Hi Globetrotters,
Who am I becoming? I am making so many of my own things and I am actually enjoying it. This is why I love projects. There is a clear beginning and end- a sense of real accomplishment.
For my patio, I really wanted to add some pillows for that comfy-that-I-can-sleep-here feel. I wanted a nice boho feel, but there were a couple of problems:
- They were so expensive for one ranging from $20-$45 each.
- There were some ugly patterns and colors.
- I couldn’t tell if I was cultural appropriating the patterns
I decided to look for some water resistant fabric, so I didn’t have to worry about keeping them dry in a drizzle.
For the plain colored fabrics, I found a really amazing site. The fabric is great quality. It is very thick and the inside is lined with a pliable plastic. The price is extremely affordable. Go to Fabric Direct to get the same periwinkle fabric (click here).
For the lumbar pillows, I wanted a colorful pattern. There aren’t a lot of good ones out on the market, so I ended up purchasing from an Etsy vendor, which shipped all the way from South Korea.
The pattern is great, but I thought the material was very thin. I was actually confused if this was a table cloth. The description does say it can be used for covers and coats, so I went ahead and just sewed a pillow case. The price per yard is reasonable but prepare to pay for shipping. It was half of my total cost. Go to this Etsy vendor if you want the same pattern (click here).
I followed this YouTube video to learn how to sew a pillow with a zipper. It turns out I was learning how to use a sewing machine at the same time. So you can easily tell which covers were my first ones and which ones were my last ones.
My biggest tips for first time sewers are:
- Make sure you thread correctly because dealing with jammed threading stinks.
- Pins are great until you get to the foot. Then, the sheet isn’t flat and the line goes everywhere.
- Make sure to have a long table to rest the extra fabric on the side. Gravity is not your friend and will drag your fabric, making the line crooked.
- The cut fabric doesn’t need to be identical. They do need to be similar though. When you flip the pillow inside out, you can’t tell the fabrics don’t line up perfectly.
Just have fun! Don’t obssess over the small things like I do. When I saw those unsightly stitching showing on my first few pillows, I wanted to start over so badly. However, people will barely notice and it is a good story to tell.
Ciao,
Amy
amy 