Ezrom and I talked about making this pillow for his room a couple of months ago. He chose the image that he wanted. The little pillow will go on his bed.
He doesn’t know I made it for him for Christmas.
Supplies:
Fabric for pillow and cover (I used unbleached muslin)
Batting
Thread
Tools:
Iron
Scissors
Sewing machine
Sewing pins
Paper cutter (optional)
My mom printed up the transfer sheet for me on her ink-jet printer (I have a laser printer and the sheets only work with ink-jet printers). I trimmed around the image with a paper cutter to make perfectly straight lines.
I used the trimmed image to meaure tow pieces of fabric. I put the image down on a double layer of fabric and added a sean allowance of 1/2″ all the way around. I cut the fabric out.
I ironed the image on one piece of fabric. After it had cooled, I put the two pieces of fabric right-side together and sewed them closed on three side. Then I turned the whole thing right-side out.
The instructions for the iron-on sheets say to wash the fabric after ironing on the image, so I washed it, but I did not put it through the dryer. I let it air-dry for a short while, and then ironed out the wrinkles. I also ironed the open edges along the edge of the image so that they would go inside the finished pillow.
I cut a couple pieces of batting the size of the finished pillow, making each long ebough to cover it four times. I folded the batting over until it was a thickness of 8 times, and I put that in the pillow.
I stitched the open end closed by hand.
Time:
It took me around 30 minutes to make the pillow.
Cost:
$.84
I had everything on hand except for the transfer sheets. These were .84 each for the iron-on sheets. I used batting that I was given from my mother-in-law; you could also use batting from an old bed pillow. The muslin was part of the fabric that I received from my grandmother.
Did you make any gifts today? What did you make?
What’s the trick to turning it right-side out? I made some iron-on transfer pillows for my kids earlier in the year; turned them right-side out and half the image came away too! I decided in the future I’d sew the pillow on 3 sides, leaving a pocket to fit over the ironing board, and then iron on the image before stuffing it and sewing it shut. It looks like a good-size pillow too; mine turned out pretty small.
What a beautiful pillow. I envision using a monochromatic garden scene to make some throw pillows for family members. Thanks for the great idea. I might do this next Christmas if I can remember!
This weekend I bought some inexpensive fabric and made 4 more infinity scarves. I now have 8 scarves to give as Christmas gifts for various friends (daughter’s teacher & respite worker) and family members. I hope they like them!
If the transfer is coming off when you turn it, you needed to iron it longer, according the instructions that came with the iron-on paper that I used. It said to test edges and make sure that nothing was lifting up after being ironed, and if any part of it was, then to iron it for longer. For a full-sheet, it is 3 minutes of ironing (on the ones that I bought; each brand may have a different time) and you are to use both hands while ironing, and push down hard while ironing. Also, you don’t use an ironing board with it; you use a hard, flat surface, and put a pillowcase down on top of that so you don’t wreck it. I used my sewing room table.
That pillow is lovely. Will you show us a photo of it on his bed? I remember that you purchased new bedspreads for your children’s rooms.
Beautiful! May I ask why you didn’t do this with CitraSolv? I just (like yesterday) bought the CitraSolv to make a bag for my daughter –let me know if that is not a good way to do it! Thank you so much for the inspiration!
I plan to when I finish up a couple more things in there.
I considered doing this one with Citrasolv, but I wanted some of the sepia tone to come through with this, and Citrasolv only works with a laser printer (and I don’t have a color laser printer). I also did it this way because of the tiny details in the image. For other types of transfers, I’ll use Citrasolv again (which is also a much cheaper option).
Could you share the instructions to make the scarves? I think my oldest would love one. Thanks.
Very creative! Your son will enjoy it so much. Has he studied Rome history?
Anna
Thank you so much for the Graphics Fairy link! My daughter had been admiring some vintage Alice in Wonderland patterned pillowcases that cost over $40 at Urban Outfitters – no way that was going to happen! But the Graphics Fairy had the exact same graphics for free! I’m going to make a set of Alice pillowcases for her and some with old London maps for my other daughter.
I’m curious as to how your boys have developed such fine tastes. I think it’s great that they are requesting these types of gifts, and am wondering if there was anything you did to influence their tastes.
Ah, thanks! I made mine back in March and I did use a hard surface; but I’m chronically impatient (hence, me making Christmas presents in March) so I probably didn’t iron long enough; plus we got really cheap iron-on transfer sheets off eBay which are probably not the best quality . . . But they sure are a lot of fun to play with!
Andrea, there are numerous tutorials that you can find through Pinterest, but these were the ones that I referenced when making mine:
http://decorandthedog.net/decorandthedog/2014/1/19/two-sided-infinity-scarf-tutorial
http://seaglassandribbons.blogspot.ca/2013/01/0-degree-diy-infinity-scarf.html
http://blog.fabricmartfabrics.com/2012/12/diy-tutorial-infinity-scarves.html?m=1
I made two with two different fabrics, one of which was an embroidery patterned shear type fabric with a solid fabric backing which is very elegant. Two were made from a knitted sweater type material that has metallic threads running through it. One that I kept for myself was made from a floral patterned shear material, recycled from a blouse that no longer fit. The others were cotton blend fabrics (a tie-dye pattern and a seersucker plaid). You could easily make them by recycling fabric from t-shirts, old sweaters, dress shirts, curtains, table cloths, etc. You could even use scrap pieces to create a pieces quilt look. There are also many free patterns for knitted and crocheted ones as well, but I’m better at sewing. Hope this helps.
So pretty! You should open at Etsy shop (with all your spare time I know). ;). These would definitely sell!
Thank you so much! I had Googled to find instructions, but there were so many tutorials out there that I was overwhelmed. I wanted to find a tried and true method 🙂
Brandy, This is lovely. Thanks for sharing. Thanks to your site and posts, I had my sewing machine repaired and am at the place of sitting down in front of it after many yrs absence. Thank you!!!!!
Heidi
check out this idea- fabric bracelets from shower curtain rings!
http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/quick-easy-fabric-bracelets-homemade-gifts-less-5
I need suggestions/instructions on using wax seals. I about caught my gift on fire and could not get enough wax on it to press the seal in. I bought it at Hobby Lobby. Do I need a different wax? What brand do you use?
I switched to the glue gun kind earlier this year–MUCH easier than dealing with a flame and plenty comes out. I have always been enamored with sealing wax, but now it is much easier. You use a small glue gun for it.
Thank you. I will be looking for it. My luck I would burn my house down trying to wrap a gift.