DIY Celtic Knot Heart Pillow

With Valentine's Day on its way, it's time to deck the home with an ode to love. In a quest for unique and cozy Valentine's decor, I created this lovely Celtic knot heart pillow. Made of comfy knit jersey, this Celtic knot pillow makes a statement in the room while also providing a cozy place to snuggle up during the holiday of love.

Celtic knots are a design that are near and dear to my man due to his part-Irish ancestry. My search for a new way to use the Celtic knot pattern, led me to Cut Out and Keep's tutorial featuring the idea to twist a long rope-like pillow into a Celtic knot pattern. I love the idea because it is unlike any pillow I've seen at the average department store.

Ready to give it a try?


Supplies:
4 yard by 7 inch strip of stretchy knit jersey material (or use multiple 7 inch by 1 yard strips and sew them end-to-end, so you'll be able to buy less yardage)
Polyfill stuffing
Thread and needle
Sewing machine
Dressmaker's pencil or marker

1. Measure and mark a 7 inch by 4 yard strip of fabric. Cut fabric.

2. Fold the strip of fabric in half and sew the long length of it approximately 1/4 inch from the edge. Sew as straight as you can.
3. Invert the fabric tube so that the seam is now inside the tube. Place a clothes pin on the one end of the fabric tube to close it off so the stuffing doesn't escape in the next step.

4. To stuff the fabric tube, roll a magazine or find a paper towel roll to place inside the fabric tube. Scrunch the entire length of the fabric tube onto the roll. Then feed the stuffing through the roll, pushing it through with a wooden spoon or ruler if needed, in order to evenly fill the entire length. Be careful to stuff the fabric tube evenly or it will be very difficult to smooth out later on. If it needs smoothing, the stuffing can be squeezed and massaged into place by hand.

The last 15 - 20 inches won't need to be stuffed as full, as I'll explain more in step 7.

5. Fold the tube into the shape of the Celtic knot pattern of your choice. I used the heart-shaped Celtic knot. Here's a great video on how to make a heart-shaped Celtic knot. Once you have the shape, pull the ends to tighten the knot and eliminate the gaps between each loop.

Now you might be thinking to yourself that you have two loose ends, so why not just sew the two together? Yeah, I tried that.

This would be the wrong way to tie the knot. Now you know!

If you sew the two loose ends together, the shape of the entire heart changes and the weave pattern of the Celtic knot is lost. Also, the "back" of the heart looks odd since the two ends protrude rather dramatically. Yes,  I learned this the hard way, so you don't have to. We want the loose ends to hide rather than becoming a visible continuation of the knot. Here's how you should sew your ends shut.

6. Fold the ends of the tube over to make a seam, pin it down on the underside of the loop where it won't be as visible, and hand-stitch the end down.

7. Now to tie up the other loose end. Make sure the knot is pulled tight and there are no excessive gaps.  Since this end wraps above the top of the loop, I left the last 15 - 20  inches of fabric minimally stuffed so it wouldn't bulge and distract from the heart shape. Cut off any excess length of material on the other end after wrapping over the top of the loop (about 12 inches). Then fold a seam, pin, and hand-stitch on the underside of the loop.

Sit back and admire your handy work!

Rating: 3 out of 5. Basic sewing skills needed on the sewing machine. Stuffing the pillow took a little practice too to prevent the knot from looking a bit lumpy. I had to re-stuff mine since I wasn't careful enough the first time.

Linking at: 
The Shabby Creek Cottage
Shabby Nest 
Katie's Nesting Spot at Crafty Soiree
Funky Junk
Tatertots and Jello
Six Sisters' Stuff: Strut Your Stuff Saturday
Nifty Thrifty Sunday
Make it Pretty Monday at The Dedicated House 
Craft-O-Maniac
Saturdays on Or So She Says
Chic on a Shoestring Decorating 
No Rules Weekend Blog Party    
The Weekend Re-Treat