Monday, April 12, 2010

A quick sewing lesson because of a pet peeve...

I have been sewing for over 40 years and I have taught Fashion Design and textile classes for many years, so I consider myself quite experienced. Like anything, practice makes perfect, but in order to sew well, one must comprehend how something is constructed first. The difference between something looking handmade and something looking professional is all in the small construction details.
This is a pet peeve I have that I need to share with all of the inexperienced, or those brave enough to teach themselves.
Pillows are easy to make, BUT the difference between a professional looking pillow and a "I made it myself and it shows"pillow:
Step 1: Always leave the opening on the bottom CENTER, a hands-width wide:
Use a 5/8" seam allowance and ALWAYS snip the corners at an angle so that you get clean, sharp, "pointy" corners when you turn it right-side out:
and most importantly, learn how to sew the INVISIBLE (or blind) stitch to close it properly. No one should EVER be able to find the area that you stitched closed!

I hope this helps all of you to create pillows that look expensive and professionally made!

Joining Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios
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Patti @ Pandoras Box
Patti @ Pandoras Box

I live in central NY and I am a retired family and consumer science teacher. I enjoy all types of crafting, decorating and cooking

16 comments:

  1. Jennifer JuniperApril 12, 2010 at 10:21 PM

    These are great tips! It's true, sometimes you can just tell a handmade pillow if it's not done properly.

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  2. KileenApril 12, 2010 at 10:41 PM

    Great tips and ones I will pass on while teaching my daughters to sew, since pillows are a great first project.

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  3. UnknownApril 12, 2010 at 11:09 PM

    Hi Patti...greetings from my corner of the world tonight. I wanted to pop back over and tell you I got your email with your address. Thanks so much for being my 100th blog friend! I hope you come back soon. Today I posted about my weekend and jumping for joy with my daughter!
    I always admire people who can sew well, it's not my talent and I admire it sew!
    Tee hee...happy week ahead to you! ~Jacqueline~

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  4. Lori PApril 13, 2010 at 8:28 AM

    Nice points and you're exactly right. It's all in the details. :)

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  5. JaneApril 13, 2010 at 9:29 AM

    Great tips. I haven't really sewed anything for awhile so these are great refresher tips (plus I like to take the easy way out so I probably would have skipped some of these steps). Keep passing on any sewing tips you want...I could use them.
    Jane

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  6. AnonymousApril 13, 2010 at 9:50 AM

    I even took a sewing class to learn to make pillows and you summed it up in a nutshell on this one post. Love the clear directions. I'm going to print this page to keep on file.

    More, more!

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  7. Creations By CindyApril 13, 2010 at 10:37 AM

    Thanks for tips girl! You are too good with your stuff! Be blessed. Cindy

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  8. Jen Sue WildApril 13, 2010 at 12:21 PM

    Loving these Tips.. They will be helpful for when I make pillows this summer.

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  9. WendyApril 13, 2010 at 2:52 PM

    Great tips!

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  10. Amanda JoApril 13, 2010 at 5:24 PM

    Patti,

    Please tell me you live near North Texas! I'd love to have an expert teach me to sew - I have no talent for it at all!

    Thanks for the great tip!!

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  11. UnknownApril 14, 2010 at 9:28 AM

    Hello out there...Hi Patti! Just wanted you to know I'm mailing out a little gifty to you next Monday for being my 100th follower...Cheers to you and arrival on Jelly Bean Island...just wanna play all day!

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  12. CrystalApril 14, 2010 at 12:47 PM

    Thanks for the tips! I tried sewing pillows for 1st time this weekend and found out it was tougher than it looks like!!

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  13. UnknownApril 14, 2010 at 10:43 PM

    great tips and i know your talking about me huh??LOL.. MISHELLE

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  14. Richella ParhamApril 15, 2010 at 11:16 AM

    These are wonderful tips, Patti--they're so simple, yet they could make a world of difference!

    I am NOT a good seamstress. I wish I were, but I'm not. Still, I've made some things that really look pretty good, mostly from figuring out via trial-and-error the kinds of things you've described here.

    Could you do sequels to this? Maybe this could be Simple Sewing 101 and you could do 201 and 301. . . I for one would love to know more of what you know!

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  15. KitschaliciousApril 16, 2010 at 1:11 AM

    I've never sewn a pillow before, but I have a couple on my to-do list. I don't suppose you have any tips on sewing sleeves on a garment, would you? I hate sewing sleeves! LOL! Thanks for the pillow tip!

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  16. amyApril 16, 2010 at 2:05 PM

    Thanks for the sewing tips, I will be making some pillows of my own soon and this came in handy.

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