Make it Modern Pillows – April 2026 Tutorial

It’s Jamie again from Sew Brainy Designs! It’s year 5 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 the previous pillow fun, you can click the links below. We also have a fun Facebook Group so we can all sew along together!

March’s block had some retro rectangle frames.

April’s block has rainy rainbows!

For my low volume background, I went with Little Ladies by Heather Peterson from Hush Hush 5 for this one.

Rainbows are always so happy! But you don’t have to use them in exact color order to get the effect.

The lady bugs are so cute!

I used the Malachite pantograph by Patricia Ritter on my longarm for this fantastic texture!

This month’s pillow features Confetti Cotton™️ solids!

There are 300 colors to choose from! Of course the brights are my favorite!

Now let’s make a pillow!

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April 2026 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).

Material Requirements

For the block (pillow top):

This pattern uses (1) BACKGROUND fabric [FABRIC A] and (6) ACCENT fabrics [FABRICS B-G]. 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:

(3) 2” × WOF strips, subcut:

• (5) 2” × 15½″ [A3]
• (18) 2″ squares [A1]

From ACCENT FABRIC B, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 5″ [B2]
• (3) 2″ squares [B1]

From ACCENT FABRIC C, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 9½″ [C2]
• (2) 2″ squares [C1]

From ACCENT FABRIC D, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 11″ [D2]
• (1) 2″ square [D1]

From ACCENT FABRIC E, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 6½″ [E2]
• (3) 2″ squares [E1]

From ACCENT FABRIC F, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 8″ [F2]
• (2) 2″ squares [F1]

From ACCENT FABRIC G, cut:

• (1) 2″ × 3½″ [G2]
• (4) 2″ squares [G1]

Piecing Directions

1. Lay out the (18) A1 squares, along with all FABRIC B-G pieces into (6) ROWS as shown below. Sew all pieces in each row together and press the seams. These are the RAINBOW STRIPS.

2. Lay out the (6) RAINBOW STRIPS from STEP 1 and the A2/A3 SASHING STRIPS as shown below. Note that (1) A3 BACKGROUND STRIP is in between each RAINBOW STRIP and (1) A2 is on the outer LEFT and outer RIGHT side. Sew together on the long seams and press.

3. Sew the A4 to the BOTTOM of the unit from STEP 3. Press the seam.

4. Your pillow top is now complete!

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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.

8. 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 May with some mid century modern vibes! Don’t forget to join us in the Facebook Group!

Until later, happy quilting!

Jamie