Playroom pillow makeover, part 2

I also whipped this up using leftover orange felt (from my old tootsie roll costume project, for those of you who remember that gem):

Unlike the ruffle pillow, this couldn't have been easier. I basically just followed steps 1, 7, 8, and 9 from the ruffle pillow tutorial, adjusting the measurements for this pillow form (and I didn't even do the sewing in step 7). Then I took fun oversized buttons and sewed them on the top flap. These aren't working buttons, because I don't know how to sew buttonholes (one of those things I'll learn later). This is true fakin' it. I also stuck some double-stick velcro under the flap just to help it keep its shape. I might sew the velcro to reinforce it later. And voila. This is a quickie project, like much less than an hour if you don't make any mistakes. And it cost me less than $2 since I only had to buy the buttons!

And here's a teaser for the next pillow project (not a quickie!!):

Ruffle pillow tutorial

Ok, so here's how I made that awesome ruffle pillow. First, I googled "ruffle pillow tutorial" and read several examples, then I adapted to meet my own needs. I still made several mistakes, which I will try to help you avoid with my helpful TIPS below. This is not the quickest project ever, but it's not really difficult, and it's so worth it!

Let me begin by apologizing: I thought I had been a lot better about taking pictures of all the steps than I actually was - sorry!!

I started with a pillow form, which is just a plain cotton pillow waiting for a slipcover. You can buy them at most craft or fabric stores. They are a lot easier, in my opinion, than stuffing a pillow yourself. Also, when you tire of the slipcover, it is easy to recover later. My pillow form measured 20" x 20". I wanted to cover it using red felt I had leftover from a previous project. I also wanted the cover to be removable for washing. Sooo...

Step 1: Pre-wash your fabric if there is any chance it will shrink. Cut 3 pieces of fabric.
    (a) One piece 21" x 21" (that's the 20x20 with 1/2" seam allowances)
    (b) One piece 10" x 21"
    (c) One piece 15" X 21"
    Piece (a) is the front, pieces (b) and (c) are the back.

Step 2: Cut strips of red felt for the ruffles. The length and widths of the strips will depend on the look you want. I cut 10 strips 2 inches wide and 36 inches long (if I remember correctly...). TIP: ONLY CUT ONE STRIP FIRST AND FOLLOW STEPS 3 AND 4 TO SEE IF YOU LIKE HOW IT LOOKS BEFORE CUTTING ALL YOUR STRIPS. If you have a rotary cutter and cutting mat, this is the perfect time to use it. If not, don't fret. It is ok to cut with scissors (I did). You won't see uneven edges once you gather the ruffles.

Step 3: Set your sewing machine to a normal straight stitch with the longest stitch length and low bobbin tension.

On my machine, I needed to turn this so that it was set to 6. I didn't (whoops), but I should have.

If you don't know how to adjust your tension, it will probably work to just do the long stitch length. Run a single long line of stitches down the center of each strip. Do not double back on the ends. You want the threads to hang free at the ends. 

I used white thread because I wanted the contrast.

 Step 4: Pull the bobbin thread only, which will begin to gather the ruffle. Gather until it is the width of your front piece (so in this case, 21"). You can play with the ruffles so the gather is even throughout. It's not crucial that it be perfect by any means.

 
TIP: Seriously, try this on just one strip first. Some threads are too weak and will break in step 4. If your bobbin runs out in the middle of the project, either replace it with the same thread or test the new bobbin thread to make sure it's strong enough.

Step 5: Pin the ruffles to the front piece, evenly spaced. The ends of the strips should come to the edges of the front piece. TIP: Use a lot of pins here. You don't want the ruffles sliding around while you sew in the next step.

Step 6: Adjust your stitch length to a medium length stitch. Stitch over the existing line of stitches up the middle of each ruffle. If you're using a thick fabric like I was, it can be hard for your machine. Don't worry about stitching EXACTLY on top of the old stitches, just be as close as possible. 

Action shot!

Step 7: On piece (b), fold over 2" on the long edge, iron, and sew. I sewed two lines of stitches for decoration (you can see it in the last pic later). You're piece will now be 8" x 21". (If you fabric is likely to fray, you might want to finish one edge of piece (c), too. I didn't need to with the felt.)

