These pillows are a little busy. Okay. They're a lot busy, but I still love them. I wanted to use some of my more outrageous floral sheets to create something that captured the essence of a 1970's rec room. I used this great Joel Dewberry faux-bois fabric and pieced it in strips to simulate wood paneling. Then, I backed the pillows in furry fleece to give the look of a funky shag carpet.
I ended up making one 18" and one 24" pillow. I made the covers the same size as the pillows, so they fit snugly without being too tight. As much as I've loved the bamboo batting and bamboo stuffing I've been using, I was not a big fan of the bamboo pillow forms I used for these. They're a little too heavy and the stuffing kind of pulls together in the center, leaving the corners a bit wrinkly.
Here is a printable guide to cutting and piecing the pillow top: Download RecRoomPanel.pdf (10.7K)
Besides the materials listed for the top, you'll need an 18" or 24" pillow form and about 5/8 yard (for an 18" pillow) or 3/4 yard (for a 24" pillow) of muslin and furry fleece. I'm suggesting slightly wider pieces of furry fleece than you might think you'd need because it can be cumbersome to cut and I've found that having just a touch more can save a lot of time and trouble.
Once each pillow top was pieced, I used it as a guide to cut two pieces of muslin the same size. I then secured one of them to the wrong side of the pieced top by zig-zag stitching around the outside edge.
I next laid the second piece of muslin on the wrong side of a piece of furry fleece, pinned it securely and cut the furry fleece to the same size. (Basically, I used it as a pattern piece.) Keeping the two layers pinned together, I zig-zag stitched around the edges, securing the muslin to the fleece and cutting down on shedding. The furry fleece does shed a lot, but only along the raw edges. Once you pillow is finished and de-linted, it shouldn't shed any more.
I finished the pillow by pinning the right sides of the pieced front and furry fleece back together and closing three sides with a 1/4" seam. I also closed about two inches in from each corner on the fourth (open) side to make it so I didn't have to hand-stitch the corners.
Then, I clipped the corners, turned the cover right-side-out and pushed out the corners with a chopstick. I put the pillow form inside and finished by hand stitching the open side closed. Once the pillow is finished it will probably be covered in lint from the furry fleece. I found that my lint roller wasn't really up to the task of removing it all and had better luck with my vacuum cleaner (which I had to get out anyway to get all the fleecy bits off the carpet in my sewing room).
All in all, this was a pretty easy project. I liked the piecing arrangement so well that I'm now planning a quilt that will start with the same formation but continue the faux-bois sashing and concentric squares of pieced squares outward. I'll post a picture when it's done.
If you end up making one of these, please post a photo in my Flickr Pool.
How can something be so awful and so wonderful all at the same time?! LOL! Those are just too cool.
And I recognize one of those squares from the sheet you sent me (which has become my favorite skirt) and another one from the swap I hosted (which I just turned into a tank top last week). Fun!
Posted by: Lisa Clarke | July 21, 2008 at 10:12 AM
Look at you go.....you are the sewing grand champion! Those pillows are so tongue in cheek groovy. The orange one would have looked fabulous on the couch we had when I was growing up, and we had the wood paneling too. Love your blue quilt sewing too!
Posted by: jackie | July 21, 2008 at 11:14 AM
Very cute!
Posted by: Cindy | July 21, 2008 at 12:25 PM
Ohhh! I need some of that Dewberry wood grain ASAP! :) Very fun - I can't wait to see your quilts come along - all 8 of them! Love the greens in the dresden plate so far!
Posted by: shannon | July 21, 2008 at 03:23 PM
These are AWESOME, Elizabeth!
Posted by: Jessie | July 21, 2008 at 03:48 PM
Groovy pillows. I love the pattern, the woodgrain, and the furry backing. So cute. I can't wait to see what else you come up with. Thanks for posting your projects!
Posted by: Hope | July 21, 2008 at 05:13 PM
I love the pillows... they are so cute for a rec room... I love the combination of fabrics you chose... Great project.
Posted by: Shelly G. | July 22, 2008 at 09:08 AM
Those pillows are FANTASTIC! They look so comfy and fun. I love the woodgrain fabric. I think I might have to go buy some of that!
Posted by: Tracey | July 23, 2008 at 06:57 AM
These are fabulous! You are so creative. I love the shaggy fur, too...what a great touch.
Posted by: Amy | July 23, 2008 at 07:25 AM
I love the pattern -- thanks so much for the printable guide!! I've already printed it and it will be one of my next sewing projects!
Posted by: Concha | July 23, 2008 at 10:02 AM
Your pillows are just fab! The shag and the faux bois couldn't be more perfect! xo, suzy
Posted by: suzy | July 24, 2008 at 07:48 AM
These remind me a my grandmother bedroom. Wood paneling and flower quilt.
All she needed was a white shag rug.
This are great! Thanks for reminding me of my childhood.
Posted by: lavon | July 24, 2008 at 01:25 PM
OMG! I used to have that yellow/green/orange bedspread when I was younger!!!!! Very cute pillows!
Posted by: Karen | July 24, 2008 at 07:38 PM
Oh, I could just see those pillows in the Brady Bunch's living room! Grrrroovy!
Posted by: georgia | July 24, 2008 at 11:53 PM
I love the pattern, thankyou so much for the pdf. I think I'll make some of my own, but with different fabric and without the "shag" effect. I do like the blue "peach blossom" fabric though!!
Posted by: Amanda | July 25, 2008 at 02:02 AM
I love these pillows. I think i'm going to adapt the idea into a doona cover and use lots of bold vintage prints.
Posted by: Tinniegirl | December 23, 2008 at 01:18 PM
Did you take support of a paper writing service for your distinguished outcome? I opine that you have unique analysis essay creating ability. Thanks so much for your stuff!
Posted by: Jessica26 | February 16, 2010 at 01:04 PM