Star's Fault

Burlap Tablecloth ~

 

Some time ago I think I mentioned in an old post that I had washed burlap for an art project.  Since then, I've received several inquiring emails asking if I did anything special, you know, so that the stuff didn't disintegrate in the washer?

Nope.  Not a thing, well, unless you count the scissors part, or the lint part....

I'm going to make a big round table cloth, similar to one I saw online at Ballard Designs.  I love Ballard Designs... and Pottery Barn... and Restoration Hardware...

... but I don't love the prices, or the shipping.  And while I'm willing to pay $100 for a nice old frame and shabby box, I am not going to pay $75 for a burlap table cloth. 

A girl's gotta draw the line somewhere, right?

Binx, LOVES burlap.  I'd purchased 5 yards for the whopping price of just a smidge over $12.  I needed to make a round table cloth 84" in diameter.  I cut the yardage in half, leaving two 2.5 yard pieces. 

Binx approves.  She know this is her favorite burlap, but it's not exactly right just yet. 

 

"Mom, where's the GOOD burlap?"

"I really, really like the good burlap."

Okay Binx, let's get it washed and dried first.  Then it will be good burlap, and I will let you sleep on it and make biscuits to your heart's content, okay? 

This is what it looks like after its been washed.  This is still wet, and it's not ready to go into the dryer just yet. 

Those stringy ends have to be cut off, or it will get all twisty and knotted up in the dryer. 

Snip, snip.  I'm going to save these threads and use them in other projects.  Odd, yes, but I've used them for a ton of stuff and they add a really nice quality to millinery flowers, mixed media pieces, and just a couple more other things that don't come to mind right now.

Once the threads are all cut off, it leaves a nice fringe at the bottom of each piece.  Next it's going to the dryer where it will get nice and fluffy soft.  Oh, and I don't use any dryer sheets or fabric softener. 

When it comes out of the dryer it has this nubbly soft texture that I just love, and so do the kitties.  It looks like really heavy linen and has about the same texture and drape.  That pile of white fluff is what comes out of the lint basket in the dryer. 

Bitty's not so sure about it.  Maybe it bites?  A few whacks of her mighty paw, and the lint is terrified into submission.  Actually, it just continued to lay there, but Bitty was still suspicious.  So she circled it, hoping to detect movement from the other side....

Yep, it's dead... and the burlap is ready to be sewn.  I'm going to sew a seam down the middle, joining the two pieces to make a big square.  Then I'll fold it into quarters and trace a curved bottom to make a nice round circle.  After that, I'll sew a rich bullion fringe on the bottom. 

When it's finished, it will look a lot like this:

This is the one from Ballard Designs. 

Pretty, with this nice deep bullion fringe at the bottom.  I couldn't find 6" long heavy fringe, but found a good substitute for a price I could live with.  I did a bit of rough measurement in my head and purchased 6 yards to go around the bottom of my table cloth. 

I haven't finished it yet, but I'll post photos when I do.  It's going to go on the table between the two huge leather armchairs in the great room. 

However, at this precise moment (thanks to the magic of Typepad and the ability to calendar a post), I am actually in one of the gulf states traveling on business.  I should have had my fill of good, no... GREAT Southern food and have already begun berrating myself for succumbing to temptation.   I just hope my jeans still fit....

Be safe, hug your loved ones, have a wonderful week, make art.  I'll be back at home Saturday and will have this tablecloth whipped out in no time.  Photos too!
 

Eileen

 

Ticking Cushion Tutorial ~

As a follow up to my last post where I blogged about my new flouncy skirted chair pad here, I thought a tutorial might be in order.  Sometimes I'm not so good about the how-to's, you know?  I just get so lost in the process and then I think "Oh wait! I forgot to take a picture of that step!"

But I digress.....  This ticking fabric came off the remnant table at my local fabric store.  While it was a traditional ticking stripe, it was a thinner fabric than the usual ticking, with almost a linen-y feel to it, and I liked its rumpled texture and softness.  I snagged the 6 yard piece for under $10.  I'm cheap, and this makes me happy. 

The project gave me a chance to use my new thing-a-ma-jig, a snazzy ruffler attachment that, if I remember right, was exactly like the ruffler I had on my 1970 Kenmore sewing machine.  This is one of those things that was so perfect in its original design that almost 40 years later it hasn't changed a bit. 

I started off my project by cutting two squares of the ticking to fit the chair seat.  As usual, I didn't get all scientific and measure or anything, I just eyeballed it and cut away.  For those who like to measure, or if your chair seat is a wonky shape, you can take a piece of kraft paper and trace out your seat shape and use that as a pattern. 

Next, I cut the the 4 pieces that would make the skirt.  The skirt panels aren't joined together, and each panel is sewn to the seat pad separately.  If you jump ahead in the photos, you can see how they all float away from the main pad. 

Anyway, this I did measure this a bit.  I wanted the skirt to leave a bit of the leg peeking out from underneath (very flirty!), so measured from the chair seat to about 3 inches above the floor.  I added one inch for the hem at the bottom of each skirt panel, and one inch at the top of each panel for the seam to sew it to the main pad piece.  I cut the 4 skirt panels across the fabric, so the ticking would run up and down, and the sides of each panel would have the selvage edge - which meant I wouldn't have to hem the sides! 

