Tuesday, May 24, 2011

flower pillow form cover

Do you remember THIS tutorial where I showed you how to make your own pillow form?

Well, we are going to cover that baby today with this:
Do you have an item of clothing hiding in the depths of your closet that you just can't bear to give away?
I've only had this problem one time.

With this Banana Republic sweater...
I know, it doesn't seem like much, but this was the sweater I was wearing when Mr. Wilson asked me to marry him.

I think it originally came from my sister's closet...years ago, but since no one wears it anymore...I decided to make a great use of it and make a pillow for my new room.


Now I can enjoy it everyday instead of hiding it away!

What you will need...
Your pre-made pillow form using THIS tutorial
(I'm working from a circular pillow form, 11.5 inches in diameter)
an old sweater or approximately 3/4 yrd. of fabric
scissors
sewing machine
needle
thread


I started by deconstructing my sweater.
Just cut on or close to all the seams.

Now, I grabbed the same plate I used for my pillow form pattern and traced it on one side of my sweater...then, cut.

Now you have the front of your pillow case.
For the back, I like to have two overlapping pieces so I can easily remove it and throw it in the wash.

Since my pillow form is 11.5 inches in diameter, I needed to cut two semicircles that measured 7 inches from the straight edge to the rounded edge. When you overlap the straight edges you then will get a full circle 11.5 inches in diameter to match the circle from the front of your pillow.

I know, a little complicated, but if I can do it...you can do it!
I like to strategically place the straight edge of my semicircles to include the bottom hem of my sweater...like this:
(I used 12 minutes to measure and cut out these three pieces)

Now that we have the pieces to our actual pillow form cover,
let's work on our cute embellishment!

I cut out a petal shape I liked on a piece of card stock measuring 2.5 inches at the widest point and 2.5 inches from bottom to tip.
Then, I traced it 42 times.
(I used 12 minutes to trace my petal pattern)

Then I cut out all those petals!
(I used 22 minutes to cut)
Now sit down at that sewing machine with your pile of petals.
You are going to take each petal -at the bottom- and fold it in thirds. Then send it through the machine. Here is a close up of the folded bottoms:
Send all those 42 petals through.
I didn't cut any threads between the petals, just to save myself some time. In doing so I created quite the cute garland:

(I used 12 minutes to sew the petals)
Set aside your petals and use some of your extra fabric to cut out three leaves.

I wanted mine to be three slightly different leaves so I traced the shapes I wanted on the back of the fabric and cut.
They are all 4-5 inches in length.
(I used 3 minutes to cut leaves)
Cut 19 petals from your petal garland (keep them connected to each other) and the front of your pillow cover...the circular shape...and lay out your petals to form a flower shape on the right side of the fabric.
This will make it easier to place you leaves.
Find a place next to your soon-to-be flower where those leaves look best and pin them in place.
Now, take away the petals and sew around the edge of each leaf, leaving about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch around the edge. Then a small vine in the center. Like this:
Do the same with your other 2 leaves.
(I used approximately 12 minutes to sew the leaves on)

Now, put those 19 petals back on (they should still be connected - this will save you sooo much time).
Pin them where you like them and sew.

(This took approximately 2 minutes and 30 seconds)

Repeat with the second and third layers of petals.
Second layer contains 13 petals and the third layer contains 9 petals.
(this took approximately 6 minutes and 30 seconds)
Now, you should have something that looks like this:
For the center of my flower, I used a small piece from the edge of the sleeve measuring 9 inches long by 1.5 inches wide.
I then cut 7 petal shapes similar to the other petals I cut...but I did NOT separate them.
Just like this:
Then I sewed on the dotted line...making sure to NOT back stitch
At this point, there are two threads hanging from your sewn piece of fabric.
One, you will be able to pull on and one, you won't.
Pull on the one you can and your fabric will gather up...like this:

(I used approximately 3 minutes to cut, sew and gather this center piece)

Place it in the middle of your flower to make sure it will fit correctly.
Then, pin it in place and HAND sew...right on top of that dotted line I marked earlier. (I couldn't fit the flower under my machine to reach the center.)
Make sure the bottom of that last piece gathers together to make a nice center.
(I used approximately 4 minutes and 30 seconds to hand stitch the center.)
Now your final step will be to put the back on. Grab your semi-circles and pin (right sides together) on top of your flower.

