Remember the first prayer pillow I made? Well, the recipient’s sister was baptized last weekend, so I thought she should have one of her very own. Everything came from my stash. My daughter approved the colors and fabric.
I had some more expensive transfer paper on hand and found I didn’t like the way it worked as much as the original paper I used. I do like how it looks all distressed, but I can’t see that look working for all kinds of projects.
A few nights ago I sat down in front of the tv and couldn’t find anything to watch. My daughter was already in bed and my husband was downstairs working out. I decided to flip through some of my craft books for an easy project. I was really tired so it had to be
I found the perfect project in Handmade Home: a silky eye pillow scented with chamomile and lavender. I had it finished and ready for the stuffing in no time. The next day I bought the herbs, came home and made a few more.
stash: I had everything I needed in my stash except for the herbs. A quick online search showed that most people used flax for the stuffing. I had a big bag of sushi rice in the pantry and the small round grains worked perfectly.
This weekend I went to my first Mormon Baptism. I did some research to see if there was a traditional gift, but turns out it’s pretty much like a Catholic Baptism (except the children are a little older and get a little more wet).
I kept seeing prayer rocks popping up in my search. I never heard of these before, but liked the idea behind them — the prayer reminder, not the bonking-in-the-head and stubbing-of-the-toe with a rock part. I decided a prayer pillow would be a nicer, gentler gift.
I was excited to use some of my retro automobile fabric for this project. I made a matching drawstring bag, too. I used ink-jet iron-on transfer paper to print the poem and personalize it. It turned out so cute! The only thing I would change next time is to trim the iron-on paper with some fun patterned craft scissors instead of a plain rectangle.
I think this would make a great gift for anyone celebrating an important faith milestone: Baptism, First Communion, Confirmation.
stash: Everything for this project was in my stash. My daughter helped me stuff it with polyfil. It was nice to involve her in the project. Prayer pillow poem can be found here.
When my daughter was born, we received a sweet elephant Baby Gund blanket as a gift. It’s super soft and cuddly. It’s also pretty small.
The other day I asked her what she wanted to do with it. She definitely wasn’t ready to part with it, so I suggested making it into something else. Something else that might get used, like a pillow.
She loved the idea! Especially when I told her she could help. If you have one of these and are looking to turn it into something for a big girl or boy, it’s easy.
Step 1
Using a seam ripper, open up about 2-3 inches of stitches on the side.
Step 2
Stuff it with polyfil, starting with the legs first and working your way toward the middle. This is a great step for your child to help. My daughter LOVED doing the stuffing.
Step 3
Close up the side with a blind stitch.
reshape: I love it when my daughter gets excited about working on a project with me. She adores the pillow and is proud to say she helped out. I think we just added a few more years to Ellie’s life with us.
A few months ago, my daughter was drawing at her easel while I was making dinner. She said, “Look, Mom! A sun!” Not only was it a sun, but it was her very first face, complete with two eyes, a nose and a smile. Since then, she’s drawn lots of suns with faces: fat ones, small ones, some even with freckles. This one is special, though. This one was the first.
I decided to share her sun with her grandparents for Christmas. I took a photo of her original artwork, printed it and traced over it with a marker. Then I taped it to a window, taped the fabric over the paper, and traced it with disappearing ink. After embroidering it, I sewed it up into a pillow cover.
I hope to make one for myself this year. Maybe a smaller version for her room? She loves her sun and has the printout taped to her wall. I’ve got the original tucked away for safe keeping.
stash: Everything except the pillow forms came from my stash. The upholstery fabric colors were perfect for this project and I used quite a bit of yellow embroidery thread.
After much deliberation, and not much sewing over the weekend because of a sick little girl, I’m giving away one of my remote control pillow covers for Sew, Mama, Sew’s Giveaway Day.
You get to pick whichever one you want. You can even pick the decorative pillow cover, even though it doesn’t have a pocket. That’s cool with me!
Just know that whichever one you choose, I’m only giving away the cover, not the inside cushion. It will keep down shipping costs and allow me to ship internationally.
Here’s how you enter: Leave a comment on this post.
