Create a New Pillow from Vintage Fabrics and Doily

I sometimes get so busy making 'stuff', that I forget to either take photos or talk about it. I'm SOOO not a writer, but love my right brain, artistic tendencies! I could make things all day, all night, and really never sleep. Except, I love sleep!! ;)I recently made this pillow for a class sample, using a random vintage block that I'm sure I picked up in a pile of other things at an antique shop. I did a quick sew on my domestic machine, just to put on an extra border and some rick-rack. The rest was done directly on the longarm.I'll take you through my steps and we'll start from laying it out on the longarm.  I've used a piece of muslin for the backing since it really won't be seen when finished.I used a tatted coaster for the middle. I had recently picked up a set of these and just LOVE the tatted edges. I start by using channel locks to square the piece on the longarm, horizontally and vertically. Makes for a great square 'canvas' to work inside. ***If you spritz a bit of regular water on your small piece, it can easily be manipulated and directed where to stretch!***I use my favorite rulers for stitching lines. It's also a great ditch stitching ruler, due to its length and slim width. Fits my hand great, as do my other rulers you can see on the order page.I like the grid stencils that Dorie Hruska sells and I always use a blue, water soluble pen to make my marks.*** Don't let these get heat set or "sunshine" set before you remove them. My favorite mix is 1 cup of ice cold water with 1 heaping teaspoon of baking soda. Put this in a spray bottle and remove marks. They shouldn't reappear.***Once I had the quilting done on the front, I needed to quilt a backing. I like to use vintage tea towels or tablecloths for backing. Uses them up and they keep the piece in the era.

From this, to that!

I made my life easy and used a digitized computer design for an all over pattern. Stitched up in less than 5 minutes! I have a new, Handi Quilter Forte with Prostitcher computer, an upgrade from my 5 year old Fusion. Loved my Fusion, but maybe love the Forte more!My favorite type of pillow is an envelope pillow. I'll pop along the photos for a brief look at the process. Try looking for a YouTube video, I'm sure there are many!

I split the piece in half (it began about 4-5" wider than my pillow top)

I turned under both edges for a finished edge, machine stitched.

Then overlap these two edges about 2-3".

At this point you simply lay the right sides together, adjusting your backing to be the same size as your pillow top.

Take this sandwich of pillow top and back, pin the two halves together, and sew around the entire perimeter. You'll be able to turn the pillow inside out by using the opening in the middle.

I also stitched 1" inside the perimeter to have a nice flange around the pillow.

Here's a flat look at the finished product! I usually make a stuffed muslin pillow specifically for the inside, using leftover batting scraps. Each pillow finishes in different sizes, so makes me not conform to specific pillow forms. This pillow is about 20" square.

Here is the super cute backing!

So there you have it! Let me know if you have any questions, I'm always happy to help or guide you. I just love making things like this from forgotten or tossed out vintage parts and pieces. I always think someone is looking down and smiling over my shoulder. Have a great week folks!