Randy and I left most of our furniture in TX when we made the big move to SC. We made a trip to the Charlotte Ikea in January and got bedroom furniture, a couch, tables, chairs, etc. etc. We had everything we needed to fill up the apartment. Except, people, we had no pillows, and pillows are very important.
Randy hates these chairs, but they were what we could afford. Dark grey horseshoe chairs that came with these pathetic little pillows. They look pretty boring. So I made some adjustments.
I think they look much more inviting now! I am fortunate enough to live with a man who takes some pride in his home and has quite a few opinions on how it should be decorated. We're talking colors, fabrics, Randy knows what he wants. So I didn't want the pillows to be too cutesy. And he didn't want them to be too bright (even though they did turn out a little to bright for his taste, but we must compromise!). They are perfect for now, I can always change them later, and the best part is they were inexpensive!
The fabrics were all from my stash. The background fabric is a nice, soft, natural color linen that I've had for a while. The cottons match the colors of some of our favorite pieces in the kitchen, which is open to this sitting area, namely the orange and blue of my tea set and the green of our Le Creuset pot. The pillow forms were bought on sale at Hobby Lobby and are 12x16 inches.
The assembly of these pillows was SUPER easy. Just cut and sew, basically. The piecing was done with 1/4 inch seams, the pillow construction done with 1/2 inch. The backs of the pillows are overlapped like a pillow sham for your bed, so the pillow forms just slip right in and out and I'll be able to wash these if they get dirty.
I made another pillow for our bedroom so we can prop up on it to watch movies or read. It's 24x24 inches and plenty big enough for both of us if we don't mind getting a little cozy together. This color was definitely approved by Randy before I started, but once I was done his comment was "Nice. Why is it textured?" My heart sank a little. Then he actually layed down on it and declared it comfortable. Win!
The green fabric is a jersey I had in my stash (I have NO idea when and where I got it!). I cut the front panel extra long and made 1/2 inch pintucks across the front (that is 1/2 inch in height, but 1 inch of fabric total was used to make the tuck. If that makes no sense let me know and I can put up a little tutorial). Then, going perpendicular to the pin tucks, I sewed across the pillow, laying the pintucks flat as I sewed across them, but changing the direction of my sewing with every row. This gave the pillow a wave effect that I think looks pretty darned awesome. Again, if this is at all confusing, or if you just want to see one, let me know and I'll put up a tutorial.
So there you have it. Two kinda cutesy slightly bright zakka inspired pillows, and one great big thoroughly modern pillow. Ta daaa! Now I have to start making pillows for the couch!
I love them! The green one is really cool and the texture makes it.
Posted by: Zonnah | February 24, 2010 at 06:40 PM
love the texture you created on the green one! such a simple thing to do, but takes a creative mind to come up with it ;)
Posted by: giselle | February 25, 2010 at 10:24 PM
The green one is my favorite! I love the color and the technique is fabulous! Your lampshades in that green are fantastic, too!
Posted by: Anne | February 26, 2010 at 07:27 AM
Thank you, thank you!
Anne, the lamps are from Target, and they are only about $15 each. We got three of them, the other is in the living room. They have lots of different colors on the website.
Posted by: Lisa | March 05, 2010 at 10:15 PM