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Mood DIY: Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows

Monday, April 8th, 2013

So I’m going to let you in on a little secret. I’m the kinda girl that always experiments and injects loads of color into my wardrobe…but I must admit I’m a bit of a commitment phobe when it comes to adding splashes of color to my living space. Now, I’ve passed those throw pillows in Mood NYC downstairs a million times — always impressed – on my last trip I thought they’d be the perfect solution to ramp up the color factor in a way that’s changeable with the seasons. On a mission, I perused the aisles of Mood, and was immediately drawn to these canvas chevron and ikat pillows that compliment each other so nicely. I’ve never done these before but I gotta say I was SO very happy with the turn out. Let me know what you think in the comments below.

Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 1

Chevron and Ikat Throw Pillows 2
SUPPLIES: fabric, straight pins, invisible zippers, needle and thread, rotary cutter, chalk, measuring tape, scissors, and a sewing machine.

HOW-TO:
1. Cut out front and back forms. I have 18×18 inch pillows (Note: if you’d like them nice and snug, cut them exactly 18×18 inch, but if you’d like a little room in yours like I have here, cut them 19×19 — the extra inch is for a half inch seam allowance on each side).
2. I wanted to illustrate how to cut the form if you want to use a fabric with a design that needs centering. So here I used my ikat pillow. To center it, place a straight pin at the design’s mid point, then measure 9.5 inches to the left, and then to the right of that center point.
3. If you happen to get a zipper that’s a bit too long…no fear, I just learned a trick to shorten them. The ones I purchased were about 25 inches, but I wanted them shorter than my pillows. So, starting at bottom of zipper, I stuck a straight pin at 16 inches — my new desired length.
4. Next take a needle and thread and stitch around the teeth of the zipper at the 16 inch mark.
5. Once you’ve knotted the thread around the teeth, cut the remainder of the zipper about a half inch beyond this new point.
6. Then you’ll snip the fabric on either side of the zippers teeth up to the thread.
7. Hold the side flaps back and remove the excess teeth.
8. This is how is will look on both ends when you are finished.
9. Take one side of your pillow forms, facing right side up (doesn’t matter which side). Next use your straight pins to attach face down zipper against the top raw edge. (Note: I placed pins on both side of the zipper because it tended to move around a bit).
10. Using a zipper foot, I sewed the zipper onto the fabric, with the foot getting as close to the zipper’s teeth as I could.
11