Monday 9 September 2013

Made: Runched Pillow


Are you sick of my new apartment posts yet?  This might be the last one for a while, I'm hoping to post some thoughtful pose up here soon.  I made some throw pillows for the living and bedroom lately.  I was having a really hard time finding pillows in the colors I wanted.  So, in true DIY fashion, I went to the fabric store, and found some great fabrics (on sale!) and set out to make them with my new sewing machine.  I thought I would show you a "Pinterest-almost-success-project" pillow.

I don't usually try the things that I see on Pinterest.  I usually look for my projects through books or other blogs-- there are some talented bloggers out there to learn from!  But I really liked the look of a runched pillow.  And I thought one would look so nice on my bed.  I saw a great tutorial (on Pinterest) and thought I would try it.  I'm not going to go through the steps; if you want to make one use the tutorial.  It is super-detailed.  I will however give you some tips based on making this pillow:
  • You need almost 2 times the width of fabric for your pillow.  If you want a 24" wide pillow,   your fabric needs to be at least 40".  The runching shrinks the size significantly.
  • Draw your lines on your pillow.  Otherwise you will have crooked seams like me.
  • Measure the distances between runchings.  Again, or it will look weird.  Like mine.
  • Even though the tutorial says to fold over your edge, I didn't.  It made the pillow hard to sew into, well a pillow.  Just gather the material 1/2" from the edge, and make your seam close to the first gathered seam.  
  • Use the same color fabric and thread.  You can really see the thread in this project, so its better if it blends.
  • Don't cut the backing piece of the pillow until you finished the front part.  Then measure for the back piece.  That way it will match perfectly.
  • Go slow when gathering, or you will break the thread.  Ask me how I know.
  • I found it easier to do 3 seams for each line.  I gather the top, the middle then the bottom.  This way I didn't break the thread.  

This is what the pillow looks like in my new bedroom:
 

I wanted the pillow to match the paintings hanging above our bed.  I think it does!  Our bedroom is calming, and bright-- pretty much my favorite room in the house!

10 comments:

  1. Oh my God I love this! Such a beautiful color!

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  2. EEE, so cute. Great job Stephanie!

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  3. Love it! You are soooooo talented! Thanks for sharing


    ~SimplyyMayra :D

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  4. ADORE!
    I am always jealous of folks who have bedrooms that are actually "put together" unlike mine which is essentially just a room with a bed.

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  5. Thanks! I couldn't find a pillow in the same color anywhere, so I made one. I was at Target today, and wouldn't you know it? I found a knit pillow in this exact color. Sheesh!

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  6. Thanks! A seasoned professional seamstress like yourself could have done better-- but not so bad for my first try.

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  7. Shucks. You're going to make me blush. Thank you for commenting!

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  8. My room looks "put together??!" Hooray! That's a lovely compliment! Thank you.

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  9. I have never actually made a pillow case, so I am not too sure about that one haha! And yours looks complicated too.

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  10. It's amazing how something like this can make an awesome room even better! So pretty and I love how it ties everything together without being all matchy. So cool.

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