{All Grown Up}

The Kurowski (and Gibson... and Becker) kiddies are growing up!

Daniel and I bought our first home in December and my brother and his wife just closed yesterday on theirs.  Chrissy (the crying one and the gorgeous one... go figure =D) lives by my parents in Charleston, South Carolina and Danny and Kaleigh have been staying with us until the close.  Want to know where they live?

Here is the view from their front porch:

They live two doors down from us and I. Love. It.  They've been staying with us since January and I have to say, I think I'm going to have separation anxiety when they are gone!  Oh well, guess I can look out my living room window and see them.. in their master bedroom!  Haha- I kid.  Creeeeepie!

They are the cutest!

I guess I can focus on getting this house lookin HAWT once they are gone.  Celebration project? 

Couch Pillows on the cheap!
First of all, I used the same fabric for the pillows that I used to cover the Thrift Store Chair a few weeks back.  It was originally very expensive, but I got it for less than $3/yard because of a clearance sale, coupons, and wam-bam-shazam teacher's discount! {I ask for one everywhere I go!  Even the Bargain Haus... you never know!!}
So, remember by totally legit bolt of fabric?

$18 for the entire thing.  So, for my 18 buckeroos I recovered a chair and made 8 pillows.  I also purchased the pillows from my favorite- the Bargain Haus in Lees Summit (which my sis-in-law thought was disgusting)- for $1 each and bleached them in my washer two or three times.  They are still fluffy and smell squeaky clean!



Seriously!  I can't take a picture without him being obsessed with being in it.  Love him!



They are soooo ugly, but they look like this now:

Actually, a few look like this.  I will post a different pillow tutorial tomorrow!

Here is what you need:

•  Main Pillow Fabric- Keep in mind you have a front and back of the pillow!
• 10 inches ruffle fabric (the fabric is usually 45-48 in wide, so it should measure 10in X 45in when unfolded.  This amount of fabric for the ruffles works for a pillow that is about 16 in X 16in.  I would say that if it is bigger than 20 inches square, you need longer strips of fabric for the ruffles.  The ruffles will be about a third of their non-ruffled size)
• Thread!
• Pillow to cover or stuffing
• Hand Sewing Needle

Here is what I did:

• Cut a front and back to the pillow.  I usually just use my measuring tape, measure out the length and width of the pillow, and cut through both pieces of fabric at the same time so that they are exactly the same size.
• Cut strips for the ruffles.  I mentioned before that I like the way odd numbers look, so I sewed on 5 ruffles.  You can do as many as you want.  I took my fabric, measured out 2-inch increments (so 10 inches total) and cut my strips.  In the end, I had 5 strips that were each 2 inches by 45 inches {again, if your pillow will be more than 20 inches square when it is finished, you need longer strips!}.

This is folded up for picture reasons.  It is 45 inches long, I promise!

• Gather your strips into ruffles.  Set your machine to do a running stitch- on my machine, the stitch length is on #5.  Most machines I've worked with are exactly the same.  Sew a single stitch from one end to the other, straight down the middle, without back stitching.  When you are done, take one end, pull on one of the threads, and your fabric will start to gather on its own.  Pull the gathers so that they are 1.  Gathered down the entire length of the strip and 2. EVEN.  How tight should the gathers be?  Mine were so in that the ruffled strip was about 3 inches longer than my fabric when done.

• Take one strip and pin it to your fabric.  I start with the very center ruffle so that I can work outwards and make sure my ruffles are centered.  Once it is pinned, sew it to your fabric right over your gather stitches.  Backstitch at the beginning and end so that the ruffle doesn't come off (I tell my students that backstitching is like putting bookends on a bookshelf.  If there are no bookends, the books fall over.  If we don't backstitch, our stitches will "fall over" or come out.  They get it right away!).  Keep your machine on a running stitch, or the stitch length on 5.  It will make life easier.  ALSO- hint:  usually your machine will skip over your pins, so I always leave them in until I am done.  life. works. better. that. way.



The stitches you make to attach it to your fabric will disappear.  I don't even take out the gather stitches!



•  Repeat with the other 4 strips of ruffles.  I put 2 on either side of the center ruffle, but I leave about an inch gap.  Attach the same way as the first.

•  Attach the last 2 strips in between the center ruffle and the left/right ruffles, so that there are no gaps between them.  When you are done, you should have side by side ruffles with, like I said, no gaps between them.
• Time to sew the pillow together!  Place your other pillow fabric piece face up on the table.  Place your ruffle fabric face down on top, so that right sides are together.  Pin and stitch together with a 5/8 in seam allowance, leaving a 4-5 inch gap on a non-ruffle side for turning.  Stitch around your pillow like this, backstitching at the beginning and end, like a thousand times:

•  Clip your corners, making sure not to clip into stitching.  Turn inside out, poking out sides and corners, stuff with stuffing, then hand-sew the hole shut.  

Voila!  Ruffle Pillow =)

Pleated pillows tomorrow!

Happy St. Patty's!