Textured Pillows

I found this sewing project on Martha Stewart's website for textured pillows and thought they looked gorgeous. Unfortunately the directions were quite confusing and I still wanted to make them. So what's a girl to do? Google it! I followed this really helpful tutorial on how to do honeycomb smocking courtesy of The Handmade Dress and my first pillow turned out great! If you're going to attempt this project I recommend that you watch the tutorial video below, but here are the basic steps I followed...  

What you'll need:

• Mid-weight fabric (I used a drapery fabric with a bit of sheen that was on sale at Fabricland)
• Embroidery floss to match (or in a complimentary colour)
• Erasable/Fast-fade fabric pen
• Embroidery needle
• Measuring tape
• Sewing machine with matching thread

Instructions:

Measure your pillow form (or an old pillow that you're going to cover). Purchase enough fabric to add 2 inches extra on all sides. For the side you're going to create the smocking pattern on, cut a piece of fabric that's 2-3 times as wide as needed. For example, if your pillow form is 15" wide, cut your fabric 30-45" wide.

 

 Use your measuring tape and fabric pen to mark out a grid on your fabric. TIP: If you use a regular pen or marker, you will ruin your project - so use pencil or splurge ($4.49 woo hoo) on the fast-fade pen. For my design, I placed my dots 2 inches apart. Remember to have "pairs" just like is mentioned in the tutorial.

 

 Split your embroidery floss so that you're working with 3 threads at a time; thread your needle.



Create your design by "pinching" pairs of dots together and holding them in place with a couple of stitches. You will work on alternating pairs to create the triangular/diamond design. Take a look at the video for step by step on this part.



Once your smocked design is complete... match up your fabric right sides together and machine-sew along three sides, leaving about 1 inch around. I always double-stitch these seams for durability. Turn the pillowcase right side out and stuff your pillow form inside. Pin the open seam closed and either machine-sew or hand-stitch closed. Voila, a beautiful handmade pillow that you would probably pay $25 at Pier 1 for! Let the jealousy ensue. Here's my first one in slate gray/blue. Stay tuned for other colour and pattern variations.