Friday, July 11, 2014

another pillow and a pillow question

oakshott ruby quilted pillow

Not much to say about this pillow. I just really liked the two pillows I made using the oakshott ruby F8th bundle that I wrote about a few weeks ago so I wanted to make a few more. For this one, I again used essex yarn-dyed linen and most of the fabrics from the bundle.

oakshott ruby quilted pillow

If you squint, you can see that I quilted just a few lines near the seams on each side of the more orange-y fabrics and then I densely quilted the linen. With the exception of a bright pink and a bright aqua, I don't have a wide variety of thread so I used the thread from my stash that matched best but it stands out a bit more than planned - oh, well.

oakshott ruby quilted pillow

Here's my question: I wonder if I need to get new cushion inserts because my pillows seem to have lots of extra fabric in the corners. I just keep recovering the same inserts - do you think they are shrinking from use? Admittedly, in real life, I don't even notice this but it really stands out to me in the photos. Still, if you have a solution, I would love to hear it! If it makes a difference to your suggestions, I basically always use the envelope method for the pillows and I do make them about 1" smaller than the insert. And if it seems that a new insert is the answer, then I'll just use the inserts I have now for pillows in my daughters' room - I doubt they'll care!

If you are looking for the fabric giveaway from Mad about Patchwork and/or the schedule for the new quilt blogger blog hop, click here.

27 comments:

  1. I use Ikea pillows. They have flat ones and some nice fat ones that I love and they hold their shape well when I make envelope pillows.

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  2. Because it doesn't bother you in person, I would probably just be lazy and stuff some cotton balls in the corner for the photos and then unstuff the cotton balls to re-use for the next photo shoot! :)

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  3. Gorgeous cushion! Love the use of solids in this way.

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  4. You can get round it by making pillow covers with a very slight taper towards the corner - I saw a tutorial for it once and squirrelled the idea away for reference, but I never do it:-) I tried googling "pillows dog ears" just now and found quite a few - this one is clear http://lifessweetessentials.com/kimono-chevron-pillows/
    Your cushion is lovely!

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  5. I buy feather inserts, Beth, and they fluff up into corners better. I also buy a size larger than the cushion cover quite often to get them 'properly full'.

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  6. The floppy corners wouldn't bother me too much. They are like floppy bunny ears, and who doesn't love a floppy ear bunny? If it did bother me, like say some quilting god was visiting my house, then I would pack some poly-fil in those floppy corners. I've heard that purchasing an insert that is larger than the cover resolves this problem too.

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  7. When I make pillows, I stuff some extra polyfil or batting scraps just in the four corners around the pillow insert. You might need to pack it a little bit to get the full look. It works wonders to get a brand new pillow look. If your pillow needs a little plumping from wear wrap some batting around the pillow insert and you might have to stitch it together to hold the ends secure. It refreshes the pillow insert without buying a new insert.

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  8. I think they look great as they are!

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  9. If I think the corners are a little floppy I just stuff some extra batting in. I tried once with a pattern that had you round the corners of the pillow sham and I hated it. It made my pillow look like a little beach ball and I had to take the sham apart and put new sides on to get it to look right again.

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  10. This looks like it's right out of a boutique! I wouldn't worry about the floppy corners, it looks great.

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  11. I can't see a problem! You are already doing what I would – making the cover an inch smaller.
    Not all inserts are created equally, some start out a bit flat and floppy. I have learned which of my local shops has the best (firm and full).

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  12. I don't use pillows enough to know, but I plan to make some soon and find out. Yours are lovely, and I really should spruce up our decor with something fresh and handmade.

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  13. Sometimes if I have a pillow cover that just a little loose, I sew a 1/4 or 1/2" seam all the way around the cover. It gives the appearance of piping around the pillow, and usually makes for a perfect fit.

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  14. Great pillow! I like the way it looks but I suppose you could stuff polyfil in the corners and see how it wears.

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  15. Your pillow is beautiful! Is the pillow comfy? That's my criterion. I love foam pillow rather than what they sell in fabric stores because I love the bounce back when you pull away from them. But comfy is different for everyone. I say if it is comfy to you, then you don't need a new form. Unless Martha Stewart is coming to your house, the bunny ears are great. In fact, who cares what Martha Stewart or anyone else thinks...they're your pillow. I like the saying, "If you're coming to see my house, go away. If you're coming to see, come on in!"

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  16. Yep, pillows do shrink or compact over time. Ours do it too :) They get used all the time. We just replace them every year. I guess to fix it the stuffing others have talked about would work.

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  17. As Catherine said, you can get around it by tapering the corner, there is a video on Creativebug if you have access to it (The Rosita Pillow by Kaffe Fassett) and that's what he does. Hope that helps.:)

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  18. By watching the Rosita Pillow video "presentation" on Creativebug you get to see how much he actually removes in the corners (you might not get the details in the presentation video, but you will be able to figure it out) and then look at the link suggested.

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  19. If you want to try to re-distribute the stuffing in the pillow, stick it in a dryer with clean tennis shoes, turn the temperature to "air" and let the tennis shoes do the job of re-fluffing the pillow. This works well with my down pillows. The cells that form the foam pillows will disintegrate over time and just need to be pitched or have smaller covers made for them! Eventually the foam pillows will turn into dust if they are old enough.

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  20. Get one new insert that is super moldable, like a down feather insert, and use that for photos, and use your regular inserts for real life :)) XX! Love your work!

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  21. I make my own pillow forms with a home-dec weight fabric and I stuff TONS of filling into them so that they are really firm and "strong." I have also used small batting scraps/strips to stuff into the corners of the pillow in addition to the form.

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  22. I usually round my corners. I like the fullness of that look.

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  23. I get the feather pillows from Crate and Barrel - they hold their shape well/ re-fluff nicely, but they don't cost a fortune and free shipping!! And they come in a great variety of sizes :) Nice pillow cover, I like that the thread stands out a bit

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  24. I like the feather inserts from Pottery Barn the best. They are fluffy and hold up really well. For your pillow inserts you have, you can just put stuff extra polyfil into the corners to fill them up.

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  25. They might be slumping a little... I think that's natural over the life of a pillow! I've been known to use a regular bed pillow that's a little past it's prime and cut it down to size for a throw cushion. It saves throwing out those big pillows... only so much room in the landfill!

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  26. Haven't read the other comments so pardon me if this a duplicate suggestion - I love the feather pillow inserts from Ikea. They are a nice size, seem to hold up well (I've had mine for about two years and they are still fluffy) are washable, and cheap!!!

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