Temperatures are definitely telling us that it is summer and time for a trip to the beach. With temperatures in my town reaching 118 degrees and higher, I would love to head to the beach right now! When the time is right, this beach pillow is ready for the trip.

Summer Fun Beach Pillow with HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl

A handle, a zipper pocket on the front, and an open pocket in the back make this pillow ready for almost anything. It's a great way to carry a few extra things, plus have a place to lay your head and enjoy the sounds of the waves from the beach. The pillow is water-resistant thanks to HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl. It is amazing! What’s really fun about HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl is how easy it is to use. It even can be painted over applique designs like this one. There are three ways to use the HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl gel coating: One coat: Fabric is water and stain-resistant Two coats: Fabric is waterproof and stain-resistant Three coats: Waterproof and stain-resistant with a semi-gloss oilcloth finish

Summer Beach Pillow Instructions

Step 1: Use a paintbrush to apply a light coat of HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl on the pillow front (don’t apply over the zipper.) Step 2: Let dry for 30-45 minutes. Step 3: Preheat iron to medium heat, no steam. Step 4: Place fabric on top of parchment paper on a firm, protected surface (not an ironing board) and cover with HeatnBond Pressing Paper or non-stick pressing sheet. Press for 45 seconds, moving iron slightly. Let cool. The Oliso Mini iron is perfect for small projects like this and the purple one is so pretty! The Beach Pillow used several wonderful ThermOWeb products: Heat n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive or Heat n Bond Lite EZ Print Sheets HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl Optional: Heat n Bond Light Weight Non-Woven Interfacing Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive Zipper Pocket - The zipper pocket on the front of the pillow was so easy to make. Following package directions, iron the 14” x 14” square of Heat n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive to the wrong side of the 14" x 14" fabric. Remove protective paper and fold square diagonally into a triangle, matching edges. Press. Using the Heat n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive between fabric layers gives it a sturdy feeling and makes adding the zipper much easier. Fish applique - Following the package directions, prepare the applique patterns using Heat n Bond Lite Iron-on Adhesive or Heat n Bond Lite EZ Print Sheets. Using Heat n Bond Lite EZ Print Sheets means no tracing. Just run your designs through an inkjet printer and they are ready to iron on fabrics. Quick and easy! Iron adhesive pieces to wrong side of applique fabrics. Cut out applique pieces.Peel off paper liner from the backs of fish applique pieces. Place applique, adhesive side down, on right side of zipper pocket. Press according to package directions until entire piece is bonded. Let cool. Sew around edges using a straight, zig-zag, or blanket stitch. Apply HeatnBond Liquid Vinyl to zipper pocket on both sides. Having it water proofed on both sides makes it a perfect spot to stow anything that's liquid, like sunscreen. Apply a thin line of Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive along folded edge of pocket. Lay edge of zipper along adhesive and finger press in place. Allow to dry. Stitch close to zipper edge on front side of pocket using a straight or decorative stitch. Slide zipper open near edge to enable sewing if needed. Line up pocket with raw edges along bottom and sides of pillow front with zipper pointed towards pillow center. Pin/clip zipper pocket to secure in place. Apply thin line of adhesive to other zipper edge and finger press in place. Allow to dry. Sew along top edge of zipper to secure it to pillow. Baste around pocket’s raw edges to secure in place. Trim off excess zipper – make sure zipper pull is not cut off! That's it! The pocket is finished and ready for the rest of the pillow to be assembled.

The Whale

The Fish

The Jellyfish

The back pocket

And the nice little zipper pocket!

It is about 24" x 24" when finished and has a preformed 24" x 24" pillow inside. Are you ready to make a pillow for the beach? You can find the complete instructions for the Beach Pillow in a PDF pattern HERE. Grab your flip flops, swimsuit, towel, and especially the sunscreen, and go have some fun at the beach!

Written by Carol Swift