apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

Skip the zipper and sew an envelope style flap at the back instead. Much, much, much easier.

ditto with the "envelope" idea..... zippers are expensive (at least for my affordability).

but i think you're pretty on track with everything else

Hi. Good luck with your pillows.

Just so you know, the purpose of washing your fabric is to shrink it before sewing. Or more accurately to see if it will shrink and remove the risk of it shrinking after assembly.

So you don't have to wash it, you can soak it in water, ring it out... and press it between towels before throwing it in the dryer. The dryer is the most important step!

Of course this only applies to machine washable fabric. if you are using a heavy upholstry fabric that will only be dry cleaned, don't bother.

As for sewing a zipper... if you've never done one before and you want one in your pillow... consider this simple process.>

Forgive me... I am assuming you haven't had much training in sewing so I'll explain the whole thing as if to a 7 year old. Please don't be offended!

Before sewing... decide on which end o the pillow you want the zipper. Using a basting stitch to sew that end together (like 7 stitches per inch) the zipper should be shorter than the length of the pillow... so say you have two inches on either side of the zipper.... sew a solid seam along those ends - you're going to rip out the basting stitch and leave the solid seams.
Now, iron that flat - so that both squares of the pillow are spread like wings, right side of the fabric face down, and the seam allowance is folded over right at the seam, as if parting your hair... ( right side will be revealed)
Place the zipper face down on the seam you have created and pin it in place. Now turn the project right side up.
Using your zipper foot sew right next to the seam you made down one side (about 1/4 inch) ... across the bottom and back up the other side.
Using a seam ripper, gently take out the basting stitch. Unzip the zipper at least two inches.

Now, put right sides together again and pin the three remaining edges together and sew. Now you can open the zipper and turn it right side out and Viola!!!

Hope it helps!
If you have more questions ask me at tascjpgs@yahoo.com

Just wanted to say that I love your fabric choices! I've secretly been wanting to put some pink in my bedroom (that I share with my boyfriend) for a while now so I can't wait to see how yours turns out :)

You can also blind stitch the 4th side of the pillow -- easier than a zipper but without the envelope-pillow look. (Which is nice, but is definitely a look.)

http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/el_handstittch.html

Laure, when you use new fabric - you jsut need to get it wet, let it sit in water for 20 minutes and then just iron on the dry setting - so no steam added - no need to wash and then dry and iron. The reason for getting it wet it's for fabrics that shrink like cotton - so you do not end up with a rectangular pillow instead of a square one. :-)

Using a sweing machine is like driving - keep your eye on the stitch and the fabric not on the other parts of the machine. And if this any consolation to you, even the esperienced seamstresses make mistakes once in a while. You undo it and start from square one. Good luck

oh - and one more recommendation. Sew the zipper first - then zip it up and with the inside out sew the other 3 sides ... I make clothes often and I find doing the zipper first saves me so much time. When I forget and do it later - it is a sure bet that I will make a mistake. Also if you get skirt zippers instead of pant zippers, you can sew them at the edge and then you don't even see the zipper- very professional looking :-)

Watch your fingers and don't sew straight through the middle of your finger nail and out the bottom of your finger tip and sit in the Kaiser ER for three hours with the broken off needle sticking out both ends of the wound like I did two weeks ago!

Thanks for the tutorial clickchick! Not offended in the least, I need basics! And Anusha73, love the idea for a skirt zipper (silly me didn't even know there was a difference.).

And finally, ARC: WHAT! I can't believe that happened, must have been so painful! Hope you're recovering well!

Thanks, it's almost back to normal except the nail. It hurt about the same as hitting it with a hammer would have, but it just looked so weird - like a fake Halloween rubber finger!

i've a beginner at sewing and i agree with the envelope pillow. just did a couple and probably took me 45 mins from start {cutting the fabric to size} to finish {fluff and throw on couch}. there's an awesome envelope pillow tutorial on curbly that i followed.

I am going to add to the chorus about envelope pillows: SKIP THE ZIP!

Whoah. The link to the Cherry Wall Flower Lotus at SewMaSew is disturbingly different than the fabric in your picture (on my screen, the link fabric is a bright orange). It brings up a good point that I forgot to make when I entered my January Jumpstart project--ordering swatches!! That's one of the reasons I decided to go with Fabric.com, they were the only place from which I could order swatches (it costs a few dollars, but they send a nice big piece--about 10x10). Maybe I'm especially picky, but ordering fabric online based on the color on your monitor seems crazy to me! I don't understand why more fabric stores online don't make swatches available.

Your fabric is adorable!

Now, go for it -- you can do it, and you'll be thrilled with yourself afterwards. We're all rooting for you.

Perfect timing-- I was planning to attempt to make my first pillow this weekend. This will be a good reference!

ARC-- that story made me throw up in my mouth a little. I'm glad you're okay.

pillows are a great way to get started with sewing, they're incredibly easy so don't let it intimidate you. my tip for your pillows is to plan on the finished pillow cover being 1" smaller than the insert you bought. that is of course if you like to nice overstuffed look.

nicolemari- you're not going crazy, that is a the red-version of the laure's pink fabric. It also comes in blue, green, and a lovely mustard yellow I plan to use for some seat cushions!

I love the fabric to the left! I must know who makes that and/or the name of it.