Knotted Corner Pillow

My favorite designer always has some fun and interesting details she has me add to her creations, that's one of the reasons she's my favorite.  Her projects are always interesting and fun to work on.  Lately she has been on a Knotted Corner Pillow kick and I can see why.  Knotted corners on pillows look so cute.

Wouldn't this be cute with a nautical or beachy fabric?
Follow along as I show how to make these knots.

Cut your pillow as you would for a basic pillow.  You can find those instructions here:  http://sew-passionate.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-sew-basic-pillow.html

You're going to need enough lip cord to go all around your pillow plus about 7" per corner.
You're also going to need a cording foot that is slightly smaller then your lip cord.

My lip cord is 1/2" diam. and I'm using a 1/4" cording foot.

Always start lip cord at the center bottom of your pillow front.  I just make a small clip in my fabric to mark the center bottom.  Extend the cord 1 1/2" past the center point.  This extra will be used to join the lip cord.

Stitch on top of the lip cord biting into the actual cord.  Stop with your needle down when you get approx. 2" from the corner.  Clip into the lip at 1 1/2" from the corner.

Now depending on the diameter of your cord, leave approx.  5 1/2" and then clip into your lip again.  You may have to experiment to get this exact measurement right.  It all depends on how thick your cord is and how tight you want your knot.

Remove the lip from your cord between these two clips.  Sometimes there is a chain stitch and if you find the right thread you can just pull and the stitching simply unravels.
Tie a knot with the cord.

After you've tied your knot, stitch up to the first clip mark and back stitch.  Clip the threads and remove from under the foot.  Pivot your pillow and put your cording foot at the 2nd clip mark.  Back stitch and continue to sew up the next side of your pillow until you get 2" from the next corner and repeat.

There will be an un-stitched area in the corners.  We will go back and stitch that later.

Once you've knotted all your corners and you are on the final stretch (bottom) of your pillow, stop stitching with your needle down about 2" from your center mark.  Cut your cord 1 1/2"-2" beyond the center clip.  Dab both cut ends of cord with glue.

Let the glue dry for about 5 min.  Now separate the lip from the cord the last 1 1/2" of each end.

Unravel your cord slightly and lay those three cords flat like this.

Unravel the other end of the cord just enough to sit/butt up against the flattened out cord.  Basically you are criss crossing them.

Holding the cord ends in place, stitch over them.

Finish constructing your pillow following "How to Sew a Basic Pillow" link at the beginning of this post.
After you have the zipper and sides stitched together, go back and stitch diagonally across the corners.  Be sure not to catch the knots in the stitching.

Trim the corners.

Turn right side out and press.  Stuff your pillow.

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Sand Dollar Pillow

I love shells!  If you don't know this about me yet, I love summer days spent at the beach!  And I love surrounding myself all year long with things that remind me of those summer days.
I for one have never been lucky when it comes to finding unbroken shells at the beach, so I purchased the ones I used on this pillow.

Isn't it cute!

Follow along as I make this summer inspired pillow.

What you'll need:
1 yd of burlap, linen or whatever fabric you desire
1/8 yd of off white fabric
4 sand dollars
zipper
thread
pillow fill

My pillows finished size is 19x12

Since the weave of my burlap is loosely woven and I did not want my pillow fill to show through, I double layered my burlap on the front.
Cut 2 @ 20"x13"
Cut 1 @ 21"x14" (I always cut my back piece 1" bigger)
Use scrap to cut 2 zipper stops. 3 1/2"x 1 1/8"
Off White Fabric
Cut 2 @ 13"x3"

Since burlap tends to frey a lot, I serged all around my pillow pieces.  I serged my 2 front layers together.

My banding on this pillow is 1 1/2" wide, but I cut my pieces 3" wide so that when I pressed under the long edges it would not leave shading behind it.
Press one long edge of the banding approx 3/4".

Now press the other long edge over to join that edge.

Turn the banding over and make sure it looks straight and uniform.

Measure and pin the banding about 5" in from the sides.  I think if I was doing this pillow over again I would have put the banding a little farther over.

Pin it well, cause it might slip around a little when you go to stitch it.

Top stitch close to both long edges.

I hand tacked the sand dollars on after the pillow was completely constructed.
You can find the instruction for finishing the construction of the pillow here: http://sew-passionate.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-sew-basic-pillow.html

After you have finished your pillow, place the sand dollars where you want them.  I used some painters tape to hold them in place until I could hand stitch them.

I hand stitched them through the 2 holes at 11 and 1 o clock.
Stuff your pillow and you are done!

It's feeling a little like summer at my house already. Pin It

Joining Decorative Cord

Ever wonder how decorative lip cord is joined on pillows?  Where's the seam or the joint?  If done correctly no one should ever be able to tell where you joined the lip cord edges.
I made a really cute pillow for a decorator the other day and it was trimmed with Decorative Lip Cord.  I haven't had time to post the whole tutorial yet, but I thought I'd share a tutorial for applying and joining lip cord.

Joining or marrying lip cord can be intimidating if you don't know how, but with the right tools and the know how you can make fabulous custom pillows with all sorts of creative lip cords.

The key to applying lip cord is a Cording foot.  I have just about every size cording foot for my industrial sewing machine.  I know they can be purchased for most home sewing machines too.   Search the Internet and you should be able to order them on line.

