Here are a couple of ideas for some last minute holiday gifts to stitch. You probably have a stash of fleece somewhere in your sewing room from a sale at JoAnns Fabrics 3 years ago, if not, find yourself a couple of remnants and get sewing. These are some clever and creative pillows for big and little kids to enjoy. They stitch up in a snap so they are quick and easy for a beginner to make.

Fleece Dog Bone Neck Pillow (For the BIG Kids)

I really wish I had thought up this pattern. My girlfriend Wanda said it was the best little neck pillow ever, great for napping on an airplane, in the car or just drifting off in the lazy chair. I found this pattern at sew4home.com. It is a free pdf pattern.

You just cut out the pattern and tape it together. Then cut out three of these shapes.

You are going to stitch around 1/2 of two shapes.

Then add the third piece and sew all around leaving only a small opening for turning.

Turn it right side out and stuff it with some polyester stuffing. Then just whip stitch the opening closed. All done!
Sew4home has the full pattern with instructions. You can whip one up in about 30 minutes. It will use up about 1/2 a yard of 45″ wide fleece.

Fleece Friendly Holiday Tree Pillow (For the LITTLE Kids)

This pattern is from me. I thought it would be a cute accent for the chair or a great little gift for the little ones to get as an early gift before the holiday.

Here is my Free Tree Pattern for the cute little tree pillow.

Finished Size: 10″ x 12″

Materials Needed:

1/3 yard of green fleece
Assorted scraps of fleece for the ornaments, eyes, note and mouth.
Polyester stuffing
Embroidery floss for the mouth
Coordinating threads

Directions:

Note: Use a 1/4 ” seam allowance.

Print out the pattern and use it to cut out two pieces of green fleece placing the center of the tree on the fold.
Embellish the front of the tree. I cut out little circles for eyes, mouth and ornaments.
Then I pinned them where I wanted them and then used a narrow zig zag stitch in matching thread to sew them all on. It goes pretty fast once you get started, the longest part is changing the thread color. I just used little circles for ornaments, but you can get fancy, add shapes, add rick rack, decorate your tree how you like it!
Embroider the mouth with a large stem or running stitch.
With wrong sides together, stitch ¼ inch from the edge of the fleece leaving an opening at the bottom for stuffing.
Clip the points and turn right side out.
Stuff the tree with polyester stuffing and whip stitch the opening at the bottom closed.