Throw PIllow

From Make It and Love It

You know I’ve made pillow slipcovers before…..here. But this time I wanted some real texture on my pillow. I have seen this gathered technique on pillows at the store…..and gave it a try at home.

And came up with this:

And the back is just the same as the tutorial here:

(And the blue/teal pillows in the background were made with the tutorial here as well, and I found that upholstery fabric at Hancock Fabric. I’m not sure of the name but it was with their home decorating fabric.)

**Fabric: I used an upholstery fabric that was a bit satin-y looking. It wasn’t really stiff like something you’d put on chairs but more like a semi-thick curtain material……so nice and flexible and a bit flow-y. But it can’t be a stiff fabric or it won’t gather correctly.**

To make……measure your pillows.
Mine were 21 x 21 inches from side seam to side seam. And I would need a half inch on all sides for a seam allowance. So if I was going to make a plain front to my pillow, I would just cut out a piece that was 22 x 22 inches. But to have enough fabric to make the gather, just double the width dimension. So I cut out a piece that was 22 x 44.

Then I placed pins all along one of the 22 inch long edges, spacing my 9 pins evenly….making the two outer pins only 1/2 an inch from the edge. (I liked the look of about 2.5 inches between each row of gather. But you could do more or less.)

Then I did the same thing to the other end….and then down the center. These pins are here as a guide as you make your seams. You can also measure your lines and then make a chalk line if this will help you keep a straight line. (But use your original side as a guide when placing your pins along the other edge and down the center. Just lay it on top and place the pins down….this will keep your spacing even.)

Then make a basting stitch (the widest length of stitch on most machines) going the width of your fabric, keeping in line with your pins. The fabric is folded and gathered up because it woudn’t fit into the picture. But those seams go all the way from one side, across the 42 inches to the other side. (zoom on the picture to enlarge.)

Then use a piece from your scrap pile that is 22 x 22 inches. (Never get rid of your scraps…..you’ll always find a use for them!!) The fabric can match if you’d like but no one will ever see it.

Start pulling the top thread of your top seam and gather your fabric. Gather it until it is an evenly spaced 22 inches. Pin it to your scrap fabric piece that you just cut out. (If you need more help gathering, there are a few more tips on this post here.)

Sew it right to that back piece of fabric, right along that gathered seam.

Then start at your next seam down, and do the same thing.

A trick that helped me, was to gather the fabric and then pin both edges to the edges of the back fabric. And then I would space the fabric…

And make sure that your back fabric is laying flat each time you sew a new seam. You want it to keep its original 22 x22 inch size.

Once you’re done with the whole piece, attach it to your back pieces (shown here) to make a slip cover for your pillow.

Put it on.

Instant beauty.

Throw PIllow

From Make It and Love It

I know, enough with the pillow tutorials right?

I can’t help it though.

They really are a fun and simple touch. And I have loved experimenting with all types. So hang in there…..I’m almost done purging all of these pillow ideas. Almost.

But I decided to do our bedroom light, fresh, and kinda funky. I fell in love with this Amy Butler cotton fabric and decided to use it in our bedroom. I also found this quilted white bedspread at TJMaxx……and fell in love with the idea of having a clean and fresh look to the bed. White seems to brighten my mood. And it was perfectly thin. (We both hate being hot while sleeping.) And then I could splash some color in there, depending on mood and/or season.
Perfect.

(And I’ll teach you a simple way to make your own pillow cases to match your bedding. Especially if you’re like us and hate pillow shams. But we’ll cover that another day.)

But here’s how I made this Pillow with ties.

I first cut strips of cotton that were 2 different lengths. This is because I tied my knots off to one side, so one side had to be longer than the other.
The longer ties are 21 x 5 inches and the shorter ones are 15 x 5 inches. I sewed each strip in half lengthwise and then sewed along the long edge with a 1/2 seam allowance.

Then I turned the strips right side out, and then pressed them flat.
Next, I cut a back and a front pillow piece out of some coordinating cotton fabric that measured 22 x 17 inches each.

Then I pinned the strips to the edges of the front piece of the pillow. Play around with your placement until it looks just right. Mine are off centered on purpose….I just liked how it looked.

Then pin the other ends of the ties to the center of the front pillow piece temporarily, just to keep them out of the way. Then pin the pillow front and back pieces together, with right sides together. Sew all the way around the edges with a 1/2 inch seam allowance……..leaving about a 5 inch gap to insert your filling. (And make sure to catch each of your ties in your seam and remove your pins as you go.) Then clip your corners and zig-zag next to your straight stitch.