Oh dear.... it just occurred to me that I have revealed that I am cheap AND lazy. 

I ran each skirt panel through the ruffler at a setting that would gather each piece to fit the side of the chair pad where it would be placed.  Ruffle, ruffle, ruffle.......

I pinned and sewed each panel on one at a time, using the ruffle sandwich technique.  Sometimes my ruffle panel length wasn't a perfect (imagine that!) fit to the chair pad side, so I just pinned in an additional fold and went with it.  The photo above shows the two side panels already sewn in and I'm about to sew the third, or front, panel in. 

This sort of looks like some kind of sea creature to me, maybe a jellyfish?  Three armed octopus?  I dunno, but you can see how each panel is separate and with the white selvage showing.  It keeps it humble I think, and I like that. 

Here's a close up of the corner, turned right side out.  By making each panel separate, I saved myself the horrors of turning a ruffled corner.  Can be done, but requires more patience than I recall having that day. 

There's one more ruffle panel to sew on before we're done, and the ties to keep it on the chair.  Let's make the ties first.  I cut two more slices across the fabric, each about 4 inches wide, cutting from selvage to selvage - notice that nice, finished white edging on the end of my tie.  That's the selvage. 

I ironed each raw edge in towards the center, turning each side in about 1/2 inch. Next I folded it in half and ironed it flat. 

It only took a second to sew down the open edge, making two nice long ties.  I wanted the ties extra long so I could make a nice floppy bow with generous ends. 

Ack, now the tough part.  I'm going to make my ruffle sandwich again, tucking the last panel inside and securing a tie into each corner.  I pinned the ruffle down first, then positioned the ties. 

I stuck my fingers about twenty times more when I pinned in the ties and then pinned all three layers together.  Ouch... ouch... ouch....

I sewed the ruffle sandwich all together, leaving an opening about 4 inches across in the middle.  Just enough room to fit my hand so I could stuff in the batting later. 

There's three layers of pins there.....

Sew together, leaving the 4 inch opening in the center, and turn the entire piece right side out.  This will take a while, its a small opening and a lot of fabric to pull through. 

Aha!  Now the jellyfish, er... chair pad, has all four ruffles and two lovely, long ties.  I'm liking this. 

About now, I have noticed that there are no kitties in the middle of the project.  This is very unusual, so I have to stop what I'm doing and go hunting for the little dears, to make sure they are not up to trouble...  It's almost 80 degrees outside, and I have discovered them sitting under the pergola in the shade, sleeping peacefully, innocent looks on their faces.  (Don't be fooled...)

Here's the little opening, and once the pad is all stuffed with whatever filling you like, it only takes a minute to blind stitch the opening shut. 

I like to fill my pillows with down, but since I did not have a down pillow to re-purpose, I tried something different.  I had two down alternative pillows that had gotten too flat to sleep on, so I used about half of one to stuff the chair pad.  I always wondered what this looked like, and it comes in little chunks of stuffing that kind of slide over each other, like feathers would.  Interesting. 

I didn't stuff it too full, as I wanted it to feel cushy, not bouncy.  Does that make sense?  I'm also totally fine that it looks a bit lumpy, as if it's been around for a while.  A quick bit of hand sewing and the opening was closed.  Now for the button in the center. 

The key to success here is that you gotta pick a button that won't hurt to sit on.  This is a new button, but it has a vintage feel, and I liked the silver piece in the center.  I actually put this on the pillow and sat on it to see if it would be okay. Good thing Hubby didn't walk by about then, he would have thought I was nuts... or perhaps it would have confirmed it? 

When you sew on the button to the front, you have to sew it clear through the pillow and through to another button on the back.  This one was flat and plain, but still a nice vintage-y type. 

The last step is to hem the raw bottom edge of the skirt panels.  I just folded once, and folded again to make a nice rolled hem.  Simple. 

Here is the finished project tied prettily to this nice older oak chair, and although you can't see her, there's a little Bitty kitty that ran under the skirt the minute I sat the chair down. 

...and since this is NOT just a blog about sewing, I have a lovely petite altered book project to post next AND I've got a new Sourdough starter bubbling its yeasty goodness on the counter just about ready to make a nice, crusty bread.  I'll share the recipe and how-to's soon!

Blessings ~

 

Eileen

Rainy Day Project ~ Skirted Chair Pad

After a busy work week, getting some serious quiet time was at the top of the to-do list Saturday and Sunday.  It was rainy this weekend, and all I wanted to do was sew, nest and ride my horse.  I was lucky to get in quite a bit of time with all three, and pleased to see a tiny project come to life. 

I've had this old oak chair forever.  it was one of four originally, and I remember that they seemed quite expensive to me at the time.  This is the only one left, the others probably loaned out for some family or church gathering years ago, never to return. 

It wobbles a bit when I sit on it, joints loosened over time.  And while I suppose I should re-glue it firmly together again, the soft creaks and squeaks are kind of nice to hear.  It goes well with the snap, crackle, pop of my own joints, and so we are kindred spirits, this chair and I.  

