Hooray, hooray! The sewing machine came out today! I've been avoiding it for so long, but I finally got a burst of motivation and knocked out three projects.
First up was a pillow repair. I had this orange pillow that I loved, but the zipper broke and some of the fabric near the zipper was fraying. (I don't have any before pictures, but it was very much like this one, plain, orange, ribbed.) I contemplated fixing the zipper, but it seemed easier to do a complete overhaul. And then I found this floral fabric, swooned, and started planning my design.
It's super simple. I cut off the zipper and frayed end. I removed the existing pillow stitching. I held my breath and cut the pillow length in half. I inserted my new floral panel of equal width (with a muslin lining to match the thickness and weight of the original fabric) and stitched them all together so I had a long strip of orange-floral-orange. I measured for a large overlap to make an envelope closure (see below) and hemmed the new ends. Then I lined up the old stitching marks, inside out of course, and sewed across the sides. Turned it right side out, stuffed in the pillow, and tossed it on the couch. Took me maybe an hour and a half, because I was being careful.
Project #2 was a bean bag for my camera. I don't mind getting the tripod out for shoots on location, but around the house I'm just too lazy. However, when I set the camera on a table—my tripod substitute—I have to prop it with something to get it to lay straight. There are several beanbags available to purchase for this specific purpose, but hello, how hard is it to make a bean bag? Plus I get to choose my fabric and it's pretty.
I don't have to explain this one, do I? Cut two rectangles, sew them with right sides together, leaving a couple inches unsewn for turning and filling. Turn right side out, fill with your choice of beans (or rice or whatever; I used barley), stitch closed.
See? It works great. And it's the perfect size for my monster new lens. (Didn't I tell you it was huge?)
My third project was the camera padding for my giant camera tote. I don't have pictures because it's boring and gray and utilitarian. (You can kind of see it in the tote post, though I didn't have it all attached then.) I completed half of it when I just had my camera and my short 50mm lens, but I knew that if I wanted to take the new monster anywhere, I need to finish the other half. I got it done just in time for the fireworks excursion. :)
What are you sewing this week?
