It's the Little Things -- chair and slip on pillows

Once upon a time I sewed most anything I needed in my home, including my clothes. I still love to

sew but I stick to small projects that pack a punch.

A few years ago I purchased two small recoverable chairs from Pier One to add some color and extra seating our family room. 

At that time we had a golden-neutral sofa so I used this fabric.

Then time went by and we changed curtains and couches. With a more taupe fabric on our new love seats, the gold on brick red fabric just didn't match. Below you can see the drapes that are a taupe color.

We've lived with fabric for a while so I began looking around on the web for inspiration and found I was leaning towards red and taupe. Now to find the right fabric.

This is a great dark red! :)

This is pattern is what I'm looking for.

Dark red like this shirt!  :)

But really, after looking at fabrics stores I just couldn't find what I wanted. Then I went into Kirland's to waste a little time while my daughter gets her nails done, low and behold thet had red and beige curtains in just the color and pattern I wanted. And on sale!! 

So, like the "I can do anything" mode, I bought one set in the pattern and another set in a dark red silk. My plan was to wrap the chairs in the silk with only the front in my lovely pattenr. That way I'd have leftovers for pillows, etc. big mistake. The silk wouldn't hold the shape, pulled at the seams and just looked sloppy.

So, back to Kirland's to buy another set of curtains.

Here is some work in progress:

Pinning the seams with the fabric inside out.

Almost done with the first chair. Gotta stop and catch my breath.

Ok, done, slipped on, and stapled underneath the chair cushion.

All done!! I'm in love!! Below is a handy guide for making pillow covers.

Making throw pillows using the envelope technique.

1. Wrap the fabric around the pillow to measure. Leave 1 inch for each side seam and 4 inch extra length for the overlap on the back. 

2. First sew a small 1/2 inch hem for each flap, facing the wrong side of the fabric. 

Place pins to hold the fabric in place

3. Place the fabric with right sides together, pinning the short flap end over the longer flap. Place this in the top third of the pillow. Now sew the side seams. Remove the pins. Turn right side out and slip the pillow in there. easy peasy! 

I'm happy with my new stuff!!

TV Room Mini Update

A while back I decided our upstairs tv room needed a quick makeover. My first idea was to add some color! Our sofa had a great tobacco color but the accent was a deep red, almost burgundy pattern. 




After stalking the fabric at JoAnn's for awhile I decided on a aqua/gray-brown design. 

My next idea was to "recover" the pillows. It was easy using a quilting needle. 

With new movie style wall accessories and new gaming chairs, it was done. 

 (This post was originally on Facebook. I'm migrating back here.)

Addicted To Throw Pillows

Hi, my name is Debra and I am a throw pillow addict.

I admit that not only do I feel the need to change throw pillows frequently, and I hoard fabrics for that purpose, and I stash pillows in my attic -- I also try to get others to join in my addiction. I am hopeless!

Here is a new thing I recently (did to serve my addiction) ahem -- came up with. Quick and Dirty New Throw Pillows!!

My little "behind your head when reading" pillows were showing dirt and wear so... I took two little pieces of an "end of the bolt" wonderful bargin fabric I had in the attic.

 Cutting the pieces just a little bit larger than the top piece of fabric, I simply folded it over at the edges and began to sew with my large turkey needle. I carefully grabbed a piece of the trim with each stitch and tried to keep the fabric right along that edge.

And here is my completed "new" throw pillow! I did one more for the other side of the couch too. (I love symmetry in my world) Bonus! Look closely at the largest pillow at the back and YES, I admit it, it is a Quick and Dirty Throw Pillow also. I used left-over fabric from the breakfast room chairs on the fronts of these pillows.

Happy sewing and best of luck with your home addictions.