Pillow Cover Tutorial

Hey there! Since it has been such a  late spring in the Midwest and that was depressing me, the only option was to bring Spring inside, where I have more control over the environment! I have been working on some pillows covers. Pillow covers are my new favorite...is is much cheaper to make a pillow cover than to buy a pillow...which makes it much easier to change the look of you room when the mood strikes. If you are willing to invest in filler pillows you will spend far less when you want to change your style. Check out the cost breakdown at the end of this post! I have already stored my winter covers... so no before shots...sorry

Keep reading... I am going to tell you how to get a pillow-scape like this in your living room for cheap!

My husband and I were in World Market looking at a new table(more on that another day) when I made my way over to the pillows and napkins. Customer service had been so awesome it made me want to buy more. I found these red pillows first... This is sold as a pillow insert inside a pillow cover! PERFECT! $12.99

...and then found these napkins to match that would serve as pillows. $3.99 each..online they are sold as a set and you can save a couple cents..

 I did these ones a little different from last time though.This time I wanted four pillows. I bought four napkins and decided to use a different fabric for the back. Ultimately I decided on a blue ticking stripe..it gives a nice cottage feel to the bold fabric.

I am a "learn as I go" type of sewer...so below you will find my process, however, if you are a more experienced sewer, feel free to leave comments and tips for me and other readers in the commnets section!

Pillow Cover Tutorial

1. First I laid the napkins over my back fabric and cut to size. I left about an inch but probably could have done less.

2. Determine the bottom of your pillow and pin zipper in place. Put the "bottom of the zipper on your right so it lines up with the zipper foot more easily once you begin to sew. I wanted my zipper hidden so I pinned it along the back seem of the napkin. 

 3. Put your zipper foot on.

Sew.

4. Once your zipper is on lay the front piece of fabric on the back piece with the right sides facing in and the zipper at the top. Pin zipper to backing fabric. Because the front of the pillow has an edge and the back is sewn under, be sure that the edge of the front fabric along the zipper is pinned back.

Switch zipper foot toward the right. Sew.

5. Flip right side out.

 6.Tuck the backing fabric under so that the fold lines up with the inner seem of the napkin. This will leave an edge on the front side. Pin.

7. Unzip zipper an inch or so. Switch to presser foot on sewing machine. sew the ends of the pillow where the zipper is, starting with the bottom stop edge. Sew just those couple of inches and then move to the other side of the zipper. When you complete this edge turn your work and sew all the way around, close the the edge of the fold of back fabric.

TIP: on corners make sure the needle is in the fabric. Lift presser foot and turn your fabric 90 degrees. this will keep your work in place and will guard against pulling out extra thread from the needle.

The Breakdown:

4 Floral Napkins @ $3.99 each

1.5 yards ticking fabric (with some left over) @11.99/yd

4 12"-14" zippers @ $2.99

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TOTAL: approx $46.00

Each pillow cover: $11.50

This is an awesome savings considering that pre-filled pillows at World Market or Target can be between $20-$40 a piece... I will note though that many of World Markets pillows are covered inserts...so you are getting more for your money because you can use the insert again.

What do you think? Sewers out there...anything I can improve on or that our readers should know?

What spring projects are you working on these days? I always smile when I see I have a new comment, so please let me know you were here and share your thoughts, feedback and questions with me!

Signs of Spring...even if it is a little late

Last summer our front walk looked like this... my parents were nice enough to drive hostas from their yard down to our place. My mom and dad helped us divide and plant them in our yard.

In the fall...after the hostas were in the ground...I decided that I wanted tulips along the front walk in the spring.

I don;t have any process photos for you as my husband and I dug the 8" trenches between the hostas under cover of darkness. The sun goes down early in the fall and we did the planting after work in the evenings. But, here are some after shots.

Here it is again last fall after planting and mulching. Total, we dropped 200 bulbs along the walk.  The hostas were a bit smaller since the summer.

It's a late spring here, and waiting for the first tulips I have ever planted has been agonizing...but look...they are popping up!!!

 

SOOOO exciting!! I will throw some more pictures up when they bloom...

Any guess what color they are???