The trick is to use a smaller cording foot than your lip cord.  This lip cord is 1/2 diameter and I'm using a 1/4" cording foot.

I know what you're thinking...."but that will make my lip cord smaller" and in all common sense thinking it would but it doesn't.  What it does is "bite" into the cord just enough to hide the lip tape.  I promise your lip cord will still be a 1/2" lip cord when you're finished.

Dab a bit of glue, I use Aleene's Tacky Glue, on the end of your lip cord.  You don't have to wait for it to dry completely.  In fact it's better if you don't let it dry until it gets had, just let it dry enough that it won't smear all over your fabric.

Find the center bottom of your pillow and place the lip cord 1 1/2" beyond the center bottom.  Start stitching 1/2" or so from the center point leaving approx 2" of lip cord  unstitched.
 Stitch all around your pillow with the cording foot riding up on top of the lip cord.  Clip into the tape to go around corners.
When you get within a few inches of your starting point, pause with your needle down.  Cut the lip cord 1 1/2" past your starting point and dab with glue.

Separate your cord from the lip tape 1 1/2" or so from each end.

Carefully unwind the cord as shown.

Unwind the beginning cord only enough to lay over and join this cord.  If you unwind too much, you will see a gap in your finished cord.  If you unwind too little, your finished cord will look cramped  and uneven.

Making sure the lip tape is out of the way, stitch over the joined/ over lapped cord.

Look how perfectly the cord looks where you joined it.

Not so intimidating any more is it?!   Pin It

Decorative Dog Pillow with Fabric Banding

Silhouettes of dogs are becoming quite popular and I can see why.  They're classic, cute and add a personal touch to any room in the house.  I thought it would be fun to frame this one out with a fabric banding.

I made the banding on this pillow 1" wide and I placed it along the crown of the pillow so it would be completely visible.   Follow along as I show you how to make and apply fabric banding.

What you'll need:
1 yard of fabric for the pillow cover
1 yard of contrasting fabric for the banding
zipper
matching thread

This pillow is 24"x24"

Step 1.  Cutting-Cut pillow front 25"x25",  Cut pillow back 26"x26", Cut 2 bias strips that are 2" wide.  Cut your bias strips twice the width of your finished banding.
  Instructions for cutting bias strips can be found here. http://sew-passionate.blogspot.com/2012/01/easy-bias-strips-and-covered-welt-cord.html

Step 2.  Preparing banding- After stitching your bias strips together, press the seams open.  Press up 1/2" along the long edge of your bias strip.

Now press the other raw edge to meet up with the first.

Step 3.  Banding placement-  I pinned  my dog silhouette to the front of my fill to find the "crown" of my pillow fill.  The "crown" is the part of the pillow that is flat and can be seen when looking at the pillow from the front.  I marked the crown edge with a couple pins.

Then I measured to see how far from the outer edge I needed to mark for my banding.  In my case it was 3 1/2" from the raw edge.  Using sewing chalk or a pencil, draw a placement line 3 1/2" in all the way around your pillow front .

Step 4.  Stitching the Banding to the Pillow-  I always start at the bottom right corner when adding banding to a pillow.  Place a pin in the exact corner of your placement line.  Cut the end of your bias strip straight across and place the edge right in the corner.  Top stitch along the outer edge of the banding with the banding barely over your placement line.

Before you get to the next corner, place a pin in the exact corner.  This helps mark exactly where your sewing machine needle will go down  and where you will pivot your pillow to turn the corner.

Top stitch all the way up to your pin without crossing it.  Pause with your needle down, lift your presser foot, pivot your pillow, and  lower the presser foot again.

Continue top stitching and turning corners this way until you are approaching the final corner where you started stitching.  Pause a few inches from the final corner with your needle down and cut the end of your bias strip off 1//8" past the corner.

Tuck this 1/8" under and top stitch to the corner taking a few back stitches to secure and end your stitching.

Push this top layer of banding out of the way and begin top stitching the inner edge of your banding.

Before you reach the first corner, again, pause with your needle down.  Push the banding over to the left, then fold the left banding over the it forming a miter.  You may need to fold more under to form a perfect miter in the corner.  Put a pin through the 2 layers at the corner to keep it secure until you stitch around the corner.

Stitch up to the corner, leave needle down, lift presser foot, pivot around corner, lower presser foot and continue stitching around the other two corners this way.

When you approach the final corner, pause with the needle down.  Keeping the 1/8" folded under, fold the end under diagonally forming the final mitered corner.  You might have to put more pins in this one to keep the end secure until you stitch it.  Back stitch to secure.  With needle down in the inside corner, pivot pillow again and top stitch along the diagonal part of the mitered end.  This keeps it secure and flat.

I always go around and stitch the rest of  miters to keep them flat.

Step 5.  Pillow construction-  You can find the remaining instructions here:   http://sew-passionate.blogspot.com/2011/12/how-to-sew-basic-pillow.html

Fabric banding is a fairly easy detail that you can add to any of your pillows to give them a custom look.  I always cut mine on the bias because they tend to lay flatter and turn corners better than if they were cut on the straight grain.  

What will you do with Fabric Banding?

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial and stay tuned for more Custom Tutorials.

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