Christmas Tree Shaped Fabric Pillow No Sew Tutorial

My Christmas tree shaped fabric pillow, which comes with a no-sew tutorial, got my creative juices flowing and was so much fun to make. It’s sure to add the wow factor to your Christmas decor!

This is a great project for those of you who don’t have a sewing machine so follow my no-sew tutorial to learn how to make a Christmas tree for yourself.

I think you’ll really enjoy having this festive pillow as a new addition to your holiday decor!

Keep in mind, not only can you replicate my design, but you can also choose traditional Christmas fabric or use any color scheme like all bright colors or all neutral shades.

There are so many options for putting your own spin on Christmas crafts like this one.

CHRISTMAS TREE SHAPED FABRIC PILLOW NO-SEW TUTORIAL

denim christmas tree shaped pillow with fabric ornaments

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SUPPLIES NEEDED:

STEP 1: CHOOSE A TREE PATTERN

You can do a Google search for “free Christmas tree templates” and view all the images or you can find one like I did at suncatcherstudio.com.

I ended up enlarging my tree outline to a poster size, following their instructions, since I really didn’t know how large I wanted to make my pillow.

Download the tree outline and print out all 9 sheets. Tape the papers together to form the tree template.

CHRISTMAS TREE SHAPE PATTERN TO PRINT

Before I taped my tree together, I played around with the sheets and chose to decrease the pattern a bit and then taped together after I was happy with the size.

Cut around the tree template.

christmas tree shaped paper template for the fabric pillow

STEP 2: TRACE AROUND THE PAPER PATTERN

Place the Christmas tree pillow pattern on the darker denim fabric and trace with a marker.

Repeat the same for the drop cloth. I usually trace on the back side when making patterns.

Cut both pillow panels out and place to the side for later instructions.

traced outline on the denim fabric pillow panel

STEP 3: SELECT DIFFERENT FABRICS TO MAKE THE ORNAMENTS

For the pillow panels, I chose a medium shade of denim fabric (a store remnant) and I sneaked some drop cloth from our painting supplies.

The patchwork circles were made using fabric from thrift store denim jeans, used painter’s drop cloth, and old fat quarters from my stash.

fabrics chosen to complete the christmas tree shaped fabric pillow

ALTERNATIVE FABRIC SOURCES:

  • If you plan to make a large sized tree like I did, JoAnn’s is a good place to find a large piece of denim for the front side of the Christmas pillow.
  • You can also find fat quarters there to select from for the patterned fabrics needed.
  • No drop cloth? Look for a cream fabric that has a little weight to it at JoAnn’s. A heavier weight makes the pillow feel more sturdy.

STEP 4: MAKE THE CIRCLE PATTERNS

Trace around a household object to make the circle patterns on your fabrics.

I used a small chalk paint bottle. The size was approximately 2 to 2.5 inches in diameter.

circles traced onto fabric to be used to make the Christmas tree shaped pillow

Begin tracing circles for all fabrics. You’ll need more denim and drop cloth circles than the fat quarter fabrics. All circles will start out the same size.

Now is a good time to watch TV while you cut out all those circles!

HOW TO CUT THE FABRIC CIRCLES:

  • All circles start out the same size and will be cut along the marker circles
  • Decide the fabric stack order as seen in photo above
  • Consider the top circle as #1 and the bottom circle as #4
  • Cut circle #3 about 1/4 inch less than the bottom circle #4
  • Cut circle #2 about 1/4 inch less than #3 and continue like so until all circles are cut out

TIP: Cut 1/4 inch straight into the circle, as seen in photo below, so you don’t loose your 1/4 inch when cutting since there will be no markings.

example for cutting the circles out of the fabric

STEP 5: CHOOSE THE FABRIC MIX AND STACK THE CIRCLES

Play around with mixing the patterns and the order of the stacks for how you want them to look as Christmas ornaments.

circles displayed for testing placement on the Christmas tree shaped fabric panel

I tried to vary using the denim fabric versus the drop cloth as the bottom layer.

Also, I varied the order of the patterned fabrics from one ornament to the next as much as possible.

christmas tree shaped fabric pillow panel top with circles in stacks

STEP 6: GLUE THE TREE EDGES

Place the tree pillow panels together. Match edges up and smooth out any wrinkles.

Hot glue together the entire first tier of the tree and half of the second tier.

Run a small bead of glue on the back piece leaving a 1/4 inch or more unattached (kind of like a seam allowance so to speak) near the edge of the pillow panels and press down.

glueing the two fabric pillow panels that form the Christmas tree shape - part of the no-sew tutorial

You’ll be using Poly-fill stuffing as your pillow insert.

