Ruffle n’ Lace Pillow Tutorial

I’m likin’ the Shabby Chic-ish look right now, and am incorporating a lot of white into elements of my home.

Today I made this pillow for my couch…

Or bed…

I suppose the fun will be interchanging them with my moods.

On that note, here’s the “how to”…sorta.

NOTE:  Using a sewing machine is the fastest way to do this, and necessary for gathering.  There are several steps where you can use Fabric glue, but you have to wait for it to dry and that could take forever.  Be adventurous and plug in that machine!

When I mention fabric glue, this is what I prefer:

This is a needle and thread:

I just felt the need to keep things balanced there.

I didn’t think to take photos until I got to the little fabric flowers, but I can talk you through the pillow, because really it is easy smeasy. Shmeasy. Shmeezie? 

I had a blue pillow from my stuffy old color scheme.

I pulled out the stitches and saved the fabric to add to my ever growing collection of “I’m gonna do something with that” stuff.  This left me with a perfectly good pillow form.

From my incredibly ridiculous amount stash of white fabric scraps, I cut 2 pieces 20x20.  Because that’s how big my pillow form is.  Um, yup. I kinda forgot the whole “seam allowance thing”…good thing the form is squishyish.

I cut 5 strips of white fabric from some old curtains ~ two of them I cut from the edges, so they already had a nice seam!  Yay.

On the other two I hemmed the edge and bottom.  Don’t pin, don’t iron, just fold and stitch.  This is easy stuff here.

Using your largest stitch, sew across the top twice, about 2/8 inch apart, to make threads for pulling up gathers.

Tie the strings together at one end.  Pulling from the top two threads at the other end, pull up the gathers until it is about 1 1/4 inches smaller than your pillow fabric.

Pin this ruffle close to the bottom, leaving 1/2 inch for your seam on the bottom and sides.  Stitch in place.

Repeat for the other 3 ruffles ~ no measuring for placement needed.  Just make sure they lay across the top of the previous ruffle enough to cover the “gathering stitches”.

Once they have all been stitched on, lay a piece of pretty lacy or trim along the top edge and stitch in place to secure.  NOTE:  Here is an example of a place you could use fabric tac if you wanted.

Now, lay your plain pillow piece on top of the one you just “ruffled”.  Pin all around, but leave almost the whole bottom open, just sew around the corner an inch or so.  Stich a 1/2 inch seam all around.  Trim corners and turn.  Pop your pillow form inside and snug it up to the corners.

Look at your pretty pillow!  Sure is cute, but it could use a little sunthin up in that corner, dontcha think?

How about we make some fabric flowers?

Go grab some more white fabric, or maybe you want to use a colored fabric here.  I am using piece cut from an old shirt. 

I did one flower with fabri-tac, and two flowers with needle and thread.  Why two with needle?  Because it was just faster and easier.  So, that is what I’m gonna recommend.

Cut three strips ~ no fussy measuring, it doesn’t matter how perfect hey are.  2-3 inches wide, and at least a foot long or so.

Fold in half, but don’t iron, keep that folded edge soft.

Turn corner down like this.

Crinkle up a bit for the “center of the flower”. 

IF you are using fabri tac, squeeze a little dab here and there as you go and pinch in place.

IF you are using needle and thread, take up, simple stitches to keep things in place, nothing fancy, no worries.

Kind of tuck the fabric in and attach it as you curl it around your “center”, folding a bit and squishing it up like this.

Keep going until you get to the end, fold down that last corner, and stitch or glue in place.  Voila!

Now, IF you used the glue, you need to let it set up. I wrapped it in a hair band I had layin’ on my sewing table.  Remind me not to put that in my hair, eh?

If you stitched you are ready to move on.

Take a piece of scrap cardboard and pop it inside your pillow to keep the fabri tac from getting on the form inside.

Decide where you want your flowers.

Spread some fabri tac and position your flowers.

Now look what you made in just 3 days 2 hours!

Happy Crafting and have a beautiful day!

Don’t forget to visit my new Facebook page The Bluebirds Nest!!

 

Tip Me Tuesday... (a repost)

I have searched high and low for the "perfect" tiered cupcake/cake/dessert server.  I didn't want a cardboard one, I didn't want a plastic one, I wanted glass or crystal.  I found a 3 level one that I liked, the pieces sat on top of eachother, so that made it easy to store, but the space between them was not enough to put cupcakes that were well decorated in there.


