Sew (1) A9 border on the LEFT and the RIGHT and press the seams.

24. Sew (1) A10 border on the TOP and the BOTTOM and press the seams.

25. Your pillow top is now complete!

26. Layer the completed block on top of the 22-24″ batting and muslin squares and quilt the pillow top as desired. When you are done, trim the block to 18½”.

Note – if you add dense quilting, your top may shrink a bit in size. Just trim it to the largest square that you can. You can trim the width of envelope backing fabric a bit in the next step if needed in order to match your actual top size.

27. Create a finished edge on the long side of each of the (2) 13½″ × 18½” pieces of envelope backing by folding 1/2″ of fabric over the wrong side TWICE. Stitch a seam near the edge to secure it.

28. With the square top facing up, layer the envelope pieces RST on top of it as shown below and sew a 3/8″ seam around the edge of the pillow top.

29. Trim the edges of the corners a bit to reduce bulk. Turn the pillow case inside out and insert your pillow form. Your pillow is now done! Enjoy your fun modern make!

I can’t wait to see all the beautiful pillows everyone makes! They can be very addicting! Be sure to share them on social media! #makeitmodernpillows #iloverileyblake #sewbrainydesigns.

If you check out my blog, I have some more color mockups and some freebie coloring pages you can download. Plus a sneak peek of a companion quilt pattern for this block that’s coming soon!

I’ll see you in AUGUST with some retro fun! Don’t forget to join us in the Facebook Group!

Until later, happy quilting!

Jamie