Pleated Pillow done + Tutorial

I finally finished up my pleated pillow yesterday and wanted to show you how I made it.

First I measured my thrifted pillow - mine was 17 x17 inches. So I cut out the following:

1 back piece 18in x 19in in yellow linen (I added 1 inch all around for 1/2 seam allowance and an extra inch to the height to add a zipper)
1 front piece 18in x 36 inches in yellow linen
1 front lining piece 18in x 18 in in muslin (this is just to stabilize the pleats and won't be seen)

Back piece :

To attach the zipper I cut horizontally where I wanted the zipper to go - I placed it 1/4 of the way from the top. (make sure you cut the long side not the shorter side of the back piece)


Then I attached the zipper using this tutorial and 1/2 inch seam allowance. Now the back piece should be square.


Set back piece aside.

Front piece:

On the two long sides (starting 2 inched from the top and bottom) I measured every 1/2 inch and put a small mark in the seam allowance. This will make 1 inch pleats. If you want smaller or larger pleats you will need to adjust accordingly.


Now the tedious process of ironing out the pleats. I used a lot of pins and a lot of steam to make them as visually perfect as possible. Keep pleating until the front piece is square and the same size as the muslin lining.


Pin the back of the front pleated piece to the muslin matching corners. Lift up each pleat and top stitch the front linen to the muslin close to the fold. Once the pleat is lying back down you should not be able to see this stitching. It will keep the pleat folded even when the fabric is pulled taut and filled with a pillow.


Now the Muslin should be attached to the front and the front and back pieces should be the same size - 18x18inches.



Open zipper. Pin right sides together. Stitch all 4 sides at 1/2 inch seam allowance and clip corners. Turn right side out. Press. Insert pillow.

And now you have a gorgeous new pillow at a fraction of the cost.

Front view:

Back view:

Felt Circle Pillow Done + Tutorial

I finally finished the other pillow that I started. I love the way that it turned out and it looks great in my living room.

Here is how I made it:

First I measured my pillow and cut out two rectangles out of my gray broadcloth adding a 1/2 inch seam allowance on all sides and an extra inch on the back piece for the zipper.


Next I decided where I wanted my zipper to go (I chose about 1/3 from the top) and cut a straight line across the back piece of broadcloth.


Next I attached the zipper using this tutorial.




Now I set aside the back piece and focused on the front. First I cut out about 1 1/2 yards worth of circles out of my felt (it takes a lot more than you might think). I used the top of a glass for a stencil - mine was about 3 inches in diameter, but yours can be whatever size you want.


Next I folded each circle in half and pressed it to make them stand up and to give a stitching line.


I started randomly placing the circles on the front of my broadcloth and sewing each one in the ditch of the pressed crease. I left about an inch around the edges to assure that I could stitch the front and back together.



Once the pillow front was looking pretty full I stitched the top and one side together at a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I pinned the circles away from the seam allowance first so that I wouldn't get them caught in the stitching (don't worry if you get small bit caught in - it's inevitable and not noticable once the pillow is finished).



Now I can go back and fill in the edges, allowing the circles to overlap the seam line a bit.


Turning it inside out again, I stitched the remaining two edges together and then flipped it right side out through the zipper. Now I was able to fill in the edges of these last two sides.

Lastly, I clipped the many loose strings off, put my thrifted pillow inside, and I was done.

I couldn't be more happy with how this turned out.

front:

back:

Pillow Forms

For those of you who plan to make pillows according to the pattern directions, you'll have noticed by now (I hope) that almost all of the different pillows call for a pillow form in the notions section. If you've then taken the next step to price and or purchase these forms, you'll have also realized that even with Jo-Ann Fabric having them on sale buy one get one free, they are expensive. Well, I'm here to solve your budget worries. :-)

A pillow form is really easy to make and all you need are needle, thread, muslin (I love muslin) and polyfill (Or some other filler material) - super easy, and polyfill is also on sale buy one get one at Jo-Anns.

Step 1)
Determine the size you need your final pillow form to be (mine is a 14 inch form) and add half an inch to the total measurement and cut two pieces of muslin in your desired size. So for my 14 inch pillow form I cut two squares 14.5 inches.

Step 2)
Making sure your fabric is right sides together, pin around the edges of your shape to keep the pieces in alignment and then sew around the edge using a quarter inch seem allowance. Be sure to leave at least a three inch gap in your stitches to allow you to fill the form and backstitch at the beginning and end of your stitches to reinforce them.

