tutorial – Page 11

Vintage Tea Towel Pillow

May 4, 2013 by 2 Comments

When I was in Virginia, I found this cute tea towel at the Arlington Flea Market. I loved it because it had the same design stitched on both ends – now I can make 2 pillows! I thought it would make a darling pillow! You can do this with any vintage linen.

Cut the image how you want. Mine was an 11″ square.

Next, cut (2) 2″ strips x WOF for the first border. Sew the pieces: sides first, press, then top and bottom, press.

For the 2nd border, cut (2) 3 1/2 inch strips. Follow the same process, sew the sides, press, sew the top and bottom, press.

I love it! I was tempted to turn it into a mini quilt 🙂

Finish how you would normally finish a pillow. Can you guess how I finished mine? Invisible Zipper! I am a pro now!!

I love the embroidery work. And I love that I didn’t have to do it!!

Filed Under: pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Ruffle Pillow Tutorial

May 3, 2013 by 2 Comments

Don’t you love ruffles? They make everything so happy! I have seen ruffle pillows all over the internet and I have been wanting to try one. This is my version; I hope you want to make one too!

Choose your fabrics. I wanted my pillow colorful, so I choose this aqua, orange & yellow print from xo.gigi fabrics.com. I love it! Then I choose a thin white cotton with a textured dot.

This is the fun part because you get to rip your fabric. I snipped my white fabric every 2 inches then ripped all the way down the width of the fabric.

I used my gathering foot to make the ruffling go really fast. If you don’t have a ruffling foot, just sew a gathering stitch and gather by hand. (if you like ruffles you must get this foot – it is so much fun!)

My pillow form is 18″ so I cut my front and back piece 19″. I inserted my invisible zipper before I sewed the ruffles on. It made it easier. For my back I choose a piece of neutral colored linen.

If you are picky you should measure this part, I just eyeballed it. I placed my ruffles so there was about 1 inch between each row. I wanted to see the fabric through the ruffles. If you want a ruffle-only pillow you could use plain fabric and place the ruffles right up next to each other.

This part takes a while because it requires a lot of pinning. Half way through I was almost temped to get out the hot glue gun and make this project go really fast!

Once all the ruffles are pinned down, sew along the gathering stitch.

You can finish this like you would finish any pillow. You could do an envelope back, stuff it with fiber-fill, or a zipper closure like I did.

Sew & Turn!!

Bottom view of my pillow….I am getting good at those invisible zippers! Next time I will time myself to see how fast I can sew one!!

I can’t decide if I like the ruffles going horizontal or vertical. I suppose it doesn’t matter 🙂

Filed Under: pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Iron-On Image Pillow Tutorial

May 2, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I love these graphic pillows I see everywhere!! They are super fast and easy to make! Here is what you do: The first item of business is to find a graphic you like. I went to Etsy and typed “pillow download” in the search field. Literally hundreds of fun images came up to purchase and download. Most are only $1.00 each! You can use any graphic you have or find.

Next you need to get some kind of fabric transfer. This is the one I used from Avery:

I would follow the manufacturers instructions. This is how I did mine:

Ta-Da!!

Pillow #1 – Antique Kitty:
This was the quickest pillow to make. Two squares 12″ each. Sew, turn, and stuff with fiber-fill. Hand stitch opening closed.

Pillow #2 Huma Huma Antique Tropical Fish Pillow
This was similar to the kitty pillow, only it measures 18″ and I inserted an invisible zipper in the bottom seam to insert the pillow form. Click HERE for my invisible zipper tutorial.

Bottom view of pillow – I love the invisible zipper!

#3 Enjoy The Ride Banner Pillow

I added the text to the bottom of the bike graphic I purchased from Etsy. I choose to use turquoise linen for this pillow. Looking back, I should have kept with more neutral tones. You can kind of see the edge of the iron-on material. Live and learn!

My pillow form is 16″ so I cut two 17″ squares. Iron on your graphic.

Cut little triangles out of Heat N Bond Lite and iron them to the wrong sides of your banner fabrics. Cut out your triangles, peel off the back, and they are ready to be ironed into place.

This is how I laid out mine. I used some crochet lace for the banner.

Remove the lace and iron on the triangles. Be careful not to move them.

I used black thread to accent stitch around the triangles. I stitched them twice so they look “sketchy”. I didn’t bother stitching the top as the lace will cover them.

Now pin your lace on and sew along the top and bottom of the lace in matching thread.

Now it is ready to finish into a pillow! I used an invisible zipper on the bottom to insert the pillow form. You can finish the pillow the way you like best. You can even just sew and stuff it!

#4 Enjoy The Ride Pieced Pillow

This pillow sews up really fast. Use the following image below as a cutting guide:

Cut the back piece 12″ x 22″

Use 1/4″ seams in your piecing. After you piece the strips on, press the seams to one side. BE CAREFUL not to touch the iron on your iron-on image – it will melt!!

Sew the front to the back with right sides together. Leave a small opening in the bottom seam to turn and stuff. Hand stitch closed. Done!

The possibilities are endless using iron-on images. I hope you come up with something fun!!

Filed Under: gift, gifts, pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Quilted Pillow

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today I am a guest blogger over at xo.gigi fabrics blog. Click HERE for the tutorial on how to make this fun quilted pillow!

