Monday, March 29, 2010

More Pillows!

Today, I made some more throw pillows. Three to be exact - two 16x16 in, and one 12x16 in. When I got up this morning, I threw the fabric in the wash while I made my patterns for the pillows. Though they still took me longer than expected, I did not run into the same issues as last time; and my zippers went much more smoothly.

The great thing about doing a project like this is that you learn something new every time. Here's what I learned this time around: 
  • Patterns help tremendously with having two pieces of fabric that are the same size. In the future, however, I'd love to get one of those huge cutting boards so that for something as easy as squares or rectangles, simply placing the fabric on top of it doubled over would be a breeze.
  • Referencing your user manual solves problems that don't need to be problems. I know, I know - imagine that. But the issue I had with my needle not automatically adjusting to the zipper foot after I had to replace my first needle, was a user issue rather than a machine issue. 
  • This pattern requires you to move the zipper pull back behind the needle once you near the end both times. It's not easy moving that zipper pull either time, so I messed around with a few things today to see if I could find an easier way to get it all the way past the foot. *Crayola skinny markers work great! Here's what you do: while your foot is lifted, but your needle is still in, open your zipper a bit and leave the pull sticking out toward you. Using the capped side of the marker, push the cap against the zipper's pull and voila! No need to kill your fingers.
You'll find the final results below. My apologies that it's a little dark - it isn't quite summer with endless light yet. I'll leave you with a question. I'm not hugely fond of the plain green pillow - it needs a little something more. Any suggestions/ideas/inspiration?

Goodnight.
~Ms. S

2 comments:

  1. Your pillows look amazing!!! I'm so glad you gave it a try and that they worked out so well for you! :) For the green one, how about some white accents, maybe fabric flowers or some ribbon stripes? Or white buttons stitched on randomly? when I need ideas for embellishments like that I just browse at the craft/fabric store, there are always a million things that jump out at me!

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  2. Meredith! You're so crafty! I so long for my sewing machine and I to be great friends. Until then, I keep drooling over Amy Butler fabric and bookmarking patterns. Love the pillows. And I think a big S or pretty design stensiled on the green one would look fabulous. :)

    Try
    http://www.younghouselove.com/2010/04/reader-redesign-stellar-stencils/

    Or something like this
    http://justanotherhangup.blogspot.com/2010/04/last-but-not-least.html

    Also loved the post about the maternity clothes! You have smart friends!

    Love the blog! Take care :)

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