Monday, May 20, 2013

...How to make a little envelope back pillow...

...we had been using the new bed (of course) since Christmas...we bought sheets but not a comforter because I was planning on making one (also of course)...so we just had a hodgepodge of mismatched quilts...not the right size at all...just sort of overlapped on the bed...and they kept falling off because they didn't cover the entire bed...

...so I started gathering my scraps of cloth to make a big king sized quilt for the new bed...and as I did so I kept finding things that I had saved and always intended to use for a quilt...more about that later...
...but...one of the items in the bin was this piece of embroidery...from our first year of marriage...it's our two initials intertwined and held together by a sort of medieval looking sword...don't really know what I was thinking when I designed that...but it was for the cover to our wedding album...and was stitched onto a piece of fabric left over from my wedding gown...that my Mom made...photo here...
...so I cut the piece in two...and kept the back square for the quilt to be...and decided to use the embroidered square as a little accent pillow for the new bed...thinking I probably should have done this years ago...instead of just keeping it in a box...
...first I needed a pillow of the right size...so I just used some more of the leftover sheers to make a small pillow...
...nothing too difficult...I just sewed a square...
...and stuffed it...
...the envelope is created by folding over two pieces and overlapping them...
...so I cut two rectangles the same on three sides as the embroidered square and on the overlapping side about 1/3 again as much...
...then you just fold those over...
...and iron...
...the two folded edges will become the center opening of the pillow...
...lay them one on top of the other...
...then pin the embroidered piece to the two back pieces right sides together...and stitch all the way around...
...you'll be able to turn the pillow right side out through the center envelope opening...
...back view...
...front view...
...then just slip your pillow into the opening...
...and you're done...I was surprised how well the little pillow matched the sofas in the family room...oh well...that's not where it's going...

~Have a lovely day!

5 comments:

  1. How cute--it's like a family crest. Love it!

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  2. What a romantic you are - it's the way to be!

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  3. Hmmm that reminds me of something you gave me of the same vintage. I'll have to find it up in the attic! Love, k

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  4. i love envelope back pillows!

    fyi - make sure you make enough overlap for the envelope, otherwise, if your pillow insert is too fluffy, it will pull your closure open and not look so nice . . . (speaking from experience here . . . )

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