Step 8: Pin your pieces together thusly:
   (a) Lay your front piece down, ruffle side up.
        TIP: Pin back the two ruffles on the top and bottom edges so they don't get caught in the seam 
        in the next step.
   (b) Lay piece (b) on top of it, lining up the unfinished 21" edge to the top of the front piece.
         The "right" side should be facing down toward the ruffles. Or, in other words, the raw edge that you
         turned up and sewed should be facing up toward you.
   (c) Lay piece (c) on top of that, lining up an unfinished 21" edge to the bottom of the front piece.

Step 9: Sew all the way around all 4 sides. Tie off threads securely, and turn right side out. Tada!! You have a pillow cover!!

You can stop now. I decided to add a little decorative touch to the back. I cut two narrow strips of felt, folded in half the long way and sewed, and tacked them to the flap on the back. Then I added two cute buttons (they're paisley, you can't tell), and voila!

New project: Playroom makeover, part 1

I'm still here!

So because I can't commit to any one thing for long, I've gotten away from the gardening and have started making over the playroom. (I'm fairness, my seedlings are growing, and I'm waiting for my veggie garden class on 4/2 before finishing the garden makeover. But also, I have a severe case of project ADD.) The playroom before was fine, but once new baby comes, we need it to double as a guest room for when my parents visit. The twin-sized futon we had in there before was not going to cut it. My parents aren't that into snuggling.

So here's what we're starting with: An awesome queen-sized futon with super nice mattress that we scored off craigslist for $80, plus the free table next to it courtesy of grandpa:

Ignore the mess. We're mid-makeover, remember.

 The futon is in great shape, but the cover doesn't scream "fun kid's room!!!"

Hi, I'm neutral.

Also, a pile of throw pillows from apartments past:

The motif of the room is going to be based off the circle lights I hung (gotta love a house with no recessed lighting at all...), plus the red ceiling that was there when we moved in:

On a side note, that red ceiling apparently used to extend into other parts of the house. Yet every wall was beige. Like the most boring non-offensive-non-interesting-bore-you-to-tears beige. Weird, right? The playroom is also beige, but I don't have the time or inclination to repaint right now. A different time.

Anywho, so bright colors and circles are our themes. To that end, we ordered a bright blue futon cover, and I started sewing new pillow covers for the throw pillows (all of which are just pillow forms I covered previously). Here is my first product (and a teaser of the new futon cover):

Can I just tell you how much I love it?!?! And it was so easy. Errr, rather, it would have been easy, except I always make projects ten times harder than they have to be by making dumb mistakes. I'm not really a good sewer (as in one who sews, not as in the place where rain runoff goes), but I fake it. Hence the name of the blog, right? But the next one will be super easy. I'll post a tutorial in a different post (or if the suspense is killing you, just google "ruffle pillow tutorial").

Hopefully I'll get this done before I get distracted again. Although we did have the contractor out to give us a quote on starting the front yard makeover today, so chances of distraction are high to very high...

My shame tree

Ok, I confess, it's January 9, and we just took down the Christmas tree today. And all the decorations are still boxed up in my living room, not yet moved to the garage. And I probably wouldn't have finished it tonight, except my father-in-law is coming over for breakfast, and I didn't want one more person seeing my shame tree.

So perhaps 2011 isn't starting off with the big bang of motivation I hoped for. (Not that we should be surprised - this is ME we're talking about here.)

Here's my problem, blogland. My should-do/want-to-do list is long, really long, and I have a raging battle going on in my wee head: do I do the thing I should do, or the thing I want to do? Do I act like a responsible adult, or do I enjoy my life? Such a tough call. The top two things on my list are:

(1) SHOULD DO: Rewrite the article I wrote based on my doctoral dissertation. The original article I wrote was rejected (though nicely) by the first journal to which I sent it. Now I really need to revamp the whole thing and send it out to a different journal. The clock for this is ticking. I am planning on quitting my job this summer, and I really want to get this loose end tied up by then, so I'd need to get this sent in soon to get the ball rolling on the (potentially long and painful) publication process.

(2) WANT TO DO: Slip cover the chairs in my room. The upholstery is wrecked from when the dogs used to sleep on them, and also one dumb dog used one of the chairs as a chew toy...2 or 3 years ago. These are, akin to my shame tree, my shame chairs.

I KNOW the right answer is to get the article out of the way first. Buuuuut, I don't wanna. I just don't wanna. But ok, you've convinced me, dear readers (I can hear you saying, "Just do the damn article!" - especially you, Elena and Erin). I'll do the damn article. Sigh.

My ego can't afford to add a shame article to the pile.