Hello there!

What a day! I was so excited about yesterday’s monogrammed pillow creation, that I got to thinking about all the different fabric options that I could use to make soft, feminine, dare I say “shabby chic” pillow covers.

I think I’ve unleashed a sleeping giant! Watch out!

As I was combing the treasures at this morning’s flea market, I found old fabric, like you see all over the place at these markets. I brought home several pieces, including a pillow case that feels as though it has been washed a thousand times, that I used for tonight’s project.

The front of the pillow is a 22″ square of pillow case fabric. (50 cents ) The back is approximately 22 x 27″. The back piece was made using a flour sack tea towel from Walmart. ($1 each). I cut the back piece in half, creating 2, 22×13 1/2″ pieces to form the back “pocket”. Finish the edges if necessary, so the edge of the pocket is clean.

Using extra material left over from the pillow case, I cut two strips of fabric, 4 inches wide. I sewed the two strips together (narrow ends) to make one long strip, long enough to make into a 22 inch long ruffle. I used pinking shears and didn’t finish the edges of the ruffle. I sewed down the center of the fabric, lengthwise, using a long stitch. By gently pulling one of the two threads at each end of the strip, you will cause the fabric to pucker and form a ruffle. Continue pulling the thread until you reach 22″ in length. Pin the ruffle onto the front of the pillow cover and sew in place. Sew down at the same stitch line that you used to create your ruffle in the first place. Now that it’s where you want it, you can so the back panels together with the front panel. Make sure you pin the fabric, with “right sides” facing each other. Sew the edges of the pillow cover with a half-inch seam. Trim the corners, turn it right side out, press and you’re ready to insert your pillow form! Voila!

As you can see, I added some random buttons that were in my button stash. They had a little bit extra fun to the pillow.

Trust me. If you can sew a straight line, you can handle this project. If I can do it, you can do it! The possibilities are endless and it’s a whole lot of fun!

I see more pillows in my future! How about you?

Cheers!,
Barbara