Pillow Fight!

Another item on my Bedroom Redo ToDo List was decorative pillows, both for the bed and the loveseat.  I decided to start with the pillows for my loveseat.

I looked around on Etsy for some pillow covers, but, while there are SO many fabulous options, I realized that I wanted a truly custom look for my room.  So I decided to make my own.  (Naturally.)  Besides, now that I have a sewing machine, I should really be doing these types of things myself.  And how hard can it be?!  Two squares of fabric, sewn together!

One would think…

I had to go and make things hard for myself again.  I decided I wanted piping around each pillow, and that the piping had to be covered in the fabric I made my Striped Curtains out of.  Of COURSE!  I am a VERY beginner sewer.  Why not commit myself to such a challenge?!  Luckily, I like a challenge.

First, I had to decide on a pillow size.   I measured the back of the loveseat cushion and decided that 2 22” square pillows would do the trick.  I headed to that fabric store I always seem to be headed to lately and picked out two poly-filled 22” pillow forms.  I could have gone for the feather ones, but I'm not going to be using them for their actual purpose!  They're DECORATION, people!  (Mostly that was directed at my super-sweet, but kinda-clueless hubby, who is consistently ruining my pillows by actually using them.)  I know ya'll understand what I'm talking about.

Back to the story... After I got my forms, I started hunting for the perfect fabric.  I thought a mostly-orange fabric would be perfect, since I had decided to pipe the pillows in the leftover grey from my curtains.  The pickings were slim.  Without heading to the more expensive fabric spot, I had two options.

Option 1

Option 2

Honestly?  I wasn’t thrilled with either of them, but I’m impatient and didn’t have time to go to the other (more expensive) store.  So, after submitting them both to my creative think tank (and ending up with a tie, darn it), I chose Option 1.  In retrospect, this was a mistake.  I should have waited.  (You'd think I'd have learned to wait by now.)  I'll explain more later.

One good thing about piping with a contrasting fabric is: you don’t have to match your paterns!  Woohoo!  No advanced calculus for me today!!  (Note: if you ARE matching patterns, you always need more.  How much depends on the size of the pattern repeat, but beyond that modicum of information, I have nothing to offer you.)  Here instead, is my algebraic equation for how much fabric I needed:  The fabric was 54” wide, and I needed 4 x 22” squares.  (Don’t add for the seam allowance, because the covers should be tight over the forms so they have a nice, overfilled look.)  I can fit two squares across the width of the fabric, no problem.  So I needed 44” or 1.22 yards of fabric.  I also picked up 5 yards of piping.  I write this out so I have documentation that my simple math is improving.  (My dad would be so proud.)

I hurried home and immediately got on the phone to call my mom over.

A side note about my mom:  She is (among many, many other things) a VERY talented seamstress.  She made all of my (and MANY other people's) costumes for the multitude of show choir, musical, and theatrical productions I was in for middle and high school.  She also helped me design and create some award-winning Halloween costumes.  So, naturally, I begged her to come over to my house to help me with my newest project.  I could have googled-it (My hubby says “When in doubt, Google it out”), but I really wanted her help.  She tried my whole life to teach me to sew and I wouldn’t have it.  Since things have come full circle and I am fully domesticated, I felt like it was a good opportunity for us to get together and enjoy how funny life can be.

Since I didn’t take pictures of this project OR take video of my mom being a genius, I’m linking you to a GREAT step-by-step that will easily take you through the how-to of it all.  Here ya go!

I’m sorry.  I  just get so excited to do these projects, I forget to take pictures!  I’m going to owe people a HUGE apology when I do my next post as well, but I promise to do better moving forward if YOU promise to keep coming back!  (Or, GASP, subscribe!)

I can show you the pictures of my beautiful pillows and that will make it better, right?

TADA!!!

I'm actually quite proud of myself that I made these.  Well, my mom made one as a live-action tutorial, but I made the other one!

Closeup!

   My mom also made the little white pillow for me a LOOOOOONG time ago.  I just love it.

Just LOOK at that piping!!

Here they are on the loveseat.

The loveseat is this REALLY old thing with gold velvet upholstery.  (I'll give you one chance to guess which decade it's from.)  I can't afford to reupholster it right now, so I had to slipcover it.  I bought a great slipcover on Amazon.com, but it's no longer available.  This one doesn't look too awesome, but I haven't really worked with it a whole lot.  (And it desperately needs ironing!!)  My tip for buying slipcover: make sure it has adjustable arms.  I know that sounds strange if you've never slipcovered a piece of furniture, but it really does come in handy!

When I put the pillows on the loveseat, I was not immediately in love.  :(  I've been living with them here for a bit now, and I'm STILL not in love.  I can't quite put my finger on what it is!!  Maybe the pattern is too big?  Maybe the pillows themselves are too big?

Anyways, that is what I did while my son was sleeping!!

XO,

MM.