Filed Under: pillow, quilt, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Lone Quilt Block Pillow {guest post}

May 1, 2013 by Leave a Comment

I am excited to announce today’s pillow tutorial: Lone Quilt Block Pillow by Clover & Violet. I have been a fan of Clover & Violet, their blog, their patterns, and quilts for a long time. They are the CUTEST!!! They made up this super cute pillow pattern for my Throw Pillow Throw Down. I am so honored!! Here is a little about Jennie, from Clover & Violet:

“I’m a mom, bag lover, quilter, sewer, and lover of handmade! I blog at Clover & Violet with my mom, Clara, and together we design all kinds of patchwork bags, embroideries, and a variety of other things.”

Click HERE to visit Clover & Violet and to learn how to make this quilt block pillow.

Filed Under: pillow, tutorial, tutorials

Throw Pillow Throw Down Day 2

April 30, 2013 by Leave a Comment

Today we have 3 exciting pillow tutorials!

#1 – Pieced Chevron Throw Pillow from Shannon at Sewing Barefoot. Shannon is a full time interior designer who loves being crafty and creative. She has inspiring tutorials from painting to sewing to quilting. Check out her blog! She also hosts a linky party every Sunday. Click HERE for her Chevron Pillow tutorial.

#2 Sewing an Invisible zipper
I know there are lots of tutorials out there for how to do this, but sometimes it helps to see many different versions of the process before you tackle one yourself. This is my version 🙂 Click HERE

#3 – Strippy Quilted Monogram pillow.
My pillow tutorial is being featured over at the Therm O Web Blog. I LOVE their products and I would be completely lost with out their Heat N Bond Lite!! Click HERE for the tutorial

Filed Under: pil, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Sewing an Invisible Zipper {tutorial}

April 30, 2013 by Amanda 1 Comment

I love finishing my pillows with invisible zippers! Once you try it you will love it too!

I cut my pillow squares the exact size as my pillow inserts (I try to always use 20″ pillow forms)

Zipper – I like to buy my zippers longer than I need so I can cut off the extra and not worry about how it will fit, at least 22″

This instruction will show you how to sew the zipper in the bottom seam of your pillow.

Make sure to start and stop at the 2 1/2″ mark. Now, pin the other side of the zipper to your other square of fabric.

This next step can seem tricky. You are going to put on your zipper foot and sew a seam that will close up that 2 1/2″ space on both sides of the zipper. Below I have shown exactly where your seam should be and where it should start. Notice it starts about 1/2 inch from where the first seam ends. It is ok that the seams don’t meet up. When you press the pieces, it will lay really flat. In fact, the closer you get to the first seam, the more pucker-y it will be.

To finish the pillow, place right sides together and pin all the way around. MAKE SURE THE ZIPPER IS PARTIALLY OPEN. Sew 1/4″ all the way around the pillow, starting and stoping at the zipper. Turn right side out.

Filed Under: pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Throw Pillow Throw Down Begins Today!

April 29, 2013 by 1 Comment

I am so excited for this week! I have been working on lots of fun pillows and working with lots of fun people to get this throw down started! This will not be a “Throw Down” in the sense that there are winners and looser, I hate to see people cry 🙂 Just fun tutorials every day. “Who can’t use a few more pillows around the house”….(said no husband ever!)

Here are today’s three features – its all about fast & easy and sewing with kitchen linens: napkins, placemats, and towels!

Napkin Pillow Tutorial

Placemat Pillow

Kitchen Towel Pillow

Filed Under: pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Placemat Pillow

April 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

This is the easiest way to make a pillow – EVER! You can time it – it’s about 10 minutes. There are lots of examples all over the internet – just Google “Placemat Pillow.” I love this turquoise one from A Pumpkin and a Princess. The rosette added to the pillow is darling.

Here is how you make your own. Get a placemat. I bought this one at Kohls. They have a pretty good selection of placemats. I always see random placemats for sale and now I know what to do with them! Snatch them up as you find them!

Get your seem ripper and rip about a 4″ section of the seam – enough to get your hand in.

Using your favorite fiber-fill, stuff the opening until it is the desired fluffiness.

Pin the opening closed and sew along the edge of the pillow. My placemat had a double seam, so I sewed 2 seams.

Done! This placemat was kind of a stiff-durable fabric. Not the kind of pillow I would want to watch TV with, but perfect for my bench on my porch!

Filed Under: pillow, sewing, tutorial, tutorials

Napkin Pillow

April 29, 2013 by 2 Comments

This is a fast, easy way to make a throw pillow. Google “napkin pillow” and you will see lots of ideas. There are different ways to construct this pillow, here is how I made mine:

You will need 2 cloth napkins. I bought these bird ones at Kohls.

Keep in mind we are working with cloth napkins. Have you ever folded cloth napkins before? They never match up. Don’t freak out if your napkins are not perfectly square. Press the wrinkles out of the napkins. Choose 2 that match up the best.

Find a pillow that best fits the size of the napkin. The pillow & the napkin should be very close to the same size.

With wrong sides together, pin around the border of your napkin. Of course, you can sew right sides together and turn the pillow; I wanted a little border on the edge of my pillow.

I sewed a seam along the very edge of the napkins, then a second seam along the hem of the napkin. This created a little border. Make sure to leave most of the bottom open so you can insert your pillow.

Insert your pillow. The way I am making this pillow does not allow for easy washing of the pillow covering. I am OK with that. If I really need to wash it, I can rip out the seam. I would have put a zipper, but there was too much bulk with all the hems of the napkin.

Pin the opening closed. Sew a double seam on the sewing machine. It was a little tricky holding the pillow and maneuvering the sewing at the same time – it can be done!