{burlap and ruffles}

I am a lover of {pillows}. Toss pillows, small or large are generally an inexpensive way to dress up a sofa, change up a bed or soften a porch swing.




Today I made this luscious beauty!
The added touch of silky {peonies} was such a lovely contrast to the burlap.

Recently I made these two pillows for a friend of mine ... I loved the mix of burlap and muslin, but wanted a pop of something a bit {dressier} for my own pillow ...

... on my newest pillow, the ruffles of shabby white muslin give the flowers so much added punch ...

 ... by extending the burlap over the end on the back side of the pillow and adding long tie closures the pillow has lots of extra {ruffly fluff} at one end ... which I {love} ...

... the floral center of the pillow is bordered with a vintage gauze like trim in a {fold-and-pleat} style ...

... the mix of textures is a great love of mine. The coarse burlap combined with soft muslin and a silky fabric just makes me want to reach out and touch it ...

... one day while I was in a fabric store I grabbed a bunch of this wonderful {silky} material. I am kicking myself for not making a note of what it actually was, because I know it was NOT silk. The price tag alone told me that. I think it may have been some sort of liner material. Whatever it was I love it and I will be hunting for more.

... the burlap was a different color. I usually gravitate to the natural brown color, but this day I found a shade just between brown and green. Not quite olive. It was lighter, interesting ...

... I am thinking of making a few more pillows similar to this to coordinate. They would make a beautiful {trio} on the sofa ... maybe one or two for the loveseat as well ...

... I used a candle to melt the edges of my {peonies} ...

... I love the way it makes some flowers darker and a bit shinier on the edges. It gives them character, much as you would see in nature ...

... one thing that I didn't really love about this project - sewing with burlap on my newish sewing machine. Those little hairs and loose weave make for quite a mess! 

... enjoy !

{ I will be linking this up to some great parties here}

{sweet dreams}

 This sweet pillow cover was made using a pair of vintage style tea towels.

After ironing them I stamped a series of floral motifs in the center of one towel.

Just a quick stitch up the sides and bottom and it was a cinch to slip a standard size pillow inside.

I finished it off with a bow that was easily added using the exiting  hanging loops on the tea towel.

 

Vintage Needlework Pillow

When a friend of mine received this awesome piece of vintage needlework for her birthday we all looked at it and said "pillow!" She had just finished her guest bedroom makeover and the vintage piece fit in with the color scheme perfectly. Take a look at the end result. Super sweet & SIMPLE!

I will try to link this up to some of my favorite parties this week, here! 

Collecting materials for the pillow was easy! We used muslin for the backing (it matched the color of the needlework fabric the best and seemed to be almost the same weight) and some old sheets that had this to die for ruffled edging...

 ...the piece of vintage needlework measured just shy of 18 x 18, which couldn't have been more perfect.

One of the standard pillow forms you can purchase is 18 x 18 inches exactly...

Using the square piece of needlework for a template, I cut the muslin for the backing, adding extra for the seam allowance. Then I cut the ruffled edge off of the sheets...

...Next I pinned the ruffle, needlework and backing all together. ( I cut my muslin to allow for a tuck in flap on the reverse side of the pillow...sorry I forgot to take a photograph of this.) Here are some photographs BEFORE I added a little something SWEET & SIMPLE!

..Lastly, I wanted to add a little dimension...( I just have too! ) ...and since I LOVE shabby flowers, I made one using some pretty white on white floral fabric and some beautiful, wispy organza I had in my stash. A touch of muslin to make a little rosette for the center, and a brooch clasp on the back so she can remove it from the cover for washing...(or wearing!)

To make the flower, I just stripped some fabric, ruffled each layer on the machine and stitched it all together! Super easy and the end result is sheer sweetness!