Begin pulling apart the Poly-fil kind of like your shredding it with your fingers. This will prevent a lumpy pillow.

poly-fil stuffing example for shredding

Stuff one section of the pillow at a time while making sure to get enough stuffing into the tree curves.

Use any household tool like a chop stick or an unsharpened pencil to help stuff the pillow. You’ll mostly be using your fingers.

  • Once the first tier is completely glued, hot glue together the rest of the 2nd tier and a little past the sharp corners and then add stuffing.
  • Now, run a bead of hot glue down the rest of tier 3 of the tree, stopping at the curves at the bottom and then add more stuffing.
  • Run a bead of glue in the curves on each side, leaving about a 4 inch gap open in the middle and then add more stuffing.
  • Complete stuffing as much as possible and glue the gap together.

TIP: It’s easier to glue the bottom of the tree together and keep the edges aligned if you turn it backwards and glue from the back side.

example of stuffing the Christmas tree shaped fabric pillow

STEP 7: JOIN THE FABRIC STACKS TOGETHER

NO-SEW VERSION: Hot glue each fabric layer together and top it off with the button.

OPTIONAL NEEDLE AND THREAD: Hold the entire stack along with the button and hand sew the stack together.

STEP 8: ATTACH THE ORNAMENTS

Determine your final placement and add about a quarter size bead of hot glue to the center, which will leave some of the ornament loose and unglued.

That completes the Christmas tree fabric shaped no-sew tutorial.

I hope you enjoy creating your DIY Christmas tree shaped pillow for the holiday season.

NO-SEW DROP CLOTH BUNNY PILLOW

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HOW TO MAKE A UPCYCLED WOOD ORNAMENT STAND AND RUSTIC ORNAMENTS

graphic saying pin for later
denim christmas tree shaped pillow with fabric ornaments

It’s time for the monthly “Sustainable Craft Challenge” which is a blogging group of creators who share their upcycled/recycled crafts and decor with our readers. All or parts of our projects are recycled. This month our theme is “Christmas.” You can visit all the blogger’s projects below. Don’t miss out!

BELOW, SEE 10 MORE CHRISTMAS CRAFTS FROM OUR CREATIVE BLOGGERS!

graphic for the craft challenge blog hop group

Julie @ Sum of their Stories ~ ~ Felt Star and Bead Garland

Our Good Life ~~ DIY Rosemary Wreath

Purple Hues and Me ~~ Nature Inspired DIY Christmas Wreath

Simple Nature Decor ~~ Jeweled Oyster Shell Ornament

Crazy Little Love Birds ~~ DIY Winter Tree Scenery using Cardboard

Sew Crafty Crochet ~~ Upcycled Christmas Baubles

Christine’s Crafts ~~ Christmas Tree Diamond Decorations

Decor Craft Design ~~ DIY Christmas Snowman from Old Socks

Mimi a Great Name for Grandma ~~ Christmas Tree String Art

Stone Cottage Adventures ~~ Framing a Quilted Pig

photo graphic for 11 diy christmas craft ideas

Sharing my Christmas tree shaped fabric pillow at these fabulous blogs!

author of the southern sunflowers blog
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Allyson

Allyson is the founder and content creator of Southern Sunflowers. She shares tutorials for DIY crafts and decor on a budget.

30 thoughts on “Christmas Tree Shaped Fabric Pillow No Sew Tutorial”

  1. LOVE that this is a no sew project Allyson!
    Will be featuring you starting Wednesday at the Creative Crafts Linky Party! Pinned and shared!
    Creatively, Beth

      1. I am saving scraps now. I’ve been wanting to make. Tree pillow for a while, and I’m saving your template, thank you fornsharing Allyson! I think holiday decorating always makes our homes feel so much more cozy and warm. I can envision an entire bench full of these pillows!

  2. I am truly obsessed with the Christmas Tree shaped fabric pillow. First of all….denim is my ultimate choice for fabric. Your pillow is unique and so fun! I also love how you layered the round pieces and secured them with a button for the ornaments! Super cute!

    1. Thanks, Christine! Glueing the pillow together is easy enough that anyone can make it. I’m glad you think the instructions were good as sometimes I think crafters might think all those details are overkill ~ lol.

    1. Gail, even though I’m a sewer, I thought the no-sew version was the way to go so more crafters could make the pillow. I would sew the tree together if I planned to sell some. Glad I could give you some inspiration!

  3. I really love this rustic vibe with the denim, drop cloth and the fabrics you’ve used. I have a couple of old cushions/pillows that I saved so I could reuse the stuffing, they would be ideal for this kind of project.
    I feel like there might be a lot of “tv watching whilst cutting out” going on soon, I mentioned just yesterday on my instagram that there are few things nicer than watching something light and fluffy on tv whilst doing a bit of cutting out prep for a craft project!

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