Step 3)
Turn your form right side out and use a turning tool (my favorite is a chop stick) to poke the corners out nice and crisply.

Step 4)
Now is the fun part, get your polyfill and start shoving it into the form until you've reached the desired level of poof.

Some people will tell you that if you put it in using smaller amounts rather than large handfuls it won't be as lumpy over time. I have yet to find that true, especially after a washing or two, but feel free to believe whomever you'd like.

Step 5)
When you've filled your form as full as you'd like it, carefully turn the edges of your fabric in at the opening and pin the gap closed.

Then you need to carefully top stitch the opening closed, or if you wanted to, you could hand stitch it using a whip stitch. I went for top stitching, since it's just a pillow form, it doesn't need to look 100% awesome, so the three inches of top stitching were fine for me.

And, tah-dah, you've got yourself a pillow form. And I promise it only cost a couple bucks tops.

Now you're all set to make your covers for them, and get them on your furniture for the world to admire.

Placement by guest blogger Courtney

One of the first things that needs to be determined when looking at/for pillows is where they are going to live after you've made them. The logical place most of us would think of would be the living room, on the couch or chair, but there are many other places to toss your newly completed pillows, such as the bedroom (master, guest, or children's) the play area or movie/TV area - this is a great place for some larger pillows that can be used on the floor, or even in the car. Growing up my mom always had a couple of smaller throw pillows in the

van so that we had something to lay our heads on if we

wanted to sleep during car trips.

Personally I plan on replacing/redoing the cushions for my couch.

Making some for my bedroom -

I love the chocolate brown and khaki color combo, but it's rather monochromatic, I mean even my cats blend in for goodness sakes. (Please ignore the weird black and white tile pattern, it came with the house and we are saving up to put in hardwood.)

And I'd like to make a pillow for my daughters crib, the one we got her from Ikea is kinda sad looking and grungy. I'm hoping to start a few so that when she's ready for her "big girl bed" in a couple months, I'll have a fun collections of pillows to put on it.

So, where are you putting your pillows?

Courtney

Pillow Talk

I have been perusing the intranet for modern pillows that I can use as inspiration for redoing my own pillows.
Here are a few that I have been thinking about recreating. I think they are doable and I love all of the texture.
1- CB2
2- Crate and Barrel
3- Pier 1 (found on Imaginary Shopping Spree)
4- CB2
5- CB2

What are you guys thinking?

Pillow Fabric

Here is my fabric! I am really excited because I have been holding on to the yellow bird fabric for a long time. I saw it on line and loved it, so I bought it. Then it sat in my stack of fabrics waiting for me. The colors pull from a family picture collage that hangs above my couch. A few weeks ago my older sister (Kelli is my younger) was kind enough to watch my kids while I went fabric shopping at a quilt shop in her city. I knew I wanted some type of textured pillow and so pulled the white squared chenille from the baby section. The brown dots caught my eye just as I was about to give up. Sometimes it's hard to find amongst so many choices. And finally the green is a left over scrap from a prototype I was sewing for a company many moons ago. I'm planning on using the green for an applique on the brown dot fabric to add a little interest. Any suggestions on what to applique?

Ugly Pillows

So today I took a trip to the local thrift store and bought two horribly ugly pillows to cover. Coming in under $5, they felt like a steal (well because I knew their potential). So here you go - a nice before picture. Arn't they ugly?



Stay tuned for the transformation.

Thrift Store Pillows

If you shop at a thrift store like this:

Then you are likely to find pillows like this:

(only not so bright and nice looking)

Buying thrift pillows is a great way to reuse and keep your costs down, but there are a few things you should know.

Buying

1. existing trim doesn't matter, but do buy the size and shape you want.

2. existing color only matters if you will be recovering in a light colored fabric, but you can always strip off all the existing fabric and make a simple muslin form

3. smell does matter! specifically cigarette smoke. you will be washing your pillows before use while will take out almost any musty smell, but cigarette smoke will only intensify in the drying process. so, before you buy, take a whiff.

Washing and Drying

1. add a scoop of oxy-clean or other like cleaner to your detergent

2. I like to wash them on hot just to be safe

3. dry them with a tennis ball in the dryer, the ball will help beat out the internal wetness and fluff them.

4. re-cover and enjoy your awesome new pillows.

Any questions?