It truly needed only the smallest dose of dress up, nothing too fancy, and so I had a length of soft ticking fabric that I thought would make a nice ball gown of sorts, the stuffing from a down pillow and a vintage style button added for stabilization and embellishment.  I thought about painting the old chair a shabby chic white, but the humble grain of the sturdy oak was nice, and in the end I was glad I knew when to leave well enough alone. 

Bitty liked it so much that she took firm possession during the photo shoot, daring me to take it away from her.  I shooshed her off the cushy seat and she retreated under the skirts, only to bat at me as I walked by.  She's very brave, you know.  She'd been hunting mousies in the tall, wet grass all morning, so left damp footprints on the ticking. 

I allowed her to keep it for a while, until the rain began again.  The old chair belongs back in my office, and was anxious to show off its new finery to the shiny new desk and shelves I recently added.  Old girls can be glamorous too, right? 

I have another tutorial for you, simple as can be, to make your own old chair blossom again in this girly, but not too sweet, flouncy skirt.  Total time to make it - about an hour, and worth every minute. 

Blessings ~

Eileen

 

Hooked on Steampunk: A Pillow Tutorial ~

Most of the time when I begin an art project (and I do consider pillows art),  I begin with the "stuff", goodies gathered from my sewing stash, craft room, bits and pieces of flotsam that just might be perfect as part of the finished project.  I let the muse take me wherever it wants. 

For this project, I had a bit of an idea what I wanted as an outcome, courtesy this doodle.  At the time of its creation, I was in a very intense business development meeting with about 15 other corporate execs - wonderful people, inspiring, had my full attention (but I think better when I doodle, honest!) 

Just as I was finishing up the last details, Bob looked over my shoulder and said "PILLOW!" and the jig was up [sigh].  Back to making notes about capture management systems.....

In the sketch you can see that the center of the piece has a diagonal motif.  From the pile of goodies on my bed I selected a rustic lace and a rich passementerie trim and laid them out on an old piece of Belfast Irish linen. This linen has a nubbly texture and nice hand, heavy, rough and soft all at the same time.  I sewed the trims in place as you see them here, leaving the "windows" of the passementerie trim open, I thought at the time I would weave in a nice silvery grey tulle into the trim, but in the end I left it open. 

I'd been fascinated with this puckered fabric lately.  Maybe it was just me, but I was seeing it everywhere, in bedding, fashion and now this chocolate silk decorating fabric.  I sewed down two 4" wide pieces to each end of the linen, covering the raw edges of the trims. 

Time to embroider.

I thought a lot about what to say in the center medallion.  This pillow was to be very special, part of a swap with the lovely Tiffany of Shabby Scraps.  If you don't read her blog already, you're missing out. Her sweet spirit and gentle sense of humor shine through, and I truly enjoy her posts and beautiful photography. 

I used one of those English to French free translation sites online to make "The Kindest Heart" into "Le Coeur le plus Gentile."  Now, I tested this on several of those sites, so I feel pretty confident it says something close to what I wanted, rather than "this cheese is really great" or some such thing.  I used a simple running stitch in the palest shell pink.  I was pretty rusty, so it looks like an 8 year old did it.

Then I added buttons.  My fabric store had these great abalone shell buttons, about 40 in various sizes for $2.00 a pack (I'm going back to clean out their supply today....)  I sewed a row of these pretties along each side, to embellish the edge between the puckered satin and the heavy linen. 

Then I ..... er.... Star?

... [sigh] and now for a word from our sponsor...

Star's Fault pillows are cuddly soft.....

... but strong enough to withstand the roughest treatment...

...from an energetic kid...

... or an 18 pound jungle kitty gone bonkers ....

Okay, now where was I? 

Oh, yes, the ticking back.  Now that the front of the pillow is done, you need to cut the back.  Remember from my earlier tutorial here, I like an overlapping envelope-style back, so I use two pieces of fabric, each about 2/3 of the size of the front, making a deep hem on one, and a small hem on the other.  The piece with the deep hem will go down first - placed right to left with right edges matching, and piece with the short hem overlaps that, placed left to right with the left edges matching. 

With both backs pinned in place, I'm going to sew along the long edges, leaving the ends of the pillow open... sort of a pillow "tube", you know?

Next comes the ruffles. 

I like deep ruffles, and wanted this pillow's ruffles to be 5" deep, so I cut two pieces of the ticking 10" deep and about one and a half times the width of the opening at each end.  My ruffles are doubled fabric, as I don't like to see the wrong side of the fabric if the pillow is upside down.... yes, I'm a bit OCD, but its a good thing.

I folded the ticking strips with right sides together length-wise and sewed a tiny hem on each end, turned them right side out and pressed flat. 

I totally forgot to take a picture of how I pin the ruffles, but basically I make pleated ruffles just like the tutorial posted here.  I tuck them into each end and pin the whole together to make a ruffle sandwich - or "frammich" as my son used to say.  I'm going to sew all three layers together at this point, the back, front and ruffle.  After both ends of the pillow are sewn with ruffles tucked neatly inside, I can turn the work right side out by reaching through the envelope closure.

The big reveal.  Now, I'm looking at this and REALLY liking it at this point, because it's kind of a surprise to me too.  but I recognize this as something, it's familiar, you know, but I can't put my finger on it.  Out to the web I go, and discover Steampunk style, and while this does not have any hydraulic apparatus on it, it does fit the Victorian meets Gothic, meets elegance, metal, rough and tumble.  Remember the outfits in Wild Wild West with Wil Smith?  THAT's what this reminds me of.

