Pillow Talk

Wendy at The Shabby Nest showed us her dining room redo a few days back, and my very favorite part was her honey bee pillow. Such a small touch that is still vivid in my mind. Since this week is about using what we have, so instead of shopping, I got creative.



For this project you will need:

an old pillow
2 pillow cases
scissors
a piece of a cardboard box (I ripped mine, you could use a box knife)
a roll of masking tape
contact paper (clear is best, but any works)
an Exacto knife
a print (I found mine at Graphics Fairy -- she's got cool stuff and would love for you to stop by!)
a sewing machine



First cut the pillow apart, casing and all.



Next pull it out of the casing, and fluff it up (cause mine was old and smushed up).



Put it back in the casing, and use a sewing machine to sew it up. You could use a pillow form, but I didn't have one. I did, however, have an old pillow that no one used, so I created two pillow forms from the one original pillow.


After you have them stitched up, slide it into the pillowcase.



Down each side, cut a slit in the pillowcase until you are 1/3 from the top (leaving the fabric to the end 2/3 of the form).


Then pull the "flap" over the cut out portion.

Next, you will cut off the flap, where there is a good overlap on the cut beneath it. I pulled mine down 2/3 of the way and cut across. This will give you hem room and also overlap to hold the form securely.

Next, hem the portion you just cut off, so that the hem faces the inside when wrapped around the pillow.


Then, turn it all inside out and tuck the flap into the pocket.



Fold up both sides and run a stitch from top to bottom, making sure that all edges are secure.

Then turn it back right side out and the hemmed flap will stay on the outside.

Now, insert that piece of cardboard and center it into the middle of the pillow slip.



Next, use your print to make a stencil, using the same method as the "Stenciled Canvases" tutorial. I used the same stencil for two pillows.


Let it dry and you are ready to slide the pillow form in and put it in place.


Posted at Works for Me Wednesday