Making Pillows - How To, Tips, Lessons Learned

This is a long post, but has some good info and lots of pics, so bear with me. :o) The past couple months I've been making pillows for my family room as part of my effort to decorate that area of the house.  The family room is the first of MANY rooms I need to decorate, and it was a good starting point for me to get my feet wet in things unknown.  So, this post is about my adventures in pillow making.

Pillows are very simple and straightforward, but like with anything, they can have their rocky parts and parts that made me want to pull my hair out.  I made the gathered pillow first, which probably wasn't very smart since it was my most complex one, but at least everything afterward was easier.

I made 5 regular square pillows, one gathered pillow, one 4 piece panel front pillow (no idea what it's called) and one long rectangle pin tuck pillow.

I did a TON of reading and researching online to try and find the best pillow tutorials.  I didn't want the envelope pillows, so there weren't as many regular back pillow tutorials out there.  Here are some of the ones that I loosely followed:

For the 4 panel pillow: Sew4Home, Corduroy Diamond Wale Pillow 

For the regular square pillows: Sew4Home, Perky Pom Pom Pillow (minus the pom pom part) AND Make It and Love It, Pillow Slip Covers (minus the envelop part in the back)

For the pin tuck pillow: All Things Thrifty, Pin Tuck Pillow

For learning how to slip stitch the openings closed: Taffy Talk, Invisible Closing Seam

 Here are some close ups of the 4 panel pillow and the gathered pillow in back.

One of the square pillows in back, with the 4 panel pillow in front.

Four of the regular square pillows with the pin tuck pillow in the middle. Man my pictures are terrible.  I need a new camera!  ARG!

And now for a few things I learned along the way...

• If you opt to stuff your pillow with batting, then the type of batting really does matter.  No where in any of the reading I did, did I find info on batting.  The first bags I bought were the cheapest kind, but also seemed to be the most popular since there were huge bins of them in the craft store.  After stuffing two pillows with them, my husband said they weren't comfy at all and suggested I find something else for the next ones.  So I went back and bought the nicest kind with a touch of silk in it, and it made a HUGE difference.  They are a lot more conducive to laying on while stretched out on the couch.  I guess if your pillows were strictly for viewing pleasure, then the cheap stuff would be fine.  But if you plan to use the pillows then go with the nicer stuff.
• If you opt to go with a pillow insert, then make sure you measure exactly right and have a fabric that doesn't shift or do funny things to you while you sew.  The inserts scared me because if I made any errors in sizing then I was hosed.  
• Tissue paper for gift wrapping makes a great predone pattern for pillows (the square sheet kind).
• Ironing out the seams of the pillow can be the most time consuming part of pillow making.  It's also my least favorite part.  If you have a fabric that really shows the creases of the ironed seam, then it takes a lot of patience at the ironing board to roll the seam just right before pressing.  I made the mistake of not fulling rolling out the seam when I was pressing it and after I got the pillow all stuffed and sewn up, it looked awful and I redid the whole thing (seam ripper, pulled out the batting, reironed...). NOT FUN.
• Take your time when slip stitching the opening closed.  It's not hard once you get the hang of it, but it will look a ton better if you take your time and do a neat job. I do this while watching all my mindless shows on TV at night.
• And most important, don't be afraid to try something new and have fun with it.  Pillows really are a great avenue for trying out a new technique or getting creative.  There isn't a huge commitment when pillow making, so if you mess up, you can toss it. :) 

Last but not least, are some pictures of how I made the pin tuck pillow.  I mentioned above that I used the tutorial at All Things Thrifty, but I really only used it for the concept and then ventured out on my own into uncharted waters.  I think the final result was cute and fit with the rest of the pillows nicely.

I laid out my fabric for the front of my pin tuck pillow and then on the back side made pen marks where I wanted the tucks to be.  Then I used a small amount of the thread to tightly tie each gathered tuck.

A close up of the little pin tucked "nobs" after I tied them with thread.