It just needs the pillow form.  Sliding the pillow into the envelope requires a delicacy of touch and great finesse.  Actually, you're going to cram the pillow ALL the way into the the pocket.....

... stuffing the rest of the pillow down as far as you can, then reach inside and slide the other side of the closure over the other end.  Fluff a bit, and....

Ta-da!

Oh, no, it's almost perfect, but what's missing? 

A bit of glitter and grunge ~ yes, that works. 

 

I confess, I doodled about 10 more pillows in subsequent meetings.  Keep watching, this could get pretty wild. 

Eileen

Steampunk Pillow #27 ~

Let me introduce you to the lovely Steampunk Pillow #27. Okay, you're right, this is really different for me.  I don't know what came over me, but it's been brewing in my head for a while.  It's not quite French, ix-nay on the country style, definately not shabby, not quite primitive ...even though I did use a rustic linen on this pillow.

 

It is not precisely Victorian either, or Edwardian, but something a bit tougher, rougher, more fantasy, its stitches a tiny nod to Tim Burton, if you will.

I do love this... this special gift for the dearest Tiffany of Shabby Scraps, "Le Coeur le plus Gentile" ... the Kindest Heart. Finished. Finally.  (For those of you gifted enough to speak French, did I spell it right?)

This was great fun to make.  Such a contrast, an odd combination of things that somehow worked just... perfect.  I went looking for what kind of style I thought this touched on, and discovered a whole world of Steampunk out there - which has been explained to me as Victorian meets Gothic meets Industrial.  Think Wild Wild West with Will Smith ~ mechanical spider and all... but softer. 

So here it is, rich French trim combined with rustic crochet, an elderly piece of Belfast Irish linen, simple stitches in the palest pink for a sweet sentiment, crisp ticking alongside cafe' au lait puckered satin, buttons made of pearly shells, a bit of glitter and tulle, an old rhinestone.  Something I hope Tiffany will want to keep forever. 

I'll be posting the complete tutorial later this week.  We'll do the ruffle sandwich technique again (my favorite), but I'll show you how to layer on the trims and add the satin end pieces, as well as assemble the entire cover so that you can slip the pillow form out, and back in, when it's time to clean it all.  

Steampunk.  Oh my, what can I make next?

Eileen

 

Perfect Posies to Shabby Stems ~

Oh, I am very happy with these dear little flowers, they turned out so sweet and pretty...I am certain I will make more again soon. 

There's been quite a change to these soft petals, from the BEFORE state to the finished results above.  My ten rather ordinary silk flowers from the crafts store were transformed into 20 deliciously shabby blossoms, each one so yummy that it was hard to pick a favorite, but I did, and it will go to the lovely Karen B at Elderberry Street.

So, would you like to see how easy it was to make these?

Okay... let's get the goodies assembled!  You'll remember that I tore apart the silk flowers I'd bought, creating a pile of lovely petals in various shapes, sizes and shades of white/ivory.  We'll add to that some florist's tape, glue, linen (you just knew linen would be in there somewhere, right?) ribbons, old tatting scraps, tulle, lace yard goods, vintage paper scraps, chenille upholstery fabric, old buttons, Adirondack stamping inks, glue, needle and thread, a candle and a chopstick (trust me on this part), and a bit of dark green organdy. 

I sorted and stacked the petals into three piles, small, medium and large, and then just started grabbing petals from each pile and stacking them into an arrangement that made a visually pleasing flower.  I pinned each group of petals together and set it aside.  Most of the preparation work went into shredding linen and making little piles of thread.  Don't ask me why or where this part of the idea came from, but I just liked the deconstructed look of it.  You'll see. 

These little floral stems were my "aha!" moment and when I realized I could use them for the foundation of each of my "new" flowers.  Complete with little stamens and a nice wire, they are the center of each blossom. 

So, I just threaded each petal onto the wire.  You can see how I used different types and shapes of petals, even a shred of lemony lace yard goods became a layer.  I melted the edges of these pieces with the candle... careful and don't burn the fabric or your fingers!  Also, while I didn't do it for this one, on some of the flowers, I used Adirondack inks and a Q-tip to tinge the edges of the petals a soft pink.

 

See?  Here the petals are all stacked together and threaded on to the little wired floral stem.  It's pretty enough just like this, right?  Of course, I wasn't done... I've got to make the back delicious too, and more stuff would make it perfect, so let's flip it over. 

 

A dollop of glue and little nest of linen threads were added, and a tiny bit of the same fabric to hold it all together.  I used glue sparingly on this project, only a drop now and again at the center when I needed to secure the petals in a certain arrangement, mostly so that the flower would look fuller and prevent the petals from nesting together too much and obscuring the different layers. 

A snippet of old tatted lace was threaded on to the wire too, and a strip of mossy organza that I'd melted a bit over the candle.  This adds a touch of green to the blossoms, again, very deconstructed.  For some of the flowers I created later, I used crumpled up strips of vintage paper along with the organza and tatting. 

