DIY Envelope Pillow

Call me crazy, but when my first package from Tonic Living arrived this week, I felt like Christmas morning.  I had spent too much time thinking about what patterns and colours would work best for some pillows I wanted to make, that I was starting to have commitment issues.  Even when I ordered 10 samples to narrow down the choices, I still had a hard time deciding.  But I finally committed!  My first project - the chevron print pillows for the couch.  Here's the instant replay for you:

My pillow form was 16"x16".  So I cut the back piece to 17" wide (allowing an inch for seams) and 23" high.  

Then, cut it in half so that you have 2 pieces that are 11.5" (still 17" wide).

Cut the front to 17"x17".  If your pillow isn't square, you want to make sure you cut the width to match which way you want your pattern to be.

Take half of your back piece and iron a hem - start by ironing 1/4" up...

Then hem and iron again at 1/4".  Ironing helps to make sure the hems are straight!

Do the same thing with the other piece, then stitch the hems straight across.

Lay the front piece, right side facing up.  Line up the unhemmed part of the square with the bottom of the front piece.  This piece should have the front side facing down.

See how the right sides are together? 

Then, lay the other piece on top, with the right side facing down.  Line up the edges with the front piece.  The 2 back pieces should overlap by 4 inches or so.

Pin it all down to secure it!

Then, stitch all the way around.  At the corners it helps if you leave the needle in the fabric, then lift the foot and just pivot the fabric to start the new side.  Saves thread :)

Trim all the edges to 1/2" seams, then turn it right sides out.  Push the corners out so they look neat and take time to iron all the edges to be nice and crisp.

Stuff in your pillow form - you may have to knead it a bit to fill out the new pillow case.

Voila! Once you get good at it, this type of project will take 30 minutes or less.  Oh, and another tip?  I used 2 different fabrics because the patterns I chose were up to $25/yard...not outrageous, considering I could make 2 pillows with 1 yard, however I wasn't willing to double the cost to have the pattern on the back as well.  So I just found something solid that matched and was half the price :)  Happy sewing!

I've got some more fabric for pillows - hopefully to be completed this weekend.  One pattern I'm particularly excited about - stay tuned!

Cruisin' Spain (Part 3)

We wrapped up the cruise in Barcelona, Spain, but we had one final stop in Marseille, France before we arrived.  The highlight in Marseille was taking "Le Petit Train" around the city, with a stop at the highest point, the Notre Dame de la Gard.  I realized that my favourite moments in sightseeing are either on the water (like the Cote d'Azur), or at a high elevation to enjoy the best views.  The photos can't really give the same "top of the world" feeling you get when you're there in person, staring out over the buildings and sea.

The Notre Dame de la Gard was very beautiful inside - more bright and colourful than most cathedrals we had been in.

Barcelona after the jump!

Cruisin' France (Part 2)

After Italy, came France.  The southern part of France to be specific - along the famed Cote d'Azur.  If I was forced to choose a favourite part of the trip, I would say this day topped the list.  (Over Italy?!  It surprised me too!)  The truth is, when I saw the list of ports, I was most excited for the Italian stops - I had so many expectations on what we would get to see.  Some of the most famous places in the world!  In my mind, Cannes and Marseille were bonus cities, and I really didn't know what to expect.  But I fell in love with those coastal cities and would love to visit again.

First we stopped in Cannes, and from there we boarded a train along the coast.  We had planned to visit Nice, then return to Cannes.  But when we found out that Monaco/Monte Carlo were only an extra half hour away we thought, "why not!".  So yes, we packed 3 cities into 1 day.  And it was absolutely stunning, as you can see below.

Monaco/Monte Carlo:  Gorgeous buildings built into the cliffs, overlooking the bright blue sea.  Super clean, and full of VERY wealthy people vacationing.

We passed a hotel lined with Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Bentley (Mercedes were for the common folk).

This is probably where the celebrities were hiding - the casino.

Nice & Cannes after the jump!