I followed Eleanor Burns instructions for making this then modified slightly. It's a very forgiving pattern - trust me on that! The rectangles are originally 2.5 X 4.5. You sew 4.5" long strips together, sew the last one to the 1st one too, then "slice" the 2.5" strips off of that tube. I'm sure there's a tute on it somewhere around. Any yes, that is just a flat piece to go over the pillows. It actually measures 32 X 88 so it's big enough for stacking two pillows high under it. When it's all quilted, that piece could also be used as just decoration at the foot of the bed. Thank you for the interest on this. It really is a fun quilt to piece together.