A velvet leaf is layered on to the stem and the whole covered by dark green florist's tape.  For some of the blossoms I made later I used thin cuts of a mossy green chenille upholstery fabric in place of the florist's tape, glueing as I wrapped the wire at an angle from blossom to the end.  It made the stems a nice touchable velvety texture and the whole effect was a bit more vintage-y. 

Now you know what the chopstick is for, right? 

[sigh] This just makes me happy, and at this moment, the planets are in alignment and all is right with the world.  Do you feel that way when your project goes just... perfect?  The stress dissolves in a puddle at your feet and floats completely away, doesn't it?

Finally the lovely button.  This is a newer button, but with a vintage quality.  Mostly, I used mid-century plastic buttons with little rhinestones.  I learned to sew the buttons on FIRST, not at the end.  Too hard to hold on to it all at the end, you know?  MUCH easier to stitch it to the little wire flower before you add the petals. 

Ahhh... my little silken garden.  I made another dozen more, and will post them in my shop over the next few days.  

I do want to take a minute also, to thank you all for your sweet comments and wishes of "safe travels" last week.  I honestly and humbly treasure each message you leave, you are all so encouraging and kind.  I have found, despite my sometimes crazy travel schedule, that my art and my blog are very important to me, and the opportunity to create or celebrate a beautiful, artful life is very centering and restorative. 

It is good to find others that share this passion and the need to create beautiful things.  How special that we can discover each other, despite the miles that separate and would otherwise keep us from knowing about another kindred soul, out there, creating lovely things too! 

I hope you are all having a lovely weekend, and I wish you joy and peace today, and each day after. 

Eileen

 

Modern Millinery ~ (and a give away!)

I was being very destructive this week.  No, really.  There was tearing apart, crushing and shredding involved.  It all sounds so dangerous when you say it that way, except that I was working with flowers and lovely silk petals, which takes the whole "tough girl" tone down about fifteen notches.

Don't you just love flowers?  Me too.  Especially those wonderful vintage millinery blossoms you see on everything lately.  I do, however, struggle a bit with using them on art projects.  Some are so old and lovely, and they seem too precious to waste on an art project that might not have the same lasting quality.  They can also be pricey, and I while I like my art projects to be special and have a vintage quality to them, I also want them to be very affordable.

So  I've been thinking on how to get that same look without the guilt, AND without the cost.  Which brings me to the whole point of this week's project.   

...and the shredding part!

You'll remember that I love neutrals, so please forgive the almost total absence of color in celebration of these lovely creamy whites.  And, since I'll also be using silk flowers that I already have, it's not going to be a pricey project!

I pick up a few silk flowers here and there, especially at the end of seasons when they're on sale at huge reductions.  This batch is all in various shades of ivory, but some have a tinge of peach, pink, yellow, nude, even a bit of green.  "Feel" is important to me too, so they are soft and touchable, not plastic-y at all. 

So I ripped their heads off.  Eek!

Binx came to see what all the fuss was about, anxious to be part of anything that involved shredding.  Cats are experts at this stuff. 

A bit more deconstruction - we took the flowers themselves apart, separating the petals. 

They were so lovely, and it hit me.... hey, those expensive scrapbook single flowers that cost, like $5 for 6 paper flowers, I just "made" about 70 for under $10.... and while that was not my original plan with this project, I did file this idea away for later.

My guess is that other creative crafters have already thought of this, but hey, I was all excited with the flush of discovery that I almost forgot....

...oh yes, I'm making millinery flowers here.

So I mixed all the petals up in a lovely pile of silk.  So pretty. 

These beautiful petals are being reconstructed into "new" vintage looking millinery flowers.  I'm adding beads, pearls, old stamens, silk and velvet leaves, some glitter and paint, a bit of tulle, vintage buttons, lace, and ribbon, oh, so simple, and I think you're going to just love them. 

Just leave a comment on this post, and one of the dear kitties will help select a lucky reader ~ 

I'm going to be a bit absent this week, traveling on business until the 7th.  But in the meantime I'll be working on the finished flowers, posting pictures of them, and the lucky winner's name, next week.  I love taking a small project with me when I travel, and it helps while away the otherwise boring evenings in a hotel room. 

The only problem?  No kitties to "help"!

Eileen

Perfectly Imperfect Pillow Cases ~

Hi everyone, welcome to today's tutorial for beautiful pillow cases.  you can make lovely cases too, even if you are not an expert seamstress, which, I promise you, I am not.  This post is a follow up from more handmade pillowcases blogged about here, where I promised to show you how simple it is to fake your way to a really pretty cover for a long, king-sized pillow. 

We're going to make that big bolster pillowcase behind my sweet bunny Aubrey Rose.  

Let's begin:

Basically, we're going to make a big tube with a ruffle trim.  Here's the old cover.  See?  Pretty simple, vintage case with little ruffles at each end.  Next to it is the gorgeous Anna Griffin fabric that I'm going to use for the new pillowcase.  The Anna Griffin fabric is in lovely shades of gray, ivory, and taupe - a celebration of my favorite neutrals.  

So this is where I should be telling you how wide/long my piece is and offering precise measurements and cutting instructions.  Sorry, but trust me, it's going to be lovely without all the fuss.  Let's wing it together. 