This next step I wasn't totally sure about, so I just winged it.  I had to use needle and thread to sew the "nobs" in place securely.  I just knotted the end of my thread and then started sewing it back and forth through the center of the nob about a dozen times.  I gave it a good tug on the front side to make sure it was secure and then just tied off the end.  Totally unprofessional method, but it worked perfectly.

So here is a picture of the back side of my fabric all tied off and ready to go.

And this is what it looked like when I flipped it over.  Kind of a neat affect!  At this point I wasn't sure WHAT to do next, so I improvised. 

I cut and laid out a piece of muslin on the wrong side of the pin tucked panel.  Then I pinned the muslin to the panel, careful to fold and tuck the creases just how I wanted them.  It definitely wasn't perfect, but I was going for more of a "natural" look so it worked out fine.

You can see my piece of muslin is much larger than the fabric panel.  I intentionally did this because I knew the fabric was going to move around once I started sewing the two pieces together and sure enough, it did.  Once I pinned and sewed all four sides to the muslin I just went back and trimmed off the excess muslin to create a nice finished look.  Again, totally unprofessional. :)

Then I cut a back piece out of a coordinating fabric and sewed the two pieces together, right sides together, leaving about 8 inches open for the batting.  I clipped the corners, turned it right side out and pushed out the corners to give them a more sharp edge. Then I pressed the whole thing and stuffed with batting.

Then I pinned the 8" opening closed and slip stitched shut.

Ta Da!  A very unique pillow that fits perfectly as the final piece in my family room pillow makeover.

PHEW!  

I'm excited about how it all turned out and am ready to move onto my next project in the family room... stay tuned for some projects that will have me sanding, hammering, and painting in the garage.   

YIKES!

I've linked up to Amy Lou Who Sew & Tell
AND
V and Co. 

Bath Tub Toy Bag

I saw a simple and brilliant tutorial for a bath tub toy bag on Make It and Love It and knew I had to make it.  The toys are always left all over the bottom of the tub and it makes me squirm when I think about the yucky stuff that probably is growing on them.  Hopefully this new bag will help hinder the growth of unwanted slimy grime.

I took the tutorial just a bit farther and added three rows of ribbon instead of just the one. My rows of ribbon are VERY crooked.  The mesh material that I bought wasn't the same as the stuff used in the tutorial (because it was the only kind JoAnn Fabric had), so I had a little more difficulty working with it than I would have liked. The weave of the mesh was too loose and lightweight.  But it was still a very straightforward project.  I used my serger for the seams which helped speed things along too.

All in all, I highly recommend this project to all levels of sewers out there.  Have fun!

BOY STUFF! Knit Pants and Tie T-Shirts

I have found that, just like every other crafty Mom out there, making stuff for the little boys in my life is always a bit more challenging.  I'm drawn to the girly crafts.  Girl clothes and accessories = cute and super fun.  I can't help it.  Not only that, but the level of reaction I get out of my 3 year old girl vs my 3 year old boy when I hand them a newly sewn "thingamajig" is drastically different.  "Oh my gosh, I love it so much Mommy, it's SOOO cute!", is a very big motivator for me to make her more stuff.  BUT... I've been trying to be good, and have spent some time recently on boy stuff. 

I bought quite a bit of knit fabric in boy colors, with the intent to make pants.  So make pants I did.  I decided to start with a basic blue pant and pair it with a Tie T-Shirt.  I used this wonderful tutorial from Saltwater Kids for the Tie T-Shirt and then just used my PJ/lounge pants experience to make the pants.  Simple elastic waste bands for my boys are PLENTY fancy enough for everyday wear. 

I haven't been able to find a white plain t-shirt in an 18 month size yet, so I'm on hold with Austin's shirt until I can get my hands on one.  But I made Ethan one and also made one for my friends little boy for his 2 year birthday.  I used a thrifted mens dress shirt for the tie fabric and it turned out perfectly.

Here's a look at all the pants, laid out and ready to sew.  Freshly cut and pinned fabric makes me feel all warm and happy inside.

 
And here a few pathetically taken photos of the final outcome.  Maybe if I had a decent backdrop and took a photography class, my pics wouldn't look like garbage. Oh well, it's low on the priority list at the moment.

