A Finished Project

I love to look at craft blogs and see all the fun things people make. Every once in a while I am so inspired that I even purchase the needed materials to complete one of the projects myself. Actually making the item, however, is a usually a different story.

Ruffle pillows are one of the crafts that have really intrigued me as I blog surf. When I found this one,

which even included a straight forward tutorial I was hooked.

During my next visit to DI I picked up a t-shirt for $1.00 in the perfect color to go with my new bedspread.

Surprise of all surprises, I even made me a ruffle pillow!

Now, the experience wasn't quite as simple as I had hoped. There are a few things I would do differently if I were to make another ruffle pillow (which I just might do , because I think they are so cute!).

First, I had this pillow form getting kicked around my house so I decided to use it instead of purchasing fiberfill. The curved corners were a little bit of a challenge for me and because I used the foam form I had to hand sew an entire side rather than just a small hole. I think next time I would buy the stuffing.

Second, the instructions said to cut the ruffles about 21 inches long. When I cut mine they ended up being about 26 inches so like the good doobie I am I trimmed each one to 22 inches and then kicked myself over and over again when I sewed the ruffles on and wished they had a little bit more gather. Next time I will make the ruffles as long as possible.

Third, I ended up making holes in my fabric in a few places either because my needle was too fat or my needle was damaged when I ran over the pins holding the ruffles in place. In the future I will use a needle made to sew on knit and I will move the pins rather than cruise through them.

Fourth, I had a really hard time spacing my ruffles and getting them actually sewn in a straight line where I wanted them to be. I'm thinking I might go as far as drawing some straight lines on the pillow top fabric to help with ruffle placement next time. The ruffle would cover the line up, so I don't think it would be a problem.

All in all, I am very happy with my finished project.

Now I just need to learn how to place my pillows so they look decorative and not dorky. I better go look for a blog about that.