DIY Christmas Snowman Pillow Wrap – Free Pattern
This DIY snowman pillow wrap turns a plain pillow into an adorable Christmas pillow! And because the wrap is removable, you can change it out to suit the season. Use my free pattern to create this cute snowman applique pillow wrap.
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A while back I made this fall pumpkin pillow with a removable wrap. (And by “a while” I mean two years…) The idea is that you can switch out the wrap to give your pillow a new look, so you’ve a throw pillow that works all year.
I created this DIY snowman pillow wrap 2 years ago with intentions to write up the pattern right away. But life happened and I didn’t get it done right away. And one thing I’ve very very good at is procrastinating. Ha!
You can switch out the wrap for the season so you’ve got a throw pillow that works for all year. My plan was…. But, life happened. And then Covid. I think most of you can relate.
But I was cleaning through my sewing room and found that pillow, and wow it’s cute. Look at this little snowman guy! I made his body from a faux fur fleece so he’s all soft and fluffy. He’s got a black hat on his head and a red fleece scarf around his neck to keep him warm.
I decided right then and there to finish the tutorial. Read on for the tutorial and the free snowman applique pattern.
The wrap has a simple hook and loop closure on the back so it's easy to remove and switch out with another design when the seasons change.
Even though Christmas pillow time has passed for this year, I went ahead and wrote up the tutorial. After all, snowmen are kind of an all winter thing. And if you go ahead and make it now, you’ll have it ready for next Christmas. Read on for the tutorial and to get the free pattern.
The wrap is 8” wide and designed to go around an 8” x 12” pillow. For instructions on how to make the pillow base, see my pumpkin pillow wrap tutorial.
Now, on to making the snowman pillow wrap!
Supplies for the Snowman Pillow Wrap
Wrap –2 pieces, 9” wide x 28” long from quilting cotton or home dec fabric
Lightweight fusible interfacing – 1 piece 8.5” wide x 27.5” long
Hook and loop tape –1 piece, 8” long
Snowman– 8” x 10” white fleece or sherpa fleece
Hat – scrap black fleece or quilting cotton
Nose - scrap orange fleece or quilting cotton
Scarf – scrap red fleece or quilting cotton
Eyes – 2 ½” buttons or KAM snaps
Mouth – 6 doll sized black buttons (approx. ¼”)
Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive (optional)
Free Pattern – Snowman Pillow Wrap
Tips for Using the Placement & Stitching Guide
This pattern includes a Placement & Stitching Guide to help you get all your pieces placed exactly right. If you’re good at eyeballing things, you can just look at the guide and recreate the placement and stitching on your banner. But if you’re like me and not so good at eyeballing things, here are some tips to help you us the guide to get the placement and stitching just right:
For placing large pieces, try cutting the background away. That will give you the outlines of all the main shapes that you can use to line your pieces up.
For placing small pieces, like the eyes and nose, try cutting those pieces OUT of the placement guide in order to create kind of a “stencil”. Then you can lay the guide directly on the banner and place your fabric pieces through the holes of the “stencil”. Carefully remove the guide without disturbing the fabric pieces, and you’ll have perfect placement.
To mark the stitch lines, first cut the guide on the stitch lines. Put the guide down on the banner, then place a fabric marking pencil through the slits you cut to mark the lines on your fabric.
Prep Your Pieces
Trace the patterns on to the paper backing of the fusible webbing. (The pattern is already reversed for you so it’s ready to trace as is.)
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the webbing to the back of the Snowman and Detail Pieces (Hat, Nose, Scarf Base, and Scarf Tails). Cut the shapes out.
DON’T USE FUSIBLE WEBBING WITH A DEEP PILE (FAUX FUR) FLEECE. The heat from an iron may melt your fleece. If you’re using a deep pile fleece for the Snowman Body (as I did for my example), just cut out the Snowman Body piece with the pattern placed FACE DOWN on the front of the fabric.
Follow manufacturer’s instructions to fuse the interfacing to the back of one of your Wrap pieces. This will be the Wrap Front. (The piece without the interfacing will be the Wrap Lining.)
Build the Snowman
Place the Snowman Body on the Wrap Front. The bottom of the Snowman Body should be 4.75” from the bottom of the Wrap Front. You can position the Placement Guide along the bottom of the Wrap Front to get the correct placement and angle. (I cut the snowman out from the background of the Placement Guide to create a stencil for placing the Snowman Body.)
Fuse or pin the Snowman Body in place, then topstitch around the edge to secure.
Place the Scarf Base across the snowman’s neck. Fuse or pin in place, then topstitch around the edge to secure.
Fold the Scarf Tails in half a little off center and at a slight angle so the tails are uneven, to resemble the tails of a knotted scarf.
Place the folded Scarf Tails piece on top of the Scarf Base where indicated on the Placement Guide. Stitch in place across the top and bottom of where it overlaps the Scarf Base.
Cut short slits at the bottom of the Scarf Tails pieces to create fringe.
Make the Snowman Face
Use a fabric marker to mark placement of the eyes. Install KAM snaps or sew (or glue) buttons for the eyes.
Place the Nose on the snowman’s face. Fuse in place, then top stitch to secure.
Use a fabric marker to mark the mouth. Stitch the mouth Sew or glue mini buttons for the mouth. If you choose to sew the mouth, use embroidery thread and a backstitch.
Place the Hat on the snowman’s head. Fuse in place, then top stitch to secure.
Sew the Pillow Wrap
Place the Wrap Front and Wrap Lining pieces RST (right sides together). Stitch around all 4 sides with a ¼” seam allowance, but leaving 3.5” open along one of the short ends to turn it right side out.
Clip corners. Turn right side out, then give it a good press. When you get to the turning hole, press the raw edges to the inside in order to create a smooth edge.
Top stitch around all 4 sides with 1/8” seam allowance. This will close the turning hole.
Now for the hook and loop tape. Sew the “hook” side (that’s the scratchy side) of the tape across the top of the Wrap Lining (the back of the wrap), centered horizontally and about ½” from the top edge. Stitch around all 4 sides of the hook tape so it’s good and secure.
The last thing to do is sew the “loop” side (that’s the soft, fuzzy side) of the tape to the bottom of the Wrap Front.
You’ll need to place the Wrap around the Pillow so you can see how far up from the bottom it needs to be in order to connect with the hook tape. I placed my loop tape about 1.5” from the bottom of the wrap, but it may be different for you depending on how fully your pillow stuffed.
As before, stitch around all 4 sides of the tape to secure it.
Your snowman pillow wrap is finished! Place it around your plain pillow to turn it into a fun Christmas pillow.