Tutorial Time!!!!

I'm so excited to share this tutorial with you! I started doing pillows when I stumbled across this shower curtain that we destroyed by putting it through our washing machine (it was a dry-clean only)...whoops! It's been sitting in my sewing closet for over a year waiting to be used for something. So, I started cutting, and voila! New shams for our Euro pillows!! This is the back- you'll see them in action (sitting on a bed) in later photos. Nate and I recently switched my sewing room with the guest room downstairs. These are the only photos I have of them before we made the switch because, of course, I never think to do the photo before I attack the situation.

For those of you have been here since I started Oliver & Lucy Designs, you know that this looks nothing like what this room recently was- what with the sewing extravaganza and all. But, like I said….it’s the only one I have. And here’s a before photo of half of the guest room in the basement- it’s HUGE compared to our other bedrooms.

This was a wonderful room for out of town guests, but I was quickly running out of space upstairs and we couldn’t justify using that giant room for guests who visit maybe once a month. The rest of the time, it sat empty and lonely…..and just waiting to be filled with my creative juices!

Thus, the inspiration for a guest room makeover….which quickly led me to new pillows.

SO, the tutorial:

We were going for a calm, clean feel for our new room. The walls were painted (by my hard-working husband) a serene blue and we used the existing white curtains. So I wanted a color that would POP against the calm blues, beige and whites. Yellow. Yes.

I found some material and got to work. For this pillow, I wanted to make a pocket back so I could take it off and wash it if need be. First, cut out your pieces. I measured my ugly maroon pillow from one seam to the other and added one inch to that size. So, 18 inch pillow, cut a 19 inch square for one side.

For the other side, cut two pieces that are 19 inches tall and 12 or so inches wide. I wanted them to overlap a few inches- I really don’t know how wide they were. Just make an educated guess, people. Really.

Ok, then You set aside the 19 inch square piece. Iron down the long side of both pieces about a quarter to half an inch like this:

Do it to one long side of each piece.

Run them through your machine to hem the sides- just a simple straight stitch is fine. You could do zig-zag if you like the look of it. See that snazzy little guide on my machine?! It’s AWESOME- helps keep your lines straight. Get one if you love straight lines or if you’re kind of a creative free spirit like myself who doesn’t necessarily naturally sew anything in a straight line. Then, pin them on top of the 19 inch square piece- RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER!!! You don’t have to pin down the middle- just around all four sides. Stitch around the whole thing.

Cut your corners close to the seam- but not TOO close. This helps give you a nice clean corner when you turn your pillow cover inside out.

Next, turn it inside out and stuff your ugly pillow or the pillow form in. You are DONE!!!!

UNLESS you wanted to put something extra on it like I did. I had some felt that I had also ruined with the washing machine. Darn thing….it’s actually an awesome machine, I just don’t remember to be careful about special fabrics.

My felt completely shrunk down when I washed it, so I decided to use it to make a flower on my pillow. I cut four circles. I just free-styled it because I like the look. And also because I’m not patient enough to find four different things to trace and cut. Next I stacked them and secured them together with a button in the middle. I didn’t take a photo of this part because naptime was over and I needed to work quickly while Lucy played on the floor. Time was precious and limited.

Here’s a photo of the finished product. You can see the Euro pillows in the back with the shower curtain shams. Charlie is just waiting for you to come visit!

And here’s the new guest room. We’re still working on wall décor and a headboard that is going to be SWEET! We might even rearrange but for now, this is what we’ve got.

A good seamstress would have ironed her new pillow cover before taking photos, but that’s not my style. Take it or leave it.

Happy sewing!