Bonus entry: Become a fan on my Facebook page. If you do, leave a second comment on this post.
You have until midnight, December 6th to enter. I will choose a winner with a random number generator. After you leave a comment, check out Sew, Mama, Sew for more fabulous giveaways!
Anything else? Oh, did you know I wrote a tutorial on how to make one of these pillows? Check it out!
I’m not sure why I’ve had pillows on my mind. Maybe because the sun has been hiding behind the clouds for too many days to count? Maybe it’s because I’ve been feeling under the weather? Maybe it’s because the holidays are fast approaching and I need some gift ideas for the guys in my life? Whatever the reason, I’ve been having fun. These are really easy. I know you’ll have fun, too.
Notes
Materials
1 – large men’s button shirt with pocket
1 – 18″ pillowform
seam ripper
matching thread
Step 1
With the shirt buttoned, cut a 17 1/2″ square out of the front of the shirt. Cut another 17 1/2″ square out of the back of the shirt.
Step 2
Carefully remove the pocket using a seam ripper. Spritz shirt with water and steam press to close up any holes. Reposition the pocket and topstitch in place.
Optional Step 3
If your holes don’t close, if you accidentally rip your fabric, or you are using a shirt like corduroy and the nap won’t fluff back up, you’ll need a patch. Just cut a square from the sleeve and topstitch it over the original area.
Step 4
Lay the pieces together right sides together and sew around the whole square with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Make sure to undo one or two buttons before sewing so you can turn it right side out afterward.
Step 4
Clip your corners, turn right side out and press.
Step 5
Insert your pillow form and button it up!
This is an easy way to make decorative pillows, too. If you go to Goodwill on
recycle: Before you head out to the thrift store, check your own closet. All three of these shirts came from my husband. In fact, I have him trained now to ask me first before donating any of his clothes!
This weekend I spent some time refashioning shirts into pillows. I had planned for this post to be an easy tutorial for Remote Control Pillow v 2.0. Then I got sick. I’m actually supposed to be resting, but I’ve been resting all day and feel the need to do something productive. So, here’s a glimpse of one of the pillows.
Now it’s back to the couch for me. Hopefully, I can muster up enough energy to knit a few rounds.
I was all excited to try out my new simplicity skirt pattern with two cute pillowcases I had thrifted, but I forgot to add in the ease to my measurements. Bugger! That’s what I get for cutting fabric too late at night. I’m already ripping out the seams to make something else. Here is the too small front.
I tried the pattern again with the proper measurements and it fits much better. I didn’t want to sacrifice anymore fabric until I got it right, so I made this version out of a cotton sheet. It’s a little sheer, though. Not sure if I’ll be wearing it outside of the house.
I’m planning to try the version without darts next. Hopefully the third time will be a charm!
refashion + recycle: pillowcases from church sale, sheet from tote of garage sale fabric, thrifted zippers in both
from the julie-bird.com archives
UPDATE: Thanks to WhipUp for their link to my pattern!
When it comes to gift giving, it’s really hard to buy for my brother. Same with his girlfriend. They don’t have a lot of time for hobbies because they both work really hard at their jobs and at school. The only thing that is consistent with them is the Hokies. Something burgundy and orange usually goes over well, but how much VT gear can one really want? I decided to ask him. I told him to be honest. Do they both really love the Hokies that much? The answer was YES. So for his birthday, I made him this:
And that’s not even the cool part. Look at the other side:
Because they are so busy with work and school, they wind up watching more games in their living room than down in Blacksburg. I figured a VT-themed remote control pillow would be perfect! What’s even better, I made this out of one of his old VT sweatshirts. He had handed it down to me a few years ago and it had been sitting in my closet for awhile. I figured I’d give it back to him new and improved!
I think this would be a cool gift to make for any sports junkie in your life. It would probably work just as well with a t-shirt. I’d just use a more substantial interfacing to give it structure. I’ve written up a pattern and you can download it here. Let me know if you make one! And as always, drop me a line if you have any questions.
recycle: Use clothing instead of new fabric to make one of a kind creations.
