Nine Patch Quilted Pillow

Transform your favorite in-the-hoop quilt blocks into a stylish nine-patch pillow with this quilting tutorial! Steps demonstrate how to embroider each quilt block, then transform them into a cushion for your home.

Supplies & Materials:

Project Materials or Supplies
- 18" x 18" pillow form
- 1/2 yard quilter's cotton (two colors of 1/4 yard each; for quilt block bottom fabric)
- 20" x 20" piece of quilter's cotton (for bottom layer of pillow front)
- 3/4 yard quilter's cotton (for back of pillow)
- Small pieces of quilter's cotton (for quilt block pieces)
- Sheer mesh cutaway stabilizer (we prefer Sulky Soft 'n' Sheer)
- Cotton batting
- Temporary spray adhesive
- Double sided fusible web (optional -- for adhering quilt block pieces)
- Cutting mat
- Quilting ruler
- Rotary cutter
- Curved safety pins
- Nylon monofilament thread

The designs used in this tutorial include:

- Y5066, Winding Ways Quilt Block (In-the-Hoop)
- M15214, Quilting Accents - Small Flowers

Special Notes:
Be sure to wash and dry all fabric before starting to pre-shrink it.

Gather Materials:

When you download an in-the-hoop quilt block design you will see three files. One is the embroidery file, one is the dieline file (marked with the letters DL, and one is the printable planning sheet (marked with .PDF).

Print the planning sheet (the files ending in .PDF) and use colored pencils to plan your project.

Color color keys on the bottom of the page help for cutting the fabric pieces for each block. This pillow will use a total of nine blocks.

Color-coded quilt pattern diagram with pink and mint shades, marked as print and solid colors, next to two colored pencils on a wooden surface.

Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the correct shape and size. Open and print each dieline file using an embroidery software. If you do not have an embroidery software, take a look at our helpful video on using dielines.

We also recommend Wilcom's Hatch software which comes in different levels depending on what you'd like to use the software for. Hatch Organizer works well to view your designs, print dielines and templates, change design colors, and create basic design layouts. (This is an affiliate link. We may earn commission on purchases made with this link.)

Black and white printed paper with a geometric pattern of four curved triangular shapes arranged in a pinwheel formation, lying on a wooden surface.

Cut around the dieline shapes leaving a bit of space around each piece.

Label the paper dielines with "top" and "bottom", as well as "left", and "right" to show their order on the quilt block.

This will keep the pieces in order and prevent them from being mixed up while embroidering.

A hand holds a black pen pointing to a paper template on a wooden surface. The template is divided into eight labeled sections: top left, top right, bottom right, and bottom left. Each section is outlined with curved lines.

Spray the backside of the paper with a bit of temporary spray adhesive and smooth it onto the fabric. Then, cut out the shapes but do not remove the paper.

Four white fabric or paper pattern pieces labeled "Top Left," "Top Right," "Bottom Left," and "Bottom Right" arranged on a wooden surface next to a large pair of scissors and partially visible pink fabric.

For another option, add one piece of double sided fusible web to the fabric before cutting out the shapes.

Add the fabric to the fusible web and press it with an iron.

Follow the instructions on the fusible web packaging for best results.

Close-up of a hand holding and peeling back a small square of pink floral fabric with a white backing, placed on a light blue surface.

Then, add the paper dielines on top, cut out the shapes, and remove the back of the fusible web (but do not remove the dieline paper).

A hand holds a small fabric piece with pink floral print, shaped like a quarter circle. On a wooden surface are three paper templates labeled "TOP RIGHT," "BOTTOM RIGHT," and "BOTTOM LEFT.

Start Embroidering:

Next, hoop a piece of fabric with one piece of sheer mesh cutaway stabilizer.

Sheer mesh cutaway stabilizer works great with in-the-hoop quilt blocks because it keeps the blocks nice and light.

Close-up of a hand holding the corner of bright pink fabric, lifted from underneath a padded, framed quilting hoop on a wooden surface.

Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design.

Move the hoop so that the needle is directly aligned with the center point on the fabric.

Embroider the design -- a dieline, or outline, will sew first.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a black outline of a triangle on bright pink fabric, held taut in a wooden embroidery hoop.

After the dieline has sewn, remove the hoop from the machine, but do not unhoop the fabric.

Spray the backside of the fabric with adhesive, remove the paper, and place the fabric piece right inside the dieline shape.

If you are using fusible web, remove the paper and press the fabric in place (no need for adhesive).

Close-up of a hand with a silver ring holding a small pink and white floral fabric triangle on a bright pink background fabric, possibly for quilting.

Attach the hoop back onto the machine and match the top thread to the fabric piece color.

Continue embroidering the design. A tack down stitch will sew next, this binds the fabric piece to the bottom fabric.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a pink fabric with a white triangular patch featuring a floral pattern. The patch edges are secured with a dense zigzag stitch.

The dieline for the next fabric piece will sew next.

After each dieline sews, remove the hoop from the machine (but do not unhoop the fabric)

Add the fabric piece, attach the hoop back onto the machine, and continue with the design.

Match the color of the top thread with each fabric piece as you sew.

Close-up of a sewing machine quilting a design of four pink fabric petals with a floral pattern on bright pink fabric, with zigzag stitching along the petal edges.

After the fabric pieces have sewn, a cutting line will sew last.

This line will be used to cut the quilt block.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a design on bright pink fabric held in an embroidery hoop. The design features four triangular shapes with white patterns arranged in a pinwheel shape.

When the design has finished, unhoop the fabric.

Print a template of the full embroidery file at full size to place the next block.