The Facilities... circa 1928

I have let you into just about every major room in our home except for our bathroom...I know you have been dying to get in...I am sorry you have had to "hold it" this long (that's what we call bathroom humor for those of you that don't know, and I plan to use it whenever I have the opportunity!). This bathroom is the only full bath in the house. It is a good thing my husband and I are good at sharing. In our apartment we had two full baths including double sinks in the master. See, here's pics from our apartment. Read more about at the end of my "Apartment Tour" post.

But we were not going to live in that apartment forever and we loved this house despite the bathroom situation. We went into the purchase knowing we could live with it for a bit until we were able to start thinking about a remodel (the literal thought that went through my head was "This would be great material for the blog!") We are in the very beginning stages of thinking about a remodel...we have had one company in town come take a look and we have another one coming out in the coming week. in the meantime, come on in and stay a while! Here is what we have for a bathroom now... Let me give you the highlights to start....

...keep reading though, there are some really great aspects to this bathroom too...I am just starting with the bad stuff first!

This gives you a better idea of what is going on with the radiator cover. I realize we could try to having this sprayed and covered, but I am actually debating about having ditching it altogether and having the radiator exposed. What do you think? Would you keep the cover or lose it?

YUCK...this needs to be gone before any babies come along and need little baths. We really only use the shower at this point so we make it work...but I am not super excited about the potential for rusty water at bath time. Whatever we do a new tub (we can't just do a new drain...its all attached) inevitable!

Okay kiddos, now that you have seen the worst of it let me show whats really cool about this bathroom. From what we can tell (and from what our inspector shared with us) most of the materials other than the toilet in this bathroom are original and for the most part...other than those cited above...are in great shape.  

There is nothing wrong with the sink...it looks cool, the only reason I think about changing it is that is it large for the space and there is no where to set anything down. Underneath is the "Standard" signature.

The medicine cabinet provides some storage which is great, but the mirror is pretty small...

I love the knobs on the sink, these we are not sure are original, they are made by a company called "Grohe". They are different than the rest of the fixtures in the bathroom which are all
"Standard" so we wondering if maybe they weren't added later.

The cream colored porcelain is actually kind of fun. Here you see the toothbrush holder and the light fixtures that flank the medicine cabinet.

A peak into our shower shows how showers used to be done. Separate knobs for the tub and shower as well as for hot and cold water. Notice the bath faucet as well...this will have to change since it is not up to code. The reason is that if the water line comes above the spout water from the tub can run back into the pipes.

Take a look at that bath fixture..."Standard" scrolled along the top. The original fixtures pose a bit of a dilemma for me. This wont be like a bath remodel where we just pitch all the old stuff, we want to preserve some of these awesome pieces that contribute to the character of the house.

You can see that when this house was built in 1928 it was popular build fixtures right into the wall. Here you can see how the soap dish, towel bar, and toilet paper holder are tiled in. You will also remember the toothbrush holder is in the wall too! Any tips on how to get those out without damaging them?

The floor is mud set tile. This means that a layer of concrete (mud) is laid first and is actually set below the floor level, then the tiles were set into the mud. Whatever new floor we put in will just go right over the top of the current floor, as the mud set would be a nightmare to remove and it leaves the option that if we ever did sell the house and the next buyer wanted the green and white tiles they would still be there for them, true to the era of the home. 

Finally,and perhaps my husbands favorite, is the laundry chute. I did not understand his excitement about having one at first, but now I get it. No more hamper in the bedroom! No more hauling laundry up and down and all around to get it to the washing machine! LOVE! This is staying!

I need your input now. I am torn between the idea of trying to retain some of the fixtures (like the toothbrush holder, toilet paper holder, shower knobs) and use them in our update. The other option is the keep them in good shape during the demolition and sell them (which we could, check out periodbath.com) and use the proceeds to offset the cost of our new stuff.

Whatever we do (and I will share with you some of the plans we have drawn up in the coming weeks) we plan to stay true to the style of the home. Given that let me know what to you think... try to keep some of the originals in house, or sell and go for new stuff?

Also, Mom, if you want to share any typos with me feel free :) I did not check this one over!

Thanks for stopping and see you in the comments!