Pillows are good for accessorizing a room. They add color, warmth and texture to the room and most of all they are cheap to make. To make the pillow, you will need fabric, stitching thread, sewing machine, stuffing material, needle and a pair of scissors.
The first thing you do is to decide the measurements of the pillow you will be making. This largely depends on the use of the pillow and the design you want to make. The easiest pillows to make are rectangular or square. The next step is to find the fabric. The type of fabric to use also depends on the use of the pillow. For a sleeping pillow, a soft fabric is desirable while for a pillow meant for decorating the house, it is important for the fabric to match with the furniture.
Cut your fabric into two pieces of the required measurements. This is because pillows are basically made by stitching together two pieces of your desired fabric and filling it with stuffing. You should end up with two rectangles or squares depending on the design of the pillow you are making. When cutting, ensure that you leave seam allowance of 2 inches on each side. This means that your two pieces should be bigger than your intended size of the pillow by 2 inches. This allowance is what is extended beyond the stitching of the pillow. If the fabric you are using is likely to fray, you can use zigzag or straight stitches to hem the edges.
Place the two cut fabric pieces with the side that will be out facing each other. Then stitch the two pieces of fabric together using the thread and needle or a sewing machine. Remember to stitch only three sides and leave one side unstitched.
Turn the pillow such that the right side is out. Right now, what you have is in form of a pocket, which you should later fill with stuffing to form a pillow. If it has creases, iron it out since it will be difficult to iron when it’s stuffed. The opening that was not stitched is the one that will be used to stuff. Tuck in half an inch of the fabric on the side that is open and iron it. Then fill in the stuffing into the pillow using the open side until it is full with no areas that looks empty. Ensure that you do not put too much of the stuffing to prevent the pillow from closing or being too dense. You can use cotton filler from the stores, fabric or even feathers. Cotton filler is more recommended for the best outcome.
After filling, stitch the open side of the pillow. The best stitch to use is the whip stitch which involves passing the needle one side of the opening to the other and the thread is overcast on the outer part of the pillow. For that neater look, you can use blind stitch. The pillow is now complete and ready for use. You will learn how to prepare the fabric, stitch up the pillow, then stuff and finally close. It not time consuming and it can help to improve your sewing skills.
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