Anticipating Spring

Punxutawney Phil, better known as "The Groundhog", predicted an early spring this year.

While I don't give a lot of creditability to a rodent accurately forecasting the weather, I do tend to get antsy for sunshine on my face this time of year.

My wool-covered throw pillows have served us well this winter, but somehow seem heavy.

It's time to lighten things up a bit.

Throw pillows are extremely easy to recover and the amount of money saved by not repurchasing the down inserts is well worth the small amount of time this project requires.

They change the look of a room instantly and can add a pop of whimsy or color to an otherwise dull room. 

"Springin' It Up!", I like to say.

It all starts with a trip to the fabric store and an open mind.

I chose a white background fabric with pops of ochre (my wall color) and black (an accent color throughout the family room).  I then found another fabric for contrast that pulls out the grey I was hoping to introduce.

Next, I cut the fabric to size (my small pillows were 18x18 inches and the larger pillows were 20x20inches).

I always cut my pillow fabric to exact size (before attaching the piping trim), because I like the pillow cover to fit the down inserts snugly... the result is a puffier pillow.

I carefully pinned the flat edge of the piping to the edge of the fabric before switching my sewing machine foot to one that is made for attaching piping (it has a "channel" on the underside that rides along the top of the piping, allowing a snug stitch where the rounded piping meets the flat edge) and attached the piping to one side of the pillow.

I was sure to pin the rounded corners before stitching to ensure an even, curved appearance.

After attaching the piping to one side, I pinned both sides of the pillow together with the right sides faced together and followed the original piping stitch from the backside as I sewed the two pillow sides together.

It's a fabric sandwich, of sorts. 

The piping trim was sewn to the edge of one piece of fabric, before being placed face-to-face with the second piece of fabric.  

I was sure to leave a large opening along the last edge for the pillow insert.

Before turning the fabric inside-out so the right sides were showing, I trimmed the excess fabric off the corner edges and carefully snipped tiny slits close to, but not quite reaching the stitching. 

This small step provides a smoother curve to the pillows rounded corners.

 Finally, I stuffed my down inserts into the pillow covers and hand stitched the bottom edges closed.

Viola!  A pop of fresh new color on a shoestring budget.

Love, live and create intentionally,

Kristi