Sunday, February 22, 2015

Valentine Pillow

By a bit of luck, I found Sanae's blog in early January where she and Ute were hosting their second Secret Valentine Exchange. We filled out a questionnaire with contact information, favorite colors, and places we posted (Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, blog) which were sent to our secret Valentine. Sanae suggested using our stash to make a present.

My Valentine is a lovely Irish woman who loves mustard. Me, too! Tracking through her photos I saw several pillows. One was made of mattress ticking (I had some leftover from the placemats.) Several others had beautifully tied bows. Suddenly I had an idea.

Bow tie pillow with mattress ticking

The pillow is 16". Since the mattress ticking is canvas-weight, it didn't need to be quilted. The bow is  8" wide indigo and 8.5" wide mustard broadcloth. Both were cut about 18" long to leave room for the gathering. These were sewed into a tube, then turned and pressed so the mustard appears to be a narrow piping. A second, smaller tube made the center of the bow.

ChrissieD had a wonderful tutorial on her blog for a hidden zipper closure on a pillow. Ironing double-sided fusible to the zipper made it the easiest I've ever put in.

Here's a close up of the zipper...

Bow Tie pillow back showing hidden zipper

and a full view of the back.

Bow tie pillow back

Thanks, Sanae and Ute, for a delightful Valentine party!

Enjoy the day, Ann

6 comments:

Kaja said...

I love Sanae's blog. This pillow looks great - I especially like your choice of fabrics, and the little edge of mustard. Great colours and the blue pattern looks just right against the ticking stripes.

Ann said...

Thanks, Kaja. Yes, Sanae writes an interesting blog. I enjoy reading what she's been working on or thinking about. And the results are lovely.

Lara B. said...

You did a great job of stalking your partner Ann, LOL. This is a very cool pillow! Both sides will be wonderful to display!

Ann said...

It did feel a bit like stalking. Odd feeling to track someone. I do like both sides, too.

Stephie said...

What a thoughtful gift Ann - and it's lovely too :) I don't know Sanae's blog so look forward to having a mooch around, thank you!

Chris Dodsley @made by ChrissieD said...

Love it Ann - I'm a sucker for striped fabric and ticking is one of my faves, the mustard is a great accent on the front and I'm super pleased to see it hiding that zip on the back. Thanks for giving my hidden zipper tute a shout out, email me (link in my blog sidebar) if you'd be happy for me to include your pillow pics on my tute page - Chris @madebyChrissieD :D