Monday, July 15, 2013

Easiest Pillows Ever! - Basement progress!

As you know our basement flooded .. after we completed the demo it was clear we had no idea how to put it back together!  I had planned on blogged about how to put in a sump pump .. but we hired someone.  Then I was going to blog about how to hang drywall, but we hired someone. Hanging new doors?  Yep, hired someone.  New carpet .. hired someone. 

I will admit that we painted it ourselves though!!

There are times in life when you have to weigh your options .. AND your level of experience and make a choice to DIY or DI-dont!  

I am not ready to show you the finished basement .. because its not finished!  It is usable .. but there is still a lot to be done!

I did want to show you today how I sew the easiest pillows in the world! Start with pillow "forms" from the craft store .. or find yourself some UGLY thrift store pillows for dirt cheap! Like a buck a piece!  The striped fabric is a yard sale shower curtain for just 2 bucks, the rest was clearance fabric from Joanns the other day and I paid a 2 bucks a yard for 3 different ones. 


When I buy thrift store pillows (never for my bed, just throw pillows) I make sure to buy ones with a lining in them.  You can check by pinching the outer fabric and feeling under it to see if there is a second layer and not just fluff.  I also stuck all 5 pillows in my deep freezer for 3 days to kill anything living .. it works, I swear! 


Here you can see my 5 stripped pillows and my pile of ugly covers!  I was surprised to fine the lining on one orange .. good thing my fabric was thick and you can see the orange!


Ok, easiest pillows ever!  I laid the pillow on top of my fabric and eye balled it (yep, no measuring!) about an inch outside the top and bottom my pillow.  Then I wrapped the fabric around my pillow tightly and cut it about 5 inches larger on the 2 sides.  You end up with a large rectangle that fits the top and bottom and wraps around the pillow with room to spare.   You then hem to two short sides of the rectangle.


Then turn it right sides in and over lap the two ends to the size of your pillow, they should cross each other with a few inches of overlap.  Then just sew the open sides together!  You will only dew 2 sides of the pillow, the other 2 sides are folds!  Once you are down turn it right sides out and push out your corners and iron flat!  You just made a pocket pillow!


See the pocket?  Then you stuff one side in. 


 Then you reach in and pull the inner pocket out and tuck the pillow into the 2nd half of the cover. 


This is the top of my finished pillow! 


This is the underside.  These cases are washable!  Require no zipper!  And take about 5 minutes each!  


My children styled our new couch first!  Notice the 4 remotes, lots of toys and some clean laundry??


Then it was my turn!  My new couch with 5 awesome new pillows!!  I think the couch needs more pillows!  I will have to keep checking goodwill! 

It cost me around $10 bucks for these 5 pillows and I have fabric to spare!  

I only have glass block windows in the basement so no curtains are needed .. so the couch is one of the only ways to bring in color!  

I cant wait to finish the whole basement!  Enjoy your sneak peak!! 

Update: My pillows were featured on We like to learn as we go AND Live Laugh Rowe Check it out! 










10 comments:

  1. Great work on the Pillows! You made it look so easy! I love the way that new prints and pillows can freshen any look up.

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  2. That really makes a world of difference, doesn't it? I've purchased some fabric and am hoping to do something similar.
    kathryntallandstrong.com

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  3. Gerat job. I really need to update my pillows, it's been a couple years. Love the pockets, makes it so much easier to change out.

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  4. Oh yes, these kind of pillows are incredibly easy and fast to make, but still they add so much prettiness. :) I like to use black and white stripes as a contrast to other fabrics, too. :)

    Cheers,
    Dorothee
    (www.mimismae.wordpress.com)

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  5. Very cute! Our basement is finished..... Kind of :). So,I know how you feel. Thanks for sharing at Pinworthy Projects.

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  6. Such cute pillows!! Thanks for linking up at Romance on a dime!!

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  7. how nice these pillows turned out! i like shopping for bargain like the fabric that you got from joanns♥

    stopping by through anything blue friday!

    rea

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  8. These pillows turned out great! I love the fabrics and how easy they are! I have a stack of pillows that I need to cover soon. I'm featuring this tonight at my link party and pinning!

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    1. Thank you so much Alexis! I appreciate the feature!

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  9. These pillows look great and I can't believe how simple you make them look. Thanks for sharing on Dakota Creek Chic's Weekend Beautiful Blog Party!!
    Shawna

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