This picture only shows one semi-circle...make sure to layer the other semi-circle on top of the one picture and pin both in place...lining up the rounded edges with the edges of your circular front pillow piece.
Run through the sewing machine making sure to not catch any of your petals in the needle!
Turn right side out and put on top of that pillow form...
then admire your handy work!
(It takes approximately 4 minutes and 30 seconds to finish)
I'm in love....what do YOU think?!?!

All together it took me 95 minutes for this project from start to finish...but I didn't have time to do it all in one sitting so I accomplished it one little step at a time over the course of 3 days.

57 comments:

Anonymous said...

What a great idea to repurpose a special sweater that way! I absolutely love this pillow!
Alissa

Wright Fine Design said...

This is gorgeous... you are extremely creative..just awesome

Anonymous said...

Wow! I love it! I just got done making pillows for my couch. I am thinking about making some for my room now...and this one is definitely inspiring. I will have to come back to this one! Thanks for sharing!

Wanda said...

I am so impressed with your talents.

ShannonSews said...

Very pretty! I LOVE the details and texture - turned out beautifully!

Unknown said...

The pillow is so cute and such a special way to repurpose a meaningful sweater! I love it!

Laura @ Come Together Kids

Sara said...

I think this is so beautiful!!

Heart n Soul said...

wow...so creative!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

I LOVE this pillow. It is GORGEOUS! I am featuring it today at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com. Grab my "Featured" button.

ContentEwe said...

Wow! What a great idea!

Dr Sonia S V said...

Lovely project

Lindsay Haynie said...

that is beautiful. Thank you for the tutorial, it makes it seem easy enough for me to try!

Jo-Anna@APrettyLife said...

Wow this is gorgeous!
Jo-Anna

Kara said...

This is just beautiful! Thanks so much for taking the time to make the tutorial. I can't wait to give it a try!

Emily S said...

Seriously, I LOVE this. If you ever get bored and want to make another one, you can always send it my way. I wouldn't mind :)

Emily
Deviantly Domesticated
http://stephaniehillberry.com

Unknown said...

This is so cute! Great job.

Anne said...

Beautiful pillow! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-flower-throw-pillow-from-an-old-sweater/2011/05/27/

--Anne

Tee said...

OMG times 10. This pillow is marvelous and I will be giving it a try as soon as I find the right sweater.

Pink Princess said...

THIS is so cute, love it. You can indeed use up any old favorite sweater this way. Thanks for the very clear tutorial ♥

Hugs from Marian

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous project, thank you for the tutorial. I really love how you put down how long each step took. That really helps when you only have a little time to spare.

Red pillows said...

Very well done! I love it! The pillow looks so great!

OddSox aka Thesockgarden said...

It's lovely - I'm definitely putting this on my 'future makes' list. I have lots of woollen items that were given to me for projects so they'll come in handy for this. x

Carol said...

I have a sweater that belonged to the father of my dear sister-in-law. He passed away 1 year ago in June. I felted it and have been waiting for the perfect item to make for her to have it as a keepsake of her dad. This is sent from heaven - I will start tonight! Thank you SO much.

Theresa C. Eldridge said...

I absolutely love this! Thank you so much for sharing!!! I am going to post a link to your page on my blog!!

Meggie said...

Um... FABULOUS!

Elizabeth J. said...

AWESOME IDEA!! What a cool way to treasure that special sweater!!! I was wearing a junky old t-shirt and jeans when the Mr. proposed to me! LOVE your pillow. Can't wait to see how it fits in your new room!!!!

mumbai flowers delivery said...

Such pretty flowers...great job on them. I'm always looking for new ideas on flowers...

