Pillows!

I have been wanting to make new pillow for the couch for a long time and I finally got around to it yesterday. I used some upolstery fabric scraps that my Dad brought me after picking them up from a craigslist posting from a store who was cleaning them out to make room for new. 

Here is the before picture. These pillows came from a yard sale and I bought them with the intentions to use the pillow forms but they stayed on the couch for way longer than I wanted! 

 

 Here is the after! How cute are they? I am so pleased with how they turned out. I used this tutorial for the round pillows and I made the one in the middle by just cutting random strips and sewing them together.

 Here is the back of the pillow in the middle. It is reversible! The round ones have the same backing.

Close up of pillow in middle

Round pillow

Other round pillow

 Once I made those pillows, I had to made some new covers for the loveseat pillows! They needed to match! Here is the before...

 And here is the after! These are made with 16 4" squares and a 1 1/2" border. They are removable.

Loveseat pillow close-up

They make you want to just sit on the couch all day with them and tell them how much you love them!

Pillows and Cushions

Yesterday I finished up some projects I had laying around. Project number one was patio chair cushions. I have needed some for a while I am too frugal to buy brand new ones or buy new foam to make them. So, I waited until I found some at a tag/yard sale to recover.


I finally found two this past weekend (I need four, but, hey, two is a start!). I got them both for $0.50 and the foam is still cushy! I also went to a retail outlet called Essex this weekend and found a vinyl flannel backed tablecloth on clearance for $1. It was a great weave style print too!

I needed something waterproof for the cushions on the patio because it has no covering. I have yet to find an table umbrella at a reasonable price also.

Here is how I did it:

Take off the old covering from the foam cushions.

Lay cushion on top of tablecloth to measure the size you will need. Sew around three sides. Insert foam and fold under edges. Pin and sew all the way around the cushion.

Finished! (Ignore the horrible looking patio and rusty chairs--that is another project that is waiting)

Project number two was pillows. I had found some cute embroidered scenes (looks to be on potato sacks) at a tag sale and wasn't sure if I wanted to frame them or make them into pillows. I decided on pillows because the guest bed needed a few more pillows. I think they make the perfect addition. Husband said they looked so good that he would have thought I bought them and not made them (is that a compliment? hmmm....).

I'm going for a shabby chic look in the guest bedroom. I have a plan to make a pretty quilt for the bed perhaps using pinwheels but for now I have a handmade quilt by my grandmother.

Aren't the adorable? When I bought them they smelled funny and the stitching wasn't to clear. Maybe it was dusty or something. I washed them and ironed them a lot and the colors in the thread became brighter. The kitty and bird are so cute!