Hi Everyone!

How was your week?  I’ve been a little busy trying to take care of the daily grind stuff… nothing too exciting.  We got rid of this humongous armoire in our bedroom on Wednesday, so that was a feat.  Ed was using it to store his t-shirts and shorts, so I needed to reorganize his actual closet to fit the whole wardrobe in one place.  That one small thing took me ALL DAY LONG.  I’m sure you feel my pain.  The day-to-day stuff just takes soooo much time and leaves very little for the fun projects that are on my Want-to-do-List.  Boo!  But now my room feels so much more balanced… Ahhhhh.  Sometimes it’s difficult to get rid of a major piece of furniture, especially when it’s nice, but it could have a major change in your space.  Now I will get down from my preaching perch =)

I did, however, make an effort to sew up a new pillow made from vintage Kimono fabric.

Here is where my inspiration came from… A find on 1st Dibs for $435 each

Perfect as one of my new sofa pillows!

Now began the hunt for kimono fabric and I kinda wanted something vintage, if it worked out. There are really only a two places I know of to likely find some… A flee market (and it must be a “worldly” one) and eBay.  I checked both, but I found that for what I wanted to do, eBay was a better play because there are a ton of options.  And the few vintage kimonos fabrics I found at flee markets were actual kimonos, very beautiful, very expensive and I could never bring myself to chop up a piece of art for a measly pillow.

Have you just logged onto eBay?  Good.  You mostly find silk, polyester and wool fabric.  I recommend the wool.  It’s thicker and more durable, but not as soft.  Silk is amazing, but just know that you can’t easily clean that sucker.  No polyester; it just feels wrong.  I purchased several of the three, and ultimately learned that wool is good and to expect to pay about $7-10 for a piece 15″x 60″.  Don’t stinge out – you will not be happy with the fabric.  My two cents!

Here are some options I just found on sale now…

Here’s what I ended up picking for $9 (inc. shipping).

They will obviously range in price but will be only 14-15″ wide.  Decisions, decisions.  Do you stitch two together for one pillow or purchase a complementary fabric?  I was super lucky to find a cotton fabric at Joanne’s that would go perfectly, while buying the bandana stuff!  Thank you Fabric Fairies!!

Channel your inner geisha while picking fabrics.  Don’t be afraid to mix patterns – that’s how the kimono is meant to be worn!

The pillow form I’m using is 16 x 24, so that would give me a few inches on each side of the new fabric and then I could put the vintage piece right down the middle.  Giddiness!

Cut your pieces leaving 0.5″ allowance for each seam side.  I always make my covers a few inches shorter than the pillow so it’s tight.  I made this one 14 x 22, then added the allowances.  Then pin the right sides together and have at it… with your sewing machine!!

Now’s the time to add in the zipper, which I have already described in detail with the tassel pillow.  You got this!!

Line up your sh#t!!  There are lots of lines here, so take your time!!

Once you have the zipper in, simply sew the other two sides together and if you’d like, you can sew the top too for a crisper look.

Ta-Da!

Does she remind you of anyone?!?

I hope I’ve inspired you to try something new on your pillows.

Have a fantabulous weekend!!