I did a fake drawstring on the waistband because I like the way it makes the pants look, just a bit more polished then a plain band.  And I made them all really long and gave them big thick hems so that I can make the pants last for a couple years.  With the rate at which Ethan's waist is growing, he'll be able to wear these for the next 4 years.  No joke.

And here are my two super handsome boys sporting the new look.  (Austin minus the tie shirt of course)  Seeing these guys looking so cute in their new duds does help inspire me to make more boy stuff. Come summertime that will be all I'm doing (shorts, shorts and more shorts).

I just linked this post up to Sew & Tell from Amy Lou Who.  This is my first time ever doing this and it's pretty fun to see everything that everyone out there is working on and share ideas and successes!

Trendy Office Accessories

This year for my sister Kyra's birthday, my other sister, Kahly, and I decided to give her a whole bunch of hand made office accessories.  We knew we wanted the main present to be a laptop case (since Kyra had been drooling over the other ones we made) and then we had a lot of fun blog surfing for additional gift ideas.  Delving into the world of Mod Podge was an absolute must. The question was where to start? And equally important, where to stop?  Once you start Mod Podging it's almost impossible to quit.

So here's the breakdown of what we settled on:

• The laptop case from Sew Mama Sew
• The Mod Podge clips from Make It and Love It
• The Mod Podge notebooks from Make It and Love It
• The keyboard and mouse slugs (no tutorial used, wahoo for us!)
• The mouse pad makeover from Make It and Love It

We had one heck of a time picking out just the right color scheme and finding coordinating fabrics to match.  We spent THREE hours in JoAnn Fabric one Friday night, trying to buy fabric.  It's so hard to pick out colors for someone else, especially when you know they'll be using the things you make them on a daily basis.  It was touch and go at points during that evening.  At one point we were so hungry and so cranky that Kahly went outside the store and bought a box of Girl Scout cookies.  We ate the entire box right there in the store.  Once on a complete sugar high, we were able to find the right fabrics and high tale it out of there.  What an adventure, torture, fun time, interesting experience. :)

Laptop case, front and back.  We pieced together the exterior panels with an espresso brown zebra print and did the flannel lining out of a pale pink.  Obviously our color palette we settled on was pink and brown.

Aren't these clippies the cutest thing ever?  Kahly and I will be making some of these (and some of the slugs and mouse pads) for ourselves next. 

 The slugs were made out of the same pink flannel from the laptop case and filled with flax seeds so that they can be warmed up in the microwave.  We thought this was a nice touch for Kyra, since she's ALWAYS freezing cold at work.

And finally the notebooks.  We used the Microsoft company wide notebooks for this project which Kyra got a kick out of. 

Most of the projects, with the exception of the laptop case, were easy and fun to do.  Mod Podge is the best stuff ever invented and has become my new best friend.  The accessories were a bit hit and Kyra's on her way to having the most trendy and cute office in all of So. Cal.  Love you Kyra, Happy Birthday!

Girl Skirt WITHOUT an Elastic Waistband

I was at it again today, testing out my skills with gathering and knit.  Today went quite a bit better for a couple reasons.  First, I was only using knit for half of the project and second, the tutorial I used was brilliant.  Somehow I stumbled upon The Mother Huddle blog and found this tutorial for a no elastic waistband skirt.  It's such a great idea so I had to try it out.

It just so happens that I have been dejunking and reorganizing the kids bedrooms this week and had a huge pile of clothes that were too small and needed to be toted up and put in the attic.  After reading through some repurposing blogs today I started too look at this pile of clothes with new eyes.  I pulled out two dresses of Addison's that I knew I could do something with.  I also had a huge bag of my clothes that I was ready to take to Good Will that I pulled back out of the car and rummaged through with this great tutorial in mind. 

I'm so glad I did a "second take" with these clothes.  So many new possibilities!  So many cute ideas floating around in my chaotic little head!  And here is the result of today's adventures.

 I forgot to take a pic of the dress before I cut the top off, but you get the idea from this picture.  

I gathered the top of the new skirt piece and then cut the bottom off of my old stretchy knit shirt.

