These pillows were made for a friend who needed a wedding gift. The simple outline looks clean & modern just like the images. May they be enjoyed by the newly weds for years to come!
I posted this tutorial back in June & at that time I may have had my 5 closest friends & my mother following this post. Since then, the audience has grown slightly outside that circle so I decided when I’m in a pinch for time it would be fun to just repeat some of my favorite posts. Please forgive me if you happen to be one of those 5 people that saw the original tutorial the first time around.
Enjoy!
With an iron on applique you can make a really graphic image on a pillow very quickly. Personally, I like how it creates a very clean line that looks much neater than when I sew something on because I’m not such a great sewer & my stitch lines can go all over the place. This is a technique I can control better.
How to make a no-sew applique:
- Trace your image onto the paper side of an adhesive bond paper. I used Heat-n-Bond which you can find at any fabric store.
- Iron the adhesive paper onto the wrong side of your fabric. Cut along the edge of your drawing.
- Arrange image on fabric that you will be bonding it to so you know the general look & layout.
- Peel backing off back of image. It will have a rubbery feel but won’t stick to anything yet.
- Place face down in the location you want & follow directions for heat & steem on the package for best results.
- I decided to make some grey linen piping to sew around the edges since they will be a set of pillows. Make sure to clip the corners so they turn easily. Also, make sure to sew the piping on the right side of your pillow as the picture.
- Attach piping all the way around.
- Take the back side of the pillow & put the face sides together. Carefully sew them together using the same stitch line you followed from the piping.
- Leave a hole big enough to turn the pillow inside out. Stuff then sew up the hole by hand.
The pillows find a home
Tufted pillows are very simple to make, especially if you already know how to make a regular pillow. I like to cover the buttons in contrasting fabrics or colors to make them stand out. The 2 cashmere pillows were made from recycled sweaters & the button in the middle is orange linen. The gray linen pillows have such a great feeling. I especially like that all 4 buttons are different colored linen. I secure the back of the button stitching with pieces of thick leather that I cut into the shape of a button so the thread doesn’t pull through the back & make a hole.
I’d like to introduce you to my new yellow addition. My friends at High Street Market were open 2 windy weekends ago & I was invited to come & set up a small display of goods at there monthly pop-up antique shop. They always have the best finds hidden away in their storage garage so of course I poked around & found this beauty which was calling my name. The owner found a little leather purse of her liking out of my stash so we made an old fashion trade & both of us walked away happy!
Below are some pictures of the set up at the High Street Shoppe.
This vey simple quilt sits at the end of our bed & is pulled up at night for extra warmth. This was primarily made out of recycled pillow cases that were too warn for use. The squares are various shades of white with slightly different textures. The crosses are red check & solid red linen fabric that I had on hand. The quilt was backed with an 11 wale corduroy to give it a little bit of weight. Before we moved here, our previous beds were always white, white, white. This funky house has made me want to incorporate more textures & patterns than before or maybe it was just time for a change. The antique quilt above our bed was made by my great, great, great grandmother. What an amazing piece to have. The small sofa at the end of our bed holds more vintage ski sweater pillows along with one cashmere navy & white one.
Ok, it’s time to swap out the summer type pillows for the warm, cozy winter ones. I don’t know about any of you out there but here in Colorado we have had the most amazing warm weather this fall so far. The leaves are starting to change but it still reaches the balmy 80′s during the day. Saying that, I have covered my couches with warm wooly pillows anyway. Most of these are made out of 1960-70 wool ski sweaters. I think they add a lot of color, texture interest & they are definitely a conversation piece. The big chunky one on my couch is from a vintage hand knit, honest to goodness fisherman sweater. I actually have 2 but I only took a picture of 1. The yellow striped one on the green chair is one of my favorites. It is an old Meister Knit from the 50′s. I made a bunch of these for the recent craft markets & no one reacted. Go figure. I love them!
Well, those little critters were a hit & apparently they make just the right gift for new babies. I made some more & added a couple of new animals to the mix. So soft & squishy- They are hard to resist.
I’ve been making these one of a kind animal pillows lately. The bodies are made from vintage 1970′s double knit wool ski sweaters. I started collecting them when I moved to Colorado when I saw them popping up at vintage shops. I couldn’t resist the colors & stripes. The applique’s are wool felt & then everything is hand embroidered onto the pillows. They are surely a labor of love because each one ends up taking me much longer then I expect.
I needed a detail on a pillow I was making & thought pompom’s would be just the right touch. Saying that, I have never made one. I looked on line & all the tutorials were very labor intensive. They all wanted you to cut out a doughnut shape & wrap the yarn around evenly until thick. Well, half an hour later & I was still wrapping, trying to fit the yarn through the doughnut hole. There has to be a better way! So, the below tutorial is how to make a really easy, FAST, pompom.
These Images were made for a set of pillows. I put some quilt polyfill on the back so the animals are actually in a bit of a relief. After sewing the outline of the animals on my machine, I masked off the outside of the shapes & used a block print that I had on hand to create the pattern in the inside.
This is the 3rd version of the Fox & Rabbit pillow combination…… I think it’s time to find a new silhouette.
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