Step #1 Measure and Cut Your Fabric:  I lay my pillow on the fabric.  My bed is my cutting surface.  Nothing fancy here.  The good news is that most fabrics are exactly the right width for a pillow case, and so we're only going to worry about how long to cut our piece.  Notice the seams on the pillow?  These are important, so we'll use this as a reference point. 

Go ahead and lay your fabric out on your cutting surface, allowing enough to overlap the seam by 2 inches more on one end (the left of your photo here) and 12 inches on the other end (the right of the photo here).  It's okay if its a little long, you don't want the case to be too tight.  Once you've cut the piece to length, cut along the center fold.  You should have two long pieces of fabric, we'll call them "Piece A" and "Piece B", okay?

Step #2 Shorten Piece A:  I've taken one of the long pieces and folded up the extra at the one end - about 8", and I'm going to cut that off at the fold.  So now, Piece A will be about 8" shorter than Piece B.  We'll call that 8" cut piece Piece A1. 

Still with me?

Step #3 Cut Piece B:  Fold piece B in half and cut in two, across the width of the fabric.  We'll call these two equal pieces B1 and B2. 

You should have a total of 4 pieces now.  One long = Piece A, one only 8" long by the width of the fabric = Piece A1, two medium pieces = Piece B1 and Piece B2. 

Step #4 Sew the first half of the "Envelope" Closure:  Take B1 and sew A1 to the cut end.  You will end up with the selvage of the fabric on the sides, and the 8" piece sewn to the top edge of B1.  Iron the seam toward Piece A1.  Fold over the top raw edge of Piece A1 by 1". 

Now you're going to fold that Piece A1 in half and iron flat.  Stitch in the ditch on the right side so that it looks like a nice, deep hem on the end of B1. 

Step #5 Hem Piece B2: Fold over the raw end of B2 by 3/4 inch and iron flat. 

Fold again by 1" and iron flat.  Sew this hem down. 

Okay, now both B1 and B2 have a finished end. 

Ahhh.... where was I?

Oh, this is where my sewing skills, photography skills and "splaining" skills clash horribly, and although this part is still really easy, I might mess up the directions.  I will try to make it all make sense, but if I fail and you can't figure out what part to sew to who and when, email me and I'll do my best to unravel. 

Step #6 Make the Body of the Pillowcase:  We're going to make the tube part now, with both ends open, but the best part is the envelope closure on one side.  This allows you to slide the pillow into the case quite nicely from the middle.  This middle closure allows us to make lovely ruffles at each end. 

So, lay Piece A flat, right side up.  Layer Piece B1 with the deep hem on top of Piece A.  The hem part of B1 should be in the center (its a bit longer actually, but this is on purpose) with the raw edges of Piece A and Piece B1 matching.  Layer over the top of those two, Piece B2, with the raw edges matching at the other end of Piece A.  The picture below shows how B1 and B2 overlap by about 8 inches in the center.  This is your envelope closure. 

Step #7 Sew the Long Edges of the Tube:  When I sew the sides of the tube, I always back tack where the envelope closure overlaps, for extra strength, so you can take the pillow in and out of the case without tearing the closure. 

So here's what the finished tube looks like.  Both ends are open, but there's this nice envelope closure in the middle on one side.  The other side is solid and will be the top of our pillow. 

Now for the ruffles. 

Step #8 Cut the Ruffles:  I go back to the yard goods and cut two pieces about 12 inches long by the width of the fabric.  I'm going to fold these in half to make the ruffles. 

Turn each piece inside out and stitch each end.  Turn right side out, pull the points out so they're nice and square and iron flat.  You should have two pieces with finished ends that are twice as wide as your pillow and about 6 inches deep. 

As for the pleats, I confess....I don't measure, I just start pinning them in, fiddling with it all until it looks about right.   

But I kind of lay the pleated piece on top of one raw end of the tube and eyeball it so that the pleated piece will end up the width of the opening.  You know where I'm going with this, right?

Once I'm sure the pleated piece is about the size of the opening, I insert it between the top and bottom of the tube.  Sort of a pleat sandwich.  I'm going to stitch this together. 

Repeat for the other open end of the tube. 

Step #9 Turn work and Iron:  First, step back and admire the sheer beauty of your pleats.  Oh my, these are soooo pretty.  If you've followed along well and haven't stuffed your unfinished work in a bag and hidden it in the back of the closet, give yourself a big pat on the back. 

Step #10 Put Your Pillow in its New Case:  Push the pillow all the way in, then lift the bottom of the envelope closure and stuff the other end of the pillow in. 

See? I usually sew a big button on the closure to keep it nice and neat.  The overlap is generous, so the pillow won't slide out not matter what, but a nice button is a pretty finish.  I don't make a button hole, just sew the whole thing together.  Simple.  

My old bunny looks so sweet against the new bedding.  All pillowcases are handmade, the back pair out of linen, the next set out of the repurposed linen curtains.  Each set took under 60 minutes to make, and the ruffled cover about an hour also.  

What should we do next?

Eileen

Linen Pillowcases ~

If there's a 12 step program for linen addiction, I'm there.  Or one for lovers of all things made in monochromatic neutrals... or for people who have a long to do list, and never seem to get to the bottom of it.

I assembled this stack of fabric for my latest sewing project.  I've just gotta sew each week, or I'll burst.  I truly enjoy sewing things for my home, and these fabrics are just begging to be made into pillow cases and covers.  However, I'd been hoarding them for a while, and like others over at The Inspired Room, I needed to join the Project Procrastinators Party and just get the job done. 

