DIY Black and White Chevron Pillow

Today we have a fun art tutorial from my contributor, Brittany! She is constantly coming up with great projects on her blog, brittanyMakes. I love a good pillow and especially a bold black and white one! This DIY has me swooning for sure! 

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 Raise your hand if you have a stash of the oh so classic black and white striped fabric. Who doesn't, right? Most times I'm at a loss on what to do with fabric remnants after I've finished a project. Maybe it's the hoarder in me, but I seriously hate tossing perfectly good materials - I'll think of something to do with them! And guess what? I'b here to share another pillow design! There are so many ways you can manipulate striped fabric and today I'm going to show you how to turn stripes into a chevron pattern. Let's go! Here's what you need:

• 1/2 yard striped fabric
• Kraft paper for template
• Angle square
• Ruler
• Chalk
• Piping (optional) - I used neon velvet ribbon!

 First thing you want to do is measure and cut your pillow template. I wanted to make a 20" pillow, so I cut out a template measuring 20"x20". Fold this in half diagonally. Lay the 90-degree edge of your angle square along the edge of a stripe on the front of your fabric. Then, take your ruler and place it at the 45-degree mark. I placed my folded template underneath my ruler as an additional guide (you actually probably don't even need the template if you have an L-shaped ruler, now that I think about it). Using your chalk measure 20" up for the first side of your pillow cover. Repeat this process for the second side, although you need to flip your angle square to the opposite 90-degree edge. Make sense?

Next, railroad both sides together. It is SUPER important to make sure the stripes align from top to bottom. I like to hold the fabric up to the light to make sure they align, then use like a million pins to make sure the fabric doesn't move when I sew it together. Now, the next step is completely optional. I wanted to add some flair to my pillow by turning some neon velvet ribbon into piping. My suggested method for doing this is to sew the piping to the front of the pillow cover first, then sew the back side on top of it. I recommend going very slowly when sewing the ribbon/piping. You can choose to add a zipper or do an envelope closure for the back side. This is a great zipper tutorial, and this is a straight forward envelope pillow tutorial.
 It looks pretty fantastic, right?? I'm totally guilty for making way too many pillows, but in my defense they're just so easy to make and can transform a space in a hot minute! Toss this bad boy on your bed and bam! Instant upgrade. Not to mention your friends and fam will oogle over your pillow and wonder where they can buy this oversized chevron printed fabric :P

Learn about all of my great contributors on my Meet The Team Page. 

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Hi! I'm Brittany from the blog brittanyMakes, where I journal my adventures in DIY projects ranging from everyday home decor to handmade jewelry, from tips in photography to stories of bulldogs, and everything else in-between.   I am a fierce accountant by day and a zealous DIYer by night.  I spend my time balancing my love for home decor and design with the everyday responsibilities of my corporate day job.  My main mission is to inspire my readers to do what they love, take risks, and above all, to exercise their creative muscles!