I measured Addison's waist and sewed the new waist piece to fit.  I had to do this step twice.  The first time I made it too big so I cut it up again and resewed it.  Better too big than too small, right?

Sew the two pieces together and TA DA!  It's such a great skirt because the waist band is super stretchy and will allow her to wear it for a long time.  Maybe a piece of clothing will actually last longer that one season for her!  WOW, what a concept.

(STUPID BLOGGER keeps turning this photo on its side and I can't get it up and down. ARG!)

Now I need to refocus myself on some boy clothes.  I could tell Ethan was feeling a little left out today when I gave Addison yet another skirt.  Time to use my cute new knit fabrics to make some boy pants!

Knit Fabrics and a Play Dress

My very large order of knit fabrics from Chez Ami arrived a few days ago.  I was drooling over every one of them and had to take a picture for posterity.  Aren't they so shiny and pretty!? :)

After washing them all up I got right to work making Addison a upcycled play dress using a stained white shirt and this tutorial from Ruffles And Stuff.  This is another favorite craft/sewing blog that I frequent and my list of to do projects from her site is growing out of control.  My version of the dress definitely didn't take 15 minutes, but it wasn't too bad and I was able to finish it in a couple hours.  I learned from this project that I've got a long way to go before I'm comfortable with making a ruffle and before I'm used to sewing with knit/stretchy fabrics.  It's just a matter of lots of practice, like everything else!

This dress is definitely just for playing around the house.  It's got an uneven and unhemmed bottom edge and the seam where I added the knit fabric doesn't lay down very well.  Plus the white shirt I cropped off to make this dress was a bit stretched out around the mid section, so it makes the dress a lot more "full" than I'd normally like.  But hey, she loved it and won't take it off at the moment, so that's what counts!

Onto the next project with my fab-tab-ulous new fabrics!  Wahoo!

Family Room Curtains

I've been done with these curtains for a few weeks now but just haven't gotten around to posting them.  I was trying to see if my lighting would improve to take a better picture, but it never did.  During the winter the sun is so low in the sky that it doesn't shine directly into this particular window very well.  We get plenty of daylight of course, but not the direct light.

So the pictures are a bit dark and make the flash on my camera go off and, in turn, make the curtains look bright orange.  The true color of this fabric is a bronze/gold with deep red undertones.  They match the red couches so well and I absolutely love the feel they bring to the room.  They make it feel more cozy and warm and inviting, while adding a touch of class. Plus the hide the hideous cords from the blinds, wahoo!  Now if I can just finish making the pillows for the couch, redecorate over the fireplace and figure out how to do the lighting in the room, I'd have a room completely finished... I guess that's what "tomorrow" is for. :)

A big thank you to Ashley at Make It and Love It for the tutorial on these curtains.  I obviously doubled it to make two panels, but everything else I followed exactly.  The sewing part was very simple.  The hardest part about curtain making is the sheer size of the project.  Laying out, cutting, pinning and ironing 8 foot panels is no small task.  But now that I've done it once it will be easier the next go around and I'm exciting for the day when I get to start working on my living and dining room curtains.

This last picture was my attempt to not use a flash. It turned out terrible but at least the color is slightly closer to the real deal.  I'll just have to retake some in the summer. 

Superhero Capes

I made Ethan and Addison both a superhero cape for Christmas.  I used this tutorial from Puking Pastilles and they turned out perfectly.  I didn't add any embellishments to the backs since I used patterned fabric.  These were some of my first few sewing projects and they are a great way to get your feet wet if you're just starting out.  The kids really like them and since the neck in them is very loose they will last for many years to come.

BUT, if I were to make them again I probably wouldn't use velcro for the fastening at the neck.  It really bothers my kids and they are constantly pulling at it because it's scratching them.  I would use a button or a snap or alter the neck pieces a bit and do a ribbon tie of some kind.  I might even try to fix theirs, although I have no idea how I'd do it...

The fabric for the back of his cape was just perfect and paired so well with the bright yellow lining.

 

Why does my daughter look like she's 12 years old from the back?  Stop growing, please!