Week 44: Pillow Covers

 I have NOT been feeling crafty lately.  Sometimes I happily juggle 5 or 6 crafts at a time, eager to work on them with every free second.  Other times all I can do is stare at my sewing machine and pile-o-half-finished-projects with disgust. This is one of those times. 

I blame it on the fact that all of the projects I should be focusing on are LONG and time consuming, and some of them are boring (I may puke the next time I sit down to add ruffles to the stupid shower curtain I've been working on FOREVER). 

Also I've been feeling slightly under the weather.  Maybe that's it. 

But tonight, I forced my self up to tackle a short little job that would allow me a gold star in the craft-a-week column, without too much time and sweat.  In fact, I got this project done, while doing the dishes and folding laundry (I was sharing the sewing machine) in about an hour. 

 I made some pillow covers to cover this disgusting garage sale find, and his equally hideous twin.  I'm sure the people we bought them from are lovely and clean, but that doesn't make we want to lean my face on their cast-off pillows.

I started by cutting up the left overs from a garage sale curtain that we used to cover our dining room chairs and bench. It's such a nice neutral color, as well as being a super soft velour(?).

I cut three pieces for each pillow: 

• one the size of the pillow with an extra inch on each side for seam allowance. 
• and two that were the pillow's width (plus 1), but only 2/3 of the height. (The two shorter pieces in the back are going to be a fold over opening so I don't have to sew on a zipper.  I HATE zippers.)

For the two shorter pieces, I cut so that one of the width sides was the side of the curtain so that it was already hemmed. 

 Then I got real busy, and forgot to take pictures. Sorry. 

To sew, I started by attaching the three pieces so that they made one long panel: short piece, long piece, short piece. (Of course, sew with right sides together, making 2 seams, one connecting each piece.)

Next I folded one of the short pieces onto the longer piece (right sides facing) and sewed down the sides to make part of the pillow's side seams.  It wont reach all the way to the end, but it isn't supposed to.

Now fold over the other short piece and sew those side seams.  It should cover the opening that the first short piece left, and again only make it 2/3 of the way to the other end.  

Flip. Insert pillow.

 That was a bunch of jumbled garbage that only one who can read my mind or studies how pillow covers are made (like me) would understand.  Sorry.  Does the picture above help? This is the back of the finished pillow.  See the opening? Should I do some more pillow making and actually take some pictures?  Should I do some diagramming?  It's too late for tonight, but maybe tomorrow...

 Anyway, thank God for clean and pretty pillows I can get cozy with. 

And for a project I could do in an hour. 

Score!

Total time and cost:

Time: 1 hour

Cost:

Pillows:$0.50

Curtain: Left overs 

Total: 50 cents!