I love this old bridal lace... heavy embroidery on delicate netting.  I'm thinking a pillow case overlay might be really pretty.  We'll see.  The fabric beneath the lace is one panel of the curtains I took down from my master bath re-do blogged about here.  They're really nice, creamy linen, and since I repurpose everything, these will become two extra long, but unembellished pillowcases.  I love the extra length, as it makes for a beautiful drape over the edge of the bed that is really elegant...plus, the covers never slip off when they're extra long like this.

I've got two fat quarters in a nice taupe and steely blue paisley print that will make a decorative pillow cover for one of those not-necessary-but-oh-so-lovely extra pillows on the bed. 

This gorgeous fabric will be made into a ruffly cover for the large bolster pillow on my bed. I know, it's tan, grey, taupe and ivory.  Forgive me for the almost complete absence of color, but it's going to be delicious when it's finished, I promise.

You knew there would have to be an old button in here somewhere, right? These are over an inch in diameter and kind of look like carved wood.  I'm thinking they'll go on the bolster cover, but I'm not sure yet.  The wide, wide, taupe trim was a splurge a while ago... almost $20 for the three yards it would take to trim one set of pillow cases. 

I told you I need a 12 step program....

... but the lace was perfect with this linen blend fabric, but since I'd saved a ton on the fabric (less than $3.00 per yard on sale), the total cost of a really elegant set of linen pillow cases would be under $30.00. 

Oh yes, I do like this.  It's got pretty written all over it. 

I can't wait to put these on my pillows.  As far as obsessions go, maybe this isn't such a bad one.  What do you think? 

Stay tuned, my next project is the ruffly bolster cover.  I'll do a step by step, no pattern, and show you how I "wing it" with my covers.  Yummy results, I promise. 

Blessings ~

Eileen

Couch Potatoes, er..... I mean, Pillows ~

I'm still under the weather... code for "body-slammed-with-the-flu (round 2) because-you've-been-running-too-hard-and-need-to-SLOW-DOWN."  I was, however, able to move precisely four feet from by bed to my sewing table and spent the better part of the day there, sewing pillow covers. 

I started with these (ugh) lovelies. 

They're not precisely hideous, but I'd bought them long ago when they were 70% marked down from the 40% off clearance price.  Their main redeeming feature was the price, and that they were generously filled with soft, fluffy, down feathers.

I've always kept them covered with homemade cases, and I've been itching to make new ones.  

I hauled out the fabric I'd been stashing for this little project.  The chenille swatch at the top of the pile is the fabric that my couches are covered in.  I have three big couches in the great room... which are used for the most part as large cat beds, since we aren't really the entertaining type and have the 35 or so Terwilligers over only once or twice a year.

I had some leftover linen from the repurposed curtain I blogged about here. About 4 yards of another really heavy linen, and several big chunks of a linen with a taupey gray damask leaf pattern woven in, and a few coordianting swatches of other linens... just in case. 

Can you tell I like linen?

I had enough fabric to make two of these cases in the photo above.  I love the heavy pleated ruffles at each end. My pillow covers are usually envelope style, with a generous overlap so that the inserts can't wiggle their way out no matter what. 

I was dying to make something out of this beautiful vintage linen piece.  I had two chunks about 40" wide each, and would use one of them for a cover.  I'll hoard the other piece for something else later.

Instead of an envelop style cover, I made this one in pillowcase style, and sewed this lovely coordinating fabric on the end for a deep hem.  I used a vintage button sewn at the bottom for a closure.  

This button so makes me happy.  Now, the folks that know me will roll their eyes at this point, because if you haven't noticed yet, there is almost no color here... a bit of gray, taupe, ivory, tan, oh... and black.  I am very boring, I know. My whole wardrobe is like this.   

So [sigh] here's my attempt at color.  Notice the lovely posies in this fabric?  Did you also catch that it's on a taupey gray background?  Yep, that's what caught my attention in the first place. 

 

Anyway, I made two more cases out of this fabric, finishing off the closure again with buttons.  What's nice about buttons and envelope covers, is that you can change them out quickly.  No fuss.  And the covers you just took off can be laundered, ironed and put away in the linen closet for next year. 

So, here are all the pillows recovered.  Two in the floral linen, two in the shower curtain linen with a tailored ruffle at each end, and one in that pretty damask with the coordinating hem.  Nice. 

I should have stopped there.  But noooo.....

...there were these buttons I'd been saving up for a while.  The only excuse I have for taking on this project is that I wasn't thinking clearly.  Doubling up on NyQuil and Theraflu can do that to a girl...

It began innocently enough.  Two pillow covers, two simple initials "E" and "T".  A bit of thread, and magic, right?  Right.

Drawing the letters in pencil on the fabric and laying out the buttons was amusing and occupied my fuzzy brain for the better part of 20 minutes.  Then I had to sew them on one at a time.. and the other 47 buttons don't hold still while you sew the one on.  They move.  All.  Over. The.  Place.  

But I wasn't about to let those little buttons get the best of me.  The finally fell into submission and the resulting pillows looked, and felt, like I'd spent a ton of money on them. 

