Other than sporadic curtain hemming, I haven’t touched my sewing machine much over the last two years. So I took some baby steps towards more sewing by churning out two pillows last week.
I don’t know if you’ve noticed but Hmong pillows are having a good run in the design world. I jumped on that wagon a while back when I bought a Hmong lumbar cover for Mabrey’s room. Since then, I’ve purchased two more Hmong pillow covers. I love their imperfect tribal patterns, rich colors and the history behind them. I thought it would be fun to make a few for the boys’ room. This simple project was the perfect way to ease back into (hopefully more) sewing.
Hmong fabric tends to come in narrow widths which makes it ideal for lumbar or bolster pillows and even table runners. I purchased my fabric here and it was about 12″ wide and roughly 8′ long. I decided to make two lumbar pillows. I bought two 12″ x 20″ down pillow inserts to accommodate the 12″ width of my fabric.
FYI – Just in case you don’t already know…pillow covers should measure an inch or two smaller than their respective inserts for a nice plump pillow.
There are a million and one tutorials out there for envelope pillows so I won’t bore you with another. I loosely followed this tutorial with a few tweaks to fit the measurements of my lumbar inserts. The only cuts I had to make were lengthwise (the 12″ width was perfect!) and I had two finished pillows in less than fifteen minutes. FIFTEEN MINUTES. And that includes the time it took me to set up and thread my machine. The main thing to keep in mind is that you want an overlap of 5″ or so on the back of the cover so your insert doesn’t bulge out of the opening. Also, right sides facing in when you’re sewing.
I’m happy with how they turned out. I spent about $34 on each pillow – cover + insert. It isn’t pennies but it’s definitely affordable when you consider most quality Hmong pillow covers (inserts NOT included) run upwards of $50.
I tossed the new pillows on the bunk in the boys’ room but they could work just about anywhere. They would make great travel pillows, too.
I have a small scrap of fabric leftover from this project. I’m itching to make something with it. I might just have to bust out my sewing machine again. Whoa, baby steps. Setting the damn thing up is usually the rate-limiting step for me. Then I realize I don’t have any thread on my bobbin and I’m ready to quit before I’ve even started. How long has it been since you fired up the ol’ sewing machine? Are you working on any sewing projects?
images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking
budget decor, DIY