Anonymous said...

I have been saving a pink sweaatshirt for almost 20 years now because was my favorite for years and now I know what I'm going to do with it. Thanks for the amazing pattern! Janna

Avry said...

I am in love with this!! Going to have to make myself one!

cherished bliss said...

I just love how this turned out! I hope you will share at my party : )

http://www.cherishedbliss.com/2011/06/craft-and-tell-no-11-and-features.html

jess@balancing the dream said...

you have way more patience than i do!! but SERIOUSLY...the hard work pays off!! this looks amazing!! Thanks for sharing! I'm pinning this!

Maggie Lamarre said...

amazing amaxing pillow, great way to recycle older clothes...

oooh i luv luv the colours you have chosen...

Don’t forget to join our party by visiting us at
http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/2011/06/2011-4th-of-july-celebration-menu-from.html
Thanks
Maggie
http://passionatelyartistic.com

Sherrie said...

What a great tutorial, thanks for sharing. I love recycling,reusing &reducing, finding uses for things we would normally throw out...
So to find a use for your sweater that you don't wear any more is such a fabulous idea...
Sherrie from Simpleliving :)

Simone said...

I love it! Its a great idea!

greatings from germany

Simone

Anonymous said...

WOW!!!!!!!!!! Really Great!!!!!!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!!!!!!!!! :)))))))))

Unknown said...

Nossa! Essa idéia é ma-ra-vi-lho-sa! Vou fazer a minha e depois lhe mostro! Obrigada por compartilhar. Bjo, leíse.

Bethany @ A Fish Who Likes Flowers said...

Your pillow is beautiful! I will definitely have to give this a try. Thanks for showing me how!

SewChrissy said...

Really Like this! What a great idea!
Thank you
Chrissy
sewchrissy.blogspot.com

Marcie @ DWYH said...

Thanks for sharing at Unwasted Homemaking Linkup, you will be featured on this weeks party!

Mel Creates Often said...

Great pillow! You make it sound and look easy. I'm a new follower from Your Whims Wednesday. Please stop by mine, if you get a chance. I have a blog hop going right now.

http://www.meldreamsoften.com

Unknown said...

Found you from VWB's talent tuesday, I LOVE this!

Rebecca @ My Girlish Whims said...

Hey I featured this on my blog tonight! Come check it out and grab a button :) http://mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/2011/08/your-whims-wednesday-18-and-features.html

Sara Richins said...

Love it! I really need to get a working sewing machine as well as some practice. There are so many projects like this I want to try!

Lu Holthausen said...

Beautiful, love....
look: http://lusetons.blogspot.com/2011/08/almofadas-que-vao-alem.html

Andrea @ Sew Divertimento said...

Great job! I have a ton of sweaters that I can't get rid of.... now I know what to do with them!

Make handmade said...

So cute pattern, great tutorial! i like it very much. i will make it... thanks for sharing

Unknown said...

That is gorgeous! I love that it has sentimental value and the tutorial was AWESOME. Featuring this tonight!

Très Julie said...

Thank You so much for sharing this!!!
Greetings from Hamburg, Germany,
Julia

Leticia Terrazas said...

Thank you so very much for sharing this pattern with the world. You made it look so easy.

Kristina said...

Just gorgeous :)

two little chefs said...

Lovely, love it!

Sharon Field / Inky A*Muse-ment said...

Wow! This pillow is amazing! LOL, makes me want to start cutting up my sweaters!

Brandi said...

You're pillow is so pretty!

Aparna Jain said...

Wao what a great idea! I am going to make this for sure! Thank you so much!

Claudia said...

Ficou belíssima!
Tenho um Blog sobre meio ambiente e nele divulgo muitos trabalhos com reciclagem de materiais. Estou divulgando esta linda almofada que você fez.

Abraço

Anonymous said...

This is terrific! You are very talented. Thank you for making such a useful tutorial -- I'm going to make one -- and maybe more.... These would make beautiful gifts!

Unknown said...

Why doesn't it unravel?

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