How to Make a Giant Succulent 3D Pillow (With Pattern)

How to Sew Your Own Succulent Pillows

Here is a step-by-step guide on how to make a giant succulent pillow. Succulents are robust and beautiful plants that will grow even if rarely tended to. You can also bring these excellent plant indoors in the form of these huggable plush pillows—a great accessory in any plant lover's home. These can be used as throw pillows, pet beds, and plushies. These pillows are soft and exciting to look at. Pets love to nibble on the ends of the leaves, and they quickly fall asleep in them.

This pillow's oversized nature will give your sofa some texture and a bit more volume. You can also turn yours into a floor pillow. To do this, you need to make an extra-large leaf pattern. To make it even more interesting, you could also use two tones of green to give the pillow a bit more depth.

This project is easy to make and can be easily put together by stitching by hand or machine. You can make different size variations of this just by adjusting the number of leaves to be used. You can also use cotton fabric with different patterns to make it a bit more fun.

DIY Echeveria Pattern

For this project, we will make an echeveria succulent. We will be imitating its plump leaves and rosette pattern. It's the most recognizable succulent around. By making one for your house, it is a guarantee that everyone who visits will leave with a smile on their face.

Materials Needed

You would need the following materials to make these pillows.

• Minky fabric or plushie fabric: You can get this at your craft or fabric store. If you are looking to make a giant, somewhat realistic-looking succulent, I would suggest getting green.
• Fiberfill: You need loose fiberfill to use as stuffing.
• Sewing machine or needle
• Green thread
• Board paper (to print your pattern)
• Fabric scissors

Pattern Template

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Step 1: Trace and Cut Out the Pattern

For the pattern, you will need three sizes.

• First layer: 11"x8" - cut 16 pcs (to make 8 leaves)
• Second layer: 8"x5" - cut 20 pcs (to make 10 leaves)
• Third layer: 8"x5" - cut 16 pcs (to make 8 leaves)
• Top layer: 6 1/2"x 4" - cut 12 pcs (to make 6 leaves); 2 pcs 8"x5" (to make one leaf)

Note: Make sure to leave a half-inch allowance around the leaves. Cut along the dotted line. When stitching together the two pieces of fabric, put the front sides facing each other. Leave an opening on the rounded end for your stuffing. You'll need to hand-stitch this once it's been stuffed.

Step 2: Make a Leaf

To make a leaf:

1. Pull it inside out.
2. Get your fiberfill and stuff the leaf to at least 80%. If you wish to make it a bit stiffer, fill it completely.
3. Hand-sew the opening.

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Note: If your minky fabric has a pattern, make sure that each leaf is cut following that particular pattern so they would all come out looking the same.

Step 3: Form the Layers

Once you have the leaves, sew them together near the bottom. Sew the first and last leaves together to form a circle.

Step 4: Make the First Layer

For the first layer:

1. Get the eight leaves of the 8 x 11 inch size.
2. Sew them together and form a circle.
3. Make a 14-inch round pillow for the center. To make this, cut 14 inches in diameter with an inch allowance. Sew the two pieces of fabric together. Pull the fabric inside out and stuff it will fiberfill. Stitch the opening to close the circular pillow. For this example, I used a different color fabric to show the difference between the center and the leaves. You can use the same minky fabric you used for the leaves.
4. Form the leaves around the center pillow and sew the ends of the leaves to the edge of the round one.

Step 5: Make the Second Layer

For the second layer:

1. Sew 10 leaves of the 8 x 5 inch size together to form a circle.
2. Place this on top of the first layer. Position it so you can still see the leaves of the first layer. They will not line up perfectly. This should be ok; we are going for an organic look.
3. Sew the second layer on the center pillow.
4. Sew the backs of the leaves to the ones behind it.
5. Make sure that all the leaves are secure and cannot pull apart even when picked up.

Step 6: Make the Third Layer

To make the third layer:

1. Use the same-sized leaves you used for the second layer for the third—only this time, sew eight leaves together.
2. Sew the third layer onto the center pillow.
3. Sew the leaves of the third layer onto the ones behind it.
4. Make sure that they will not pull apart.

Step 7: Make the Top Layer

For the top layer:

1. Sew six of the smallest-sized leaves together.
2. Sew an 8 x 5 inch leaf to the end.
3. Fit the leaves into the middle of the center pillow. The larger leaf should end up in the middle.
4. Sew the bottoms of the leaves on the center pillow and the backs of the leaves to the ones behind it. Make sure that the leaves are all secure.