Pillows and Piping

Let me start out by saying I honestly don't sew very well.  But I also say "cute fabric covers a multitude of mistakes."  And this is a perfect example.  


I have been wanting to make pillows with piping for a while and finally decided to attempt a couple for the guest bed in Chase's nursery.  The piping itself was not hard to make at all.  I used the zipper foot (first time ever) and just sewed a long, thin strip of fabric around the piping cord.

Then I measured my pillows, cut the fabric, and pinned the piping around the sides with the fabric turned inside out (so the piping would be on the outside once I finished).

I had to cut lots of little notches to go around the corners so they would have a slightly rounded look.

And this is where it gets ugly.  If you are a really good seamstress, you may want to stop reading less you be offended by the messy completion of these pillows.  

I had not really thought about how to actually finish the pillows once I put the insert in.  Looking back, I should have put a zipper in.  But I have never attempted that either.  Maybe next time.

So I just hand stitched the bottom together the best I could.  It worked ok.  But it looks SUPER messy when you look really close.  The good news is that this is the bottom part, and no one will ever see it (unless of course you come to my house, pick them up and give them a good inspection).  

It looks better in the picture than in real life.  But who looks that closely at pillows anyway, right?

They turned out pretty cute and add a fun pop of color on the bed.  We have a few more finishing touches to add to the nursery.  I keep telling Christopher it looks like it is missing something.  And it is...the crib (and the baby too, of course, but you know what I mean).   So I guess the room won't truly be finished until we make the transition to Ashlyn's big girl bed later this spring.