Reuse and upcycle: pillow cases from a toddler bed sheet

I'm a huge fan of reusing and up-cycling things . It helps reduce clutter and saves money, and often all you need is a clever idea or a little inspiration to turn something you have stuck in your closets into a useful object once again.

This week that something was a toddler bed sheet which had not been used in our house for over three years. It was the first sheet we bought when our son moved from his crib into a big boy bed. It never got much use because in the meantime his sister got the toddler bed and he moved again to a regular bed, but the fabric is super cute for a boy room, so I kept it with the intention of turning it into something else. 

Finally I got round to it, so after the reuse and up-cycling of pants tutorial (if you missed that post, you can find it here) I bring you the pillow cases made out a toddler bed sheet, in two different styles (with snaps and with ties).

It was really a very quick project and I would have finished in a couple of hours (or less) if I did not have a mountain of laundry to wash, fold and put away and if I had not been busy trying to make my house look a bit more like a house and a bit less like a bad episode of Hoarders. In reality, the first pillow was made on Saturday, the second one on Sunday and some of the pictures were taken at night (which I hear is a no-no in bloggers' world, but I'm keeping it real here, right?).

Anyway, I forgot to measure the original sheet, but I have a vague recollection it was something like 160 cms by 80 cms. If not that, it should be close as it was enough to make two 60 cm by 40 cm pillow cases with a bit of fabric left over.

In this picture you can't really see the pattern (and I did not take a closer shot) but there are blue cars and trucks with the words "vroom" and "beep beep" repeated in each line.

Anyway, I cut the first pillow sideways because I wanted to use the stripy edge. This was the easiest thing ever: cut, fold. sew on two sides (the third side is the fold and the fourth is the opening).

If you want you can leave it as is. Because my son is a restless sleeper and thrashes around his pillow a lot, I added three pairs of snaps to keep the opening closed. Here is the pillow, ironed and already in use in his bed (pardon the mess, he keeps a full zoo of stuffed animals in there):

 

For the second pillow I folded and cut the remaining fabric from the sheet, so that again I only needed to sew on two sides (the left hand side and the bottom in the picture below).

Before sewing the sides, however, because there was still some fabric leftover, I decided to make ties to close the opening. The ties are long strips of fabric folded bias tape style and then sewn on one side.

 

I pinned the ties on the wrong side of the fabric (keeping them symmetrical when the fabric is folded over), then folded the edge over and pulled the ties to the outside again (if you're lost in this explanation, please look at the second picture below, hopefully it will help). This way the ties are secured and their ends do not show even if you turn the pillow case inside out). Because  was able to use the original hems of the sheet, there was no hemming involved anywhere.

 

  

Here is how it looks after sewing the sides and then with a pillow already inside it (not the same pillow, the boy was already asleep by this time).

I'm sure there are much prettier pillowcase patterns around, but these were easy and fast, just the way I like (need) it. And allowed me to finally turn the toddler sheet into something that hopefully will get much more use in the future.

Crochet spiral pillow: finished

Remember this post from almost a month ago? Well, the pillow is finally finished:

It is not perfect and although it is the second crochet pillow I made recently, I'm still not entirely happy with the way the crochet is attached to the back of the pillow, even though this time I sewed it by hand.

Inspiration and instructions for the spiral pattern came from Pinterest. The back is a soft fabric leftover from the boy turtle.

But even if i'm not 100% convinced, the recipient of the pillow is happy and, in the long run, that's what matters the most. That, and the fact that even if it took me a month, I actually managed to finish a project.

See you around,

Teresa

Easy homemade gifts - scented pillows

As promised, I'm back here sharing the second handmade present I made last week.

This was for an older girl, my (now) 29 year old cousin. Since her grandfather (my uncle) passed away recently, the party and the presents were kept low key and as such, after some brainstorming I came up with scented pillows.

One pink:

One blue:

The cross stitch chart came from one of my mother's craft magazines, the lacy ribbons were in my stash and the other side of the pillows (of which I forgot to take pictures) is made with color coordinating fabric.

These pillows are very easy to assemble. I didn't take enough pictures to create a tutorial, but here are the basics:

You'll need
- a square or a rectangle of Aida fabric (for the cross stitch) and another square (or rectangle) of coordinating fabric for the back of the pillows
- pieces of ribbon
- bits of ribbon or lace (to embellish the sides of the pillows); this is totally optional
- polyester filling
- something scented to put inside the pillows. I used store bought small sachets, but you can use bits of lavender, for example, totally up to you
 

Embroider your design onto the Aida square. I kept the cross stitch simple to make sure I had enough time to finish them before the party, but the two little pillows came together quickly and make a cute and easy homemade present.

Then lay both pieces of fabric right sides together, with the ribbon (and the side embellishments) tucked in between and sew around, leaving a small opening to turn inside out. Insert the scent and fill up with the polyester filling. Sew the opening closed and you are done! 

If you want to make something similar using the same pattern, here is the cross-stitch chart. It's not 100% clear since it's a scan from an old magazine and I didn't use the same color scheme, but it is still usable.Otherwise, just pick whatever you prefer and go from there.

Handmade gifts are the best!

Enjoy,

            

Why does everything take longer than expected?

When I started this blog I planned to have new projects every week ready to be shared. Finished new projects, to be specific.

Well, finished projects seem to be an endangered species around here. As usual, I always start more than I can finish. This is the latest example:

(please ignore the mess my kids made of the four original balls of yarn...)

Ever since I made the flower crochet pillow with the intention of putting it in my daughter's room, it has actually been sleeping in my son's bed. Every single night. That led me to promise I would make him is own crochet pillow in more boyish colors. He said he wanted blue, brown, green and red but I managed to get a compromise for just blue and brown (actually, more like caramel than brown).

Last week I had a day off work and I decided to test a spiral pattern I found on Pinterest. After some initial difficulties, it came together pretty quickly. Right until the time the kids came back from school. After that, it has been sleeping in a bag in our home office until I can find the time to finish it.

But I did like the pattern and I may come to test it with more than two colors to get to see its full potential.

See you around,
Teresa

Flower crochet pillow

Remember last post? I had just started a flower pillow based on this tutorial.

Well, it is done and I'm amazed at how fast it came together. Actually, it has been done for a few days now and it has actually taken me longer to post than to actually finish it.

If you want to make one, just follow the tutorial in the link above. In relation to the original pattern I just made three changes:
- I used just two colors instead of going for the original rainbow look
- I reduced the number of rows to adjust the pillow to the size I wanted
- I backed it with fabric instead of with another piece of crochet

Since you can make it in any size or in any color, the possibilities are endless. I'm already thinking of making another one in shades of green for our guest room.

Enjoy,