Turn right side out, poke out your corners, and then stuff with batting…

Then hand stitch the opening closed (technique’s shown here).

Smoosh your batting around and even it out, so that the pillow isn’t lumpy.

Now, tuck in the ends of your ties. You can do this before you attach your ties to the pillow but I just wasn’t certain how long I would like the ends…..so I waited until now to tuck the ends of my ties inside themselves about 1/2 of an inch.

Press. Then I sewed the opening closed.

Repeat with all 4 ends.
Then tie each set of ties in a neat little knot, off to one side….

And toss onto your bed, a chair, or your favorite reading spot.

Just another sweet little feature to add to a pillow.

Throw PIllow

From Make It and Love IT

I know, I know.

Lots and lots of pillows on this blog during the Decorate My Home series.

But maybe one or two of these ideas will suit your fancy.

(All the while…..I have tons of pillows. Love them all!)

This new idea came from a photo text from a friend. She saw a fun pillow in a store, sent me a text thinking I’d like it………and I loved it. (Thanks Kim!)

The photo in the text was small…..so it may have turned out differently. (Only Kim will know…)

But it gave me the texture I was looking for.

.
And that’s because of those large round buttons covering the front.

And the chocolate brown piping around all of the edges.

It adds perfectly to the oranges, golds, and browns in the room.

And really helps the warm colors pop in the photo collage that’s nearby.

Would you like to make your own?

First, decide how big of a cover you’d like. My pillow size was 16 x 16 inches, so I cut out 2 pieces of orange cotton and 2 pieces of fusible interfacing that were all 17 x 17 inches. (If you use a sturdier fabric, you can skip the interfacing.)

Then I ironed each piece of interfacing to the wrong sides of the 2 pieces of fabric.

Then I placed all 49 buttons (7 rows of 7) on top of one of the pieces of fabric. (You can decide how many buttons you’d like depending on the size and spacing that you prefer. And try searching etsy or ebay for a good deal on a bag of buttons. I found mine on ebay for only a few dollars.)

Space them evenly in the center of your pillow.

Then I used fabric chalk to make a temporary line around the buttons……helping to keep the buttons centered as I stitched them to the pillow.

Then I hand-stitched each of the outer buttons in place first, so that my square of buttons would be straight and even.

Then I filled in the square and attached all of the other buttons.

Here’s a view from the back. Take note that I didn’t knot each button separately. I looped each button hole a few times, then went on to the next button. I only knotted the thread when I ran out……then started with a fresh piece of thread.

Then I placed that aside and grabbed a package of bias tape piping. (One package of 2 1/2 yards was plenty for me.) I started pinning the piping to the middle of one of the sides of the pillow, making sure to line up the raw edges of the piping with the raw edges of the pillow. (See how the rolled edge of the piping is facing towards the inside of the pillow?)

Then, as I got to a corner, I made a slit in the raw edge of the piping, so that it would turn the corner….and continued pinning. (Be careful to not cut through the piping.)

Then as I got back to the original side, I re-pinned the first end, so that it gradually veered off the pillow edge.

Then I placed the second end over top of the first and veered the very end off of the pillow too. (I did this so that the raw ends wouldn’t show when I finished. This will make more sense after you finish sewing and turn the pillow right side out.)

Then I sewed all the way around the pillow, keeping the raw edges of the pillow and the piping lined up……..and sewed as close to the piping that I could.

Make sure to use your zipper foot so that you can get the needle as close to the cording as possible.

Here is a view of the corner, all sewn……

And along the straight edge.

Then place the two sides of the pillow together, with right sides together. Pin in place.

Then sew the two pieces together, with the back side of the pillow up (where you just attached the piping), the outer edges even, and using the seam along the back side as a guide as you sew right on top of it. This will help you keep both sides even and will allow only the cording part of the piping to poke out after turning the pillow right side out.

Make sure to leave a wide opening along one side, where you will insert your pillow.

Then clip your corners and zig-zag around the raw edges of the pillow (except for the wide opening).

Then turn it right side out, poke out the corners (that will appear a bit rounded), and then press flat.

Also, press your opening towards the inside, making hand-stitching easier in the next step.

Then blind-stitch the opening closed with a needle and thread. (Need help with hand-stitching? Go herefor help.)

That’s it.

Fluff up and toss on your chair, couch, bed, or wherever…