SewPINK: Awareness Ribbon Pillow

October 4, 2020 · Angela Bowman

My friend Annie Unrein of byAnnie.com started the #SewPINK Initiative, an online event focused on breast cancer awareness. Her goals are to encourage people to get their screenings and to donate to breast cancer research. She asked a group of sewists to make a project in the spirit of awareness, and here I am, happy to participate. It makes me glad to have a friend with so much empathy and to help support such a worthy cause.

Here's what I came up with: an awareness ribbon pillow. Let's face it, we're all indoors a lot more these days (thanks, 2020), and pillows sure brighten up our homes. I love that this pillow is reversible: channel your breast cancer warrior spirit with the ribbon side, or appreciate the colorblock beauty on the back side.

I made a 12" block of our free Awareness Ribbon foundation paper piecing pattern and attached 3.25" strips as borders to get an 18" pillow front. Then following the instructions in our free Patchwork Pillow Cover pattern, I made a cover for an 18" square pillow form.

I used 3 pink fabrics:

• Kona Cotton Bubble Gum for the front background
• Kona Cotton Pink for the back tie and the lining
• Kona Cotton Brt Pink for the front ribbon and the pillow back

Little-known fact: did you know that pink is in the magenta color family on the CMY color wheel?

I’ve made quilted pillows with batting before, but this is the first pillow front I've made with Soft and Stable [Amazon]. Wow, it has so much more snuggly-good squish-factor! And it quilts like a dream (I used Aurifil 50wt thread in White for the entire project). Plus, I love that it is such a good use of S&S scraps from previous projects - all you need is a square the size of the pillow form.

The Amazon link is an affiliate link, which means that if you buy, we’ll earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Please know that we have experience with this product, and we recommend it because it is helpful, not because of the small commission we'd make if you decide to purchase. Thanks!

Want to see what I made in 2019? I made an awareness ribbon pouch - don't miss seeing that, too!

2020 Blog Hop Schedule

• ✂ Oct. 1 (Thur): Mister Domestic
• ✂ Oct. 5 (Mon): Sewfinity
• ✂ Oct. 7 (Wed): Great Heron Thread
• ✂ Oct. 9 (Friday): Knot and Thread
• ✂ Oct. 12 (Mon): Snuggles Quilts
• ✂ Oct. 14 (Wed): A Bright Corner
• ✂ Oct. 16 (Fri): Suzn Quilts
• ✂ Oct. 19 (Mon): HUGS'N KISSES
• ✂ Oct. 20 (Tues): Sallie Tomato
• ✂ Oct. 22 (Thur): Masterpiece Quilting by Nancy Scott
• ✂ Oct. 23 (Fri): Meadow Mist Designs
• ✂ Oct. 26 (Mon): LoveYouSew
• ✂ Oct. 27 (Tue): Teresa Coates
• ✂ Oct. 31 (Sat): Sookie Sews of Sue O'Very Designs

The #SewPink Initiative was created by ByAnnie.com LLC to raise awareness for breast cancer throughout the year. Our efforts culminate in an annual blog hop during October’s Breast Cancer Awareness Month to promote self-care, awareness, early detection and support for those affected by breast cancer. 

• Breast Screen (Australia)
• CDC.gov (US)
• WebMD (free screenings)