What made them special were a couple things:
1. How we paired the fabrics
2. How we overlapped some fabrics
3. How we added button details
Note: I am an amateur sewer by any definition! Any improvements you amazing sewers out there can offer, I would LOVE to hear!
I could barely thread my sewing machine when I started this project, but I kept my owner's manual and my mother's phone number handy. I learned all these neat tricks and settings to best utilize my digital sewing machine Aaron bought for me at least 4 Christmases ago. And they turned out great!
Added note: I added zippers to every pillow case so Tania could take out the pillow and throw the cases in the washing machine, if needed. Not all are machine washable, but in case of grape juice, she has a back-up plan. The only one that doesn't work for is the dimpled pillow. But, that one also has fabric that blends dirt the best. There's a method to my madness...
Pillow #1: Silk Plaid and Chocolate Chenille
I bought 16" x 16" pillows from Joann's for cheap ($5 each?), leaving me 2" of extra fabric on either side. With 17" squares of fabric, I need to keep my margins tight to not over stuff these pillow cases.
1. Pin fabrics together with the nice side inside, being sure to leave the desired length of fabric along the seam (ie: 1" of extra fabric beyond the sewing seam would have taken away much needed fabric for the large pillow fillers).
2. Must do zipper first. Many ways to do it. Directions for each zipper style are on the zipper package. Just make sure you leave the zipper UN-zipped as you sew the remaining edges, since the zipper handle will be inside after sewing edges and you'll need it to open and turn it right side out.
Reader: Please offer any tips you might have for sewing zippers, as I really fudged my way through this one.
3. Sew all sides, being sure to double up seams on corners for adds strength.
4. Turn inside out and stuff with pillow. Zip, and cuddle.
Pillow #2: Knubby chenille and Chocolate Stripe with Leather Button Dimple
How To:
1. Follow all steps of pillow #1
2. With needle and thread, pierce center of pillow and loop a button on both sides. Sneak behind the buttons to do several loops, pulling tight with each loop. Knot it and cut short to hide behind button. Sit back, and admire your handy work.
Pillow #3: Velvet Honey Stripe and Honey Branch Inside of Silk
Note: With the casual feel in the room, we didn't want a lot fo shine and shimmer. So we found silk we liked , but used the inside of the fabric. It ended up having a slight glow and reflection rather than a full on shiny sheen.
How To:
Follow steps from Pillow #1
Pillow #4: Geometric Ivory Chenille and French Provincial Green Silk with Ceramic Tile Button Overlap
This silk wasn't too shiny, and it had bumble bees on it. I'm a sucker for bumble bees
How To:
In addition to following steps from Pillow #1, one must note that we had to use a smaller, rectangular pillow to get the same 17" square of fabric to overlap the next. So I got a rectangular pillow (12" x 16"), also on the cheap from Joann's.
When pinning the fabrics, I just cut the green silk 4" shorter than the other pillows and sewed a edge before pinning it to the other fabric. To sew and edge, just fold over the edge of the fabric and run the sewing needle along that fold as close to the edge as is comfortable.
No need for a zipper on this one, since it closes with a button. But the button was to big for my sewing machine to do a button hole for. So I sewed it directly on top of the overlapping fabric and used an old bra hook to close the fabrics inside.
Pillow #5: Muslin whimsy overlapping linen-looking tweed with knotty wooden buttons; Lattice chenille
This one was the trickiest and, in my opinion, the prettiest.
Hot To:
1. Same thing as pillow #1, except this time I had to also pin the muslin to the inside so when flipped right side out, there would be half a sheet of muslin sticking out of one edge of the pillow. I still do the zipper first, I just do all the careful pinning beforehand.
2a. I finished the pillow like the others, and then added the buttons and button holes.
2b. I have a setting and a special foot for sewing buttons. I measured the diameter of the button, clicked the footer to match that measurement, and then attached it to the machine and sewed directly onto the muslin.
2c. I used my stick remover to cut a hole inbetween the button hole stitching.
2d. I sewed the button onto the teed beneath the muslin to line up with the hold. Button and cuddle.
These look great. You are so brave the way you jump into new things! That is so scary to me-- and I tend to end up swearing at my sewing machine, the few times I use it.
ReplyDeleteI used to just cry and call my mom. Then i got a lot of sample fabric and just spent some time trying different settings, not trying to accomplish anything. I think that helped, not fearing I would screw up whatever I was trying to make. Just fiddling.
ReplyDeleteI think guys do this well. Like with computers! They just jump in and start clicking crap, not afraid that they'll accidentally wipe a hard drive or create a real Y2K virus. They treat it like a squirt gun or a GI Joe. I treat it like the control center of an alien mother ship.