Hmmm, what to do?  Well, of course the answer is... Make it yourself Kathy! :)


So, I went hunting...around my house, inside the buffet, on top of the fridge, inside the hutch, I also hunted the thrift store.  I had a large clear glass serving dish on my fridge that is seldom used, (because I can't see it up there).  I found two clear glass plates at goodwill for a whopping .69 cents each...woo-hoo!  Love cheap stuff!


I had a drawer full of crystal and glass candle holders that I NEVER use....and I had a precious, adorable small cake tier that I was willing to sacrifice to get what I want, lol.


So, here is what I did. 

(The final product at a Baby Shower)

NOTE:  If you have no desire to make this but would like to see the final product, scroll WAY down to the last photo. :)

FIRST, I searched the internet, because I had no idea what to do. 

I found out that all I needed was a good "glass glue"...several were listed.  Hubby picked up a 5 minute Epoxy for me that works on glass.


I stacked everything the way I wanted it, trying out various separaters at different levels until it was just right.
I thorougly washed, rinsed and dried all the pieces to be used.  Make sure you rinse them GOOD, you do not want any soap residue to interfere with the glue adhering.


Next, I made paper templates for each plate size so that I could find the exact middles...

I had to tape several sheets of paper togehter for the larger plates...

Cut out a circle the exact size of each plate...

Fold it perfectly in half...

Press the crease to make it sharp...

See how nice and sharp it is? :)  Now, open it up and...

Fold it in the other direction, lining up the crease to itself to  make a perfect cross mark in the center...

Again, press the crease in this direction...

Now, open it out and draw a plus mark in the center where they meet...

Do this to all of your paper templates...

Place your plate on the circle... I put mine upside down so I could line up the edges...

Make sure it is perfectly centered...

With a THIN permanent marker, make a teensy tiny little X by standing DIRECTLY over the center of the plate.  If you do this at an angle, it won't be in the middle.  You are marking the center of the plate.

See my tiny mark?

See how tiny it really is?  You want it small so it isn't visible when it's all said and done...My platets are not perfectly flat, but they are "almost" flat.  If you can find perfectly flat ones, that's best for cupcakes, but those with a slight curved edge are fine for any other hors d' oeurves (did I spell that even close correct?), veggies, fruits, etc...

This is the glue my hubby found for me.  It worked perfectly and he got it at Lowe's Home Improvement.

I have no idea why I felt the need to show you the back... ?

5 minute epoxy dries quick (in minutes actually, lol)...so mix only a little bit and do a plate or two at a time working quickly, but CAREFULLY!!  Apply just as much as you need to cover the edge, not too much or it will goop out...a little bit goes a long way.

This is the base of the main plate, I am putting all three of these on the bottom, just like this, so they all need to have glue applied to them at once.  These are candle holders I bought 700 years ago and never used...

This is the candle holder I am using to separate the bottom plate from the next plate.  It allows enough room for cupcakes to be placed on the tier without smushing them. :) ... I'm pretty sure this one was never used either...but if you don't have any, they are super cheap new (about $1.00) and only about .60 cents at a thrift store.

When the glue has been applied, immediately center your plate on the holder (see my little x?).  Press it into place...

Though it probably wasn't necessary since glass has weight, we decided to weigh them down while they "set up".  The epoxy dries in 5 minutes, but it shouldn't be "handled" for an hour. So we waited an hour before stacking all our tiers.

This wait time allows your husband to use the plates as landing pads for his helicopter...

Nice. :)

When you choose your pieces, be sure that the bottom of your plates will lay perfectly flat on the "stand" you choose.  You don't want a bumpy or wavy edge, as this could prevent if from being securely attached.

After 1 hour, we applied glue to the bottom of the candle sticks (not the very bottom ones though...we didn't want it secured to the table!).  I carefully lined up the centers as best I could, and weighted it with a bag of flour (wheat for extra weight, LOLOL).  Then we went to bed...

When I woke up the first thing I did (even before coffee!) was check it out.  Hubby was the first to lift it up and tilt it, carefully placing his hand underneath incase something fell off.  Every piece is secure and cemented in place... Isn't it pretty?  It's exactly what I wanted, and the cost was an incredible bargain!

Your turn!  What are you creating?

Have a blessed day!

Kathy C.