So nice placed on all the couches in the great room.  The rose/peach/taupe pillows were made earlier in the week, and are also vintage fabric. 

Love the bullion fringe on this one. All down filled pillows.  You can't kill them and they never get lumpy. 

Time for a nap ~

 

Eileen

 

 

 

Tiny Transformation ~

 

I'm slow to get my blogging done this week, but I think I have a good excuse.

 

There was this furry road block that kept getting a little too involved. 

 

She'd staked out the fabric for my next project and wasn't about to give in.  Eventually the stare down ended and she abandoned her post, leaving to watch the bird feeder on the balcony. 

 

This is/was a shower curtain.  No seriously. For a paltry sum of $5 on the clearance rack at a local big box store, I snatched it up.  I didn't need a new shower curtain, but the heavy linen fabric with the nice vine and flower embroidery on it was just too pretty to pass up.  The ivory fingy trim was left over from another project, and I figured I had just enough for my plans today.  The real star was the tiny piece of vintage linen.  Someone had made a little pouch out of it, all hand stitched with heavy grosgrain ribbon around three sides. 

 

I took it apart.  Who ever sewed this long ago was a really good hand stitcher.  It took me the better part of an hour to pick out all the teensy, tiny stitches.... 

 

Well worth the time... because this little guy below needed help.

 

I love this stool.  It cost me $3 at a local antiques store and is amazingly sturdy.  I use it every day to sit at my sewing machine, but lately I'd noticed that the old calico cover on the top was getting a bit sad. 

So you know where I'm going with this, right?

 

Yep, a pretty cover.  I used the old linen floral panel for a center medallion, then stitched panels on each end, and along each side. 

 

I cut a strip of the shower curtain to run around the new calico top, adding the fringe along the bottom.  I had about 2" of the finge left over..... whew!

 

Adorable... no? .. and another sewing project happily completed.

 

With Grandma's old paint-by-number watching over me, and the pretty stool to sit on, a basket (overflowing) with fabric next to me, this is my little sewing nest. 

Now....what shall I make next?

 

Eileen

A Modern Sampler ~

I'm making something.

 

I really like it so far.

 

But not much of it is done just yet. 

 

I laid all the materials out. Arranging them just so. 

 

Adding a few lovely things here, and there.  Until it seemed to come alive in the soft afternoon light. 

 

I am slowly sewing each piece down.  Held together by delicate silken threads. 

 

Totally immersed in making silly, pretty, tiny stitches and knots.  Won't you come back and see when it's finished?

Eileen

The Softest Pink ~

 

Don't you just love simple, pretty things?  Like the prettiest, softest, pink pillowcases ever?  Me too ~

I stitched up these lovelies this afternoon. 

  

I had help, of course. Prrrrrr........

 

The fabric I chose for the cases was the softest ivory with little pink rose bouquets, and several yards of a very girly and pretty (sorry sweetie) embroidered trim.  The fabric looked as though it had been faded by years of line drying in the sun. 

Remember just how good sheets smell when they're hung out to dry? 

 

I began making my own pillow cases a few years ago. Mostly out of desperation.  I was having trouble finding just cases, and even then, there weren't many really pretty prints.  Turned out, it was cheaper too.  I generally buy three yards of fabric (I like my cases extra long) and three yards of trim, both on sale this time, about $25 all total.  It takes about an hour to make a set. 

 

A good nester knows that how her bed is "dressed" is pretty important.  How it must invite you in, tempt you with silky sheets (thank you Costco, for those $40 a set, 600 thread count, creamy white sheets that just last forever), to have just enough pillows of the right plumpness, a warm coverlet on top, an extra blanket at the foot for those chilly nights, and a perfect reading lamp on the bedstand.  Some sense of serenity to inspire a good night's rest. 

Then there's always the extra pillows.  These have no purpose other than decoration.  I recovered them too, adding a sleeve on one, a ruffly cover on the other, and a vintage velvet cover for another.  Notice the pink flower? 

Star, consulting from her vantage point at the head of the bed, offered advice on trims.  She liked this one, so much that it took me a while to get it away from her.  Binx wanted to lay on top of everything and eat the trim, because, you know, it just seemed like it needed biting.... 

Sweet dreams ~ Zzzzzz.......

Eileen

True (Pretty Pink) Love ~

I would rather a single rose for no reason at all than a whole bouquet offered once a year at a pre-determined day.

 

It's been gorgeous sunny here again today, and I have spent most of the afternoon taking photos and catching the best light. 

February is all about pink, isn't it? I do love pink. Not to wear, I mean, and I don't use it much in decorating, but there are touches of it everywhere in my art.  Not to mention the stuff I hoard, ribbons, silk flowers, trims, anything in that lovely, luminious, soft pink.  My inspiraton wall in the art nest is all girly pinkness this month.... sure to scare hubby away....   

 

The bedroom, where I do my sewing, has touches of pink everywhere this month.  The kitties help with my little projects.  Star thunders around the house with any ribbon she can steal from my stash, Binx wants to be right on top of the sewing machine (how can she lay down there?), and Bitty makes a nest in whatever fabric I have out.  She peers out from the folds of cotton, daring me to move her. 

Oh, and bye the way, its also shedding season. Let the fur and roses fly. 

Eileen