2.21.2012

New Bird and Houndstooth Throw Pillows

Decorative pillows can be so expensive to buy, and sometimes it's hard to find exactly what you want.  I love being able to customize the look of my home by creating my own pillow covers.  The task can be a scary if you have never tried it before, but if you can sew a straight line you can make pillow covers.  This isn't a tutorial so much as a lookie-what-I-did post, but I think it can be inspiring nonetheless. 
For the pillow on the right, I used most of the fat quarter linen canvas print of my large-print brown/black houndstooth fabric and was able to get a 16"x16" cover from that, with a little bit to spare (my hope is that I can use the remainder to make a new wallet).  The back is just plain black cotton fabric that I had on-hand from my cherry blossom pillow covers.  I also did my first zippered pillow cover with this, using this cheesy video riddled with product placement as a surprisingly instructional guideline.
I got a yard of KAS's Oslo Amethyst home decor fabric (the bird print) for my birthday a few months ago, and I have been dying to use it for something.  Our sectional came with three big pillows, and I decided it was finally time to replace them.  I found 20"x20" down pillow inserts for a great price at IKEA, and I found the backer fabric as a remnant at Joann. 
I was able to get three 18"x18" covers out of the fabric I had, and I still have a bit of that left as well.  For the closure on this pillow, I did two slightly overlapping pieces on the back and two big buttons.
I just love how much it has brightened up my couch area!  Plus, I got to pull in some of the purple accents I have been slowly working into my family room since I painted the hallway purple.  The color of the hall (and hopefully soon, laundry room) is actually pretty close to the purple in the pillows.
Next on the list?  A pillow for the new bench in our bedroom.  This one is a really fun shape and a predictably "me" print.  It will also have a zipper.  Would anyone be interested in seeing a tutorial for that?

2 comments:

  1. After looking at images from a "purple laundry room" Google search, your adorable Oslo pillow appeared and had to click the link. Why? Because I planned an entire office around that same fabric. I made 4 roman shades, one for each window plus some basket liners and a few other goodies. I adore those little birds. Also, I have purple in almost every room in my house :-) Love both pillows!

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