Position the template on the fabric leaving about 1" of space between the edges of the design and the first block.

Mark the center point with an air-erase pen.

A hand holds a blue fabric marker near a pinwheel paper template pinned on bright pink fabric with three small patterned fabric triangles nearby.

Hoop the fabric and attach the hoop to the machine.

Move the needle over the center point of the next block, and embroider the block as you did in the previous steps.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching pink fabric with white patterned petal shapes arranged in a floral design, framed by rectangular outlines.

After the blocks have sewn, place the fabric onto a cutting mat.

Using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter, cut right along the sewn cutting lines of each block.

Pink fabric square with four petal-shaped white pieces sewn in a pinwheel pattern, placed on a green cutting mat next to a rotary cutter and metal ruler.

You can add a special touch to the quilt blocks by embroidering accent designs onto the fabric pieces before adding them to the block.

Place the cut dieline pieces onto the fabric and trace the shapes with an air-erase pen.

Purple marker outlines four identical triangular shapes on a white fabric, one being traced with a purple marker pen on a wooden surface.

Print templates of the accent pieces.

Cut them out, and center them inside the dieline shapes.

Mark the center point and the horizontal and vertical axis lines.

Close-up of a hand holding a purple marker, drawing a large petal shape on white fabric with a small paper template of a floral embroidery design pinned inside the shape.

Spray a piece of sheer mesh cutaway stabilizer with adhesive and smooth the fabric on top.

Hoop the fabric, aligning the lines on the first fabric shape with the marks on the hoop.

Attach the hoop to the machine, load the accent design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point on the fabric, and embroider the design. Repeat this for each fabric piece.

Close-up of an embroidery machine stitching a small floral design with green stems and yellow flowers on white fabric held in an oval embroidery hoop.

When all accent designs have sewn, cut out the pieces.

Three white fabric pieces with embroidered yellow flowers and green stems, each cut into a rounded triangle shape, are placed on a wooden surface next to metal scissors.

Load the full embroidery design, hoop the bottom fabric with sheer mesh cutaway stabilizer, and embroider the block as instructed above.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching four white fabric triangles with black and yellow floral embroidery on yellow floral fabric.

Assemble Pillow:

Assemble the blocks row by row, starting with the top row first.

Align the block on the far left on top of the middle block, right sides together, and pin in place along the left side.

Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge only.

Then, press the back seam using a hot, dry iron. Do not use steam when pressing quilt projects as the steam can distort or shrink the fabric.

Hand holding a pinned piece of white fabric sewn with three colorful embroidered triangles over a pink fabric square on a wooden surface.

Next, align the far right block on top of the middle block, right sides together, and pin in place.

Sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge, and press.

Close-up of a hand lifting a red fabric flap sewn on a quilt block with pink, red, and light blue patterned and solid triangle shapes, on a wood surface.

Repeat this for each row.

Then, align the top row on top of the middle row, right sides together. Pin in place, and sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edge, and press the seam.

Add the bottom row on top of the middle row, align the seams, pin, sew a 1/4" seam, and press.

Hand holding a red and white fabric square with a quarter-circle pattern, above two rows of fabric blocks with pink, blue, and red quarter-circle shapes on a wooden surface.

For the top and bottom borders, cut two pieces of fabric to 16" x 1 3/4".

Align the pieces along the top and bottom edges of the pillow front, right sides together. Pin in place and sew a 1/4" seam along the pinned edges, and press.

For the side borders, cut two pieces of fabric to 1 1 3/4" x 18 1/2". Align the borders along the side edges of the pillow front, right sides together. Pin, then sew a 1/4" seam, and press.

Close-up of a quilt block with nine patch floral and geometric patterns in pink, white, and blue fabric. White strip pinned along the top edge.

Cut a piece of fabric and cotton batting a bit larger than the pillow front.

Layer all the layers together:
First lay the bottom layer flat, wrong side facing up. Place the batting on top of the bottom layer fabric then the pillow front on top of the batting, right side facing up. Pin all the layers together.

Curved safety pins provide the best results when pinning through all the layers. Trim the bottom fabric and the batting along the shape of the pillow front.

Hand holding up an edge of a quilted fabric square with pink and blue patterned and solid pieced shapes on a wooden table, showing the backing and batting layers.

Quilt through all the layers.

In this tutorial, we used nylon monofilament thread in the needle and sewing thread in the bobbin, making sure the bobbin thread matched the color of the backing fabric.

Drop the feed dogs, and sew along the existing seams using a walking or free motion foot.

Close-up of a sewing machine stitching a quilt with pink and turquoise floral fabric patches, and light blue background fabric.

For the back pieces, cut two pieces of fabric to 24" x 18 1/2".

Then, cut two pieces of backing to 12" x 18 1/2". Fold each fabric piece in half widthwise, wrong sides together.

Insert the batting in between the layers on each fabric piece. Pin in place, and sew a 1/4" seam along the entire outer edges of the fabric.

Fabric layers pinned together on a wooden surface, showing a blue floral print top fabric, white batting in the middle, and another blue floral fabric underneath.

Next, lay the pillow front flat with the right side facing up.

Align the back pieces on top with the folded edges facing in and the raw side edges aligned with the side edges of the pillow top -- the back pieces will overlap in the center. Pin in place and sew a 1/2" seam along the entire outer edge of the fabric.

Turn the fabric right side out and insert the pillow form inside in between the opening at the back.

Folded fabric with a teal floral pattern on a white background, resting on a wooden surface. A glimpse of red and white fabric is partially visible underneath.