Saturday, August 30, 2014
Make It: DIY Scrap Burlap Pillow
I took a short break this week to work on a personal sewing project for my home that I wanted to share on our blog for anyone looking for DIY ideas to use scrap burlap fabric. If you are on Pinterest, you'll know that burlap project ideas are a-plenty in the blogging and DIY home decorating world.
I knew I wanted to create a burlap pillow for our living room couch, but when it came down to finding scrap burlap to fit the 19" by 19" raw dimensions, I didn't have enough. So, I improvised and figured it out as I went along.
I chose a tightly woven burlap for this project as I wanted to be sure that the burlap could stand the wear and tear of being sat on, tossed, laid against, and so forth in a high traffic area. I used leftover scraps from a variety of the coffee burlap sacks I used for the Grounds bags. I created 3" strips of the burlap and hemmed one long side about .5". I then used a heavy white denim fabric that was also in my scrap pile from an older project and cut and hemmed those in the same manner.
I used a khaki heavy duck fabric for the main pillow cases, so two squares measuring 19" by 19". After the 3" strips were hemmed, I then pinned them on one of the pillow cases and sewed across one long side of the strip to secure it to the pillow case. I then pinned and sewed the alternating fabric just above it, enough to hide the stitches of the strip below. Once all of the strips were sewn on one pillow square, I sewed the two large pillow case squares right sides together and left an opening to turn, stuff, and hand-stitch the pillow closed.
I actually really love how this came out. You'll notice from the detailed photos that it's not perfect - and that's why I love it. I was figuring it out as I designed it, and the process was fun as it reminded me of working on a puzzle. The stitching isn't always straight, and some of the hems are not perfect so it looks wavy in some areas rather than straight rows. But, it looks like a handmade item, which is what I wanted - imperfect but made with care and attention. In the end, I added a bit of texture to our couch using neutral colors so it works with the more colorful (store bought) pillows I also have on the couch (not pictured).
This was a fun way to spend time on something new and a useful way to get rid of fabric scraps too small for any other projects! Sometimes the process is just as enjoyable as the end result.
I hope you this offers some inspiration for you to make something new, whatever it may be. And if you are looking specifically for a burlap project to decorate your home, here's a pillow design idea that's easy to sew and beautiful to look at.
Enjoy!
Erica
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