One of the things I’m planning to make for the girls’ playroom is floor pillows for their reading nook. I’m also planning to recover one of my poufs, because the inside lining got a hole and now the little foamy beads are falling out everywhere. I’m not entirely sure where I think I’ll find the time to sew… but it’s a nice thought!
Gum Drop Pillows by Amy Butler
Pouf DIY by The Cream to My Coffee
Floor Cushion by DIY Home Sweet Home
Giant Floor Pillows by Oven Lovin’ Blog
Filed under Crafts, Decorating, Sewing
Right before Christmas, I ordered the cutest knitted ottoman for Emily’s room. My sister was there when I opened the box (much squealing and excitement on my part!) and said she didn’t have an ottoman for the nursery. Well, that’s uncomfortable!
from Target
So I made her one! Because what else are you going to do?
This was a really easy project, and a great scrap buster. This was right around the time that I was purging/cleaning/organizing our office, so I had committed to purging my scraps/random fabric by half. But I hate throwing away fabric. Problem solved!
This and one tub of fabric. That’s what I consolidated to!
What you’ll need:
*fabric
*LOTS of stuffing (I even used two extra pillows, plus all my scraps)
1. Cut 6 squares. Mine measured 20″, because I used two decorative pillows as the top and bottom. I know, two fewer pillows in my house! You think that means I get to buy 2 more? But you could make yours any size that works for you.
2. Sew your cube using this cloth block tutorial from Make It and Love It. I skipped the step of clipping the corners, because with something so big, you’ve got some flexibility.
3. Stuff and stuff and stuff. Sit on it to press it down. Then stuff some more. It’s going to take lots more than you think, because you want it to be pretty solid. Hand sew the opening shut.
With all that fabric, your ottoman will be pretty heavy!
The little miss testing it out.
Filed under Repurposing, Sewing
The nursery is a pretty small room. Maybe 8’x9′ at the most. Which means we wanted furniture to do double duty. We got an Expedit bookcase in white from Ikea, turned it sideways, and added some legs to create a window seat with plenty of storage for toys (with pink bins from Target).
But of course, we needed a cushion to make the window seat comfortable. I wanted to use a piece of 3″ foam, but that was pretty expensive. So with 4 clearanced pillows from Ikea, I set to work.
What you’ll need:
*fabric (front and back pieces cut 1″ longer and 1″ wider than the length of your bench)
*pillows, stuffing, or foam the length of your bench
1. With right sides together, pin the two long sides of your fabric. Sew just those two sides.
2. Stuff your fabric tube with your stuffing/pillows/foam. Both of the short sides are open so you can maneuver to filling a little more easily.
3. Fold the short ends in about 1/2″ each. Pin and stitch closed.
The finished product:
Go figure that pillows for the nursery were a top priority. I knew from the beginning that pillows wouldn’t be anywhere near the crib, but what’s a bedroom without pillows? And I knew this would be the best way to incorporate all of the wonderful fabrics I had found.
Fortunately we had a window seat that needed some dressing up!
And I didn’t even break Logan’s one pillow in, one pillow out rule (see this post for more on my pillow obsession). Believe it or not, I did have enough pillows around the house to make four for the nursery. Where did the picture of the 4th pillow go?
I used just a basic pillow pattern for all four.
For the two applique pillows, I used the tutorial from Sew 4 Home. The elephant applique came from that site and I just searched for a good butterfly template on Google Images.
I will say this about applique pillows: it’s not hard to applique, but it’s pretty slow going. Once I finished the first round, I had several mistakes to fix. Not hard, but a little tedious. Definitely worth doing again though!
Filed under Baby, Decorating, Sewing
This has always been my pillow cover of choice: mostly because I hate ironing, even if it’s just for two quick hems. I have a feeling that will change once there’s a little one around the house, and pillow cases need washing more than what they do now!
Sorry, I don’t have many pictures for this one.
(I used fabrics #2 and #3, plus scraps from fabric #6 and a random scrap from my stash)
What you’ll need:
*fabric
*thread
*pillow form
1. Cut your fabric 1″ longer and 1″ wider than your pillow form.
(Option: I added a tie across the center. But a coordinating fabric the length of your pillow and twice the width. With right sides together, pin and sew the long side. Turn it right side out. Pin on the right side of your pillow case.)
2. Pin the fabrics right sides together.
3. Start a couple inches away from one of the corners. Sew towards the closest corner. Sew around the rest of the pillow. On the last side (the same as the first side), stop a couple inches from the corner you just finished. This leaves a large gap to stuff the pillow in.
4. Pin the gap. Use this tutorial from Taffy Talk to do an invisible stitch closure.
The finished product:
Our finished bed:
So I may have broken Logan’s rule with pillows: one in and one out. And he may have figured that out right away. But my sister and I found this great pillow at Goodwill on half price day. Seriously, $5. How can you say no?
These pillows were also made using this style:
Filed under Decorating, Sewing
This is the style I used for my euro pillows. I did different fabrics on the front and back so they’re reversible. The envelope side looks pretty good, because the prints work so nicely.
I used fabrics 4, 6, and another one that didn't get in the picture. Oops.
These pillows are pretty easy to make, because you don’t have to do any hand sewing (you do have to use the iron, which isn’t my favorite!).
I’m going to make the directions pretty general, so you can adjust this to any size pillow form.
What you’ll need:
*fabric
*coordinating thread
*pillow form
1. For the front: Measure your pillow and add 1″ to the side and top.
2. For the back: Cut two back panels the same width as the front. Cut the length about 2/3 the length of the front panel. This gives you room to finish the edges and conceal the pillow completely.
3. Fold one side of each of the back 1/2″ and then another 1/2″ to create a clean edge. Sew in both hems.
4. With right sides together, match the back panels to the top and bottom of the front panel. There should be some overlap in the center to create your envelope.
This shows one back panel attached to the front. The second back will start at the top and overlap in the middle.
5. Stitch around all four sides of the pillow. I zigzag the edges to reinforce them.
6. Turn your pillowcase inside out and put your pillow in.
The front of both pillows
The backs of both pillows
These pillows were also made using this style:
Filed under Decorating, Sewing
Step 1 in making over the master was replacing the cases for our regular pillows. I found a blue and white twin sheet in Logan’s mom’s stash. Perfect to keep the projects under budget.
I used fabric 1 for these.
What you’ll need:
* fabric
*coordinating thread
*pillow form
1. Fold your fabric in half right sides together. Put your pillow on the fold.
2. Cut the fabric to 1″ wider than the pillow and 8″ longer.
3. Sew 1/2″ seam along the bottom and long side of the fabric.
4. Press 1/2″ along the top. Then fold down another 3 1/2″ and press.
5. Sew along the pressed edge.
Note: to do this with a twin sheet, cut the sheet in half lengthwise. Then cut the length 4″ longer than the pillow. Use the top edge of the sheet to skip steps 3 and 4.
Super easy for a quick change!
Filed under Decorating, Sewing
My husband is a great sport about all my sewing. He puts up with scraps all over the office, stepping on pins, and me wanting to change our decorating a couple times a year. Good guy that one! But he does have one strict rule about pillows: One in, one out. I’m allowed to change the pillows as often as I want, as long as the collection doesn’t grow. Thank goodness fabric is so cheap and there are great tutorials out there for creative pillows!
(Make It and Love It is one of my go-to website for creative projects!)
But, I have a tendency to envision things that don’t actually exist. Like the shade of orange I wanted for my living room. I wanted a darker, almost reddish orange, but all I could find was the citrus orange. I have to admit, I was getting pretty frustrated that shopping day.
Until…
I went to World Market just to cheer up and look at their scarves. And found, this dress on their clearance rack (started as $24.99 and got it for $4.99, plus a coupon!). So I got one to wear and one to turn into a pillow. Love it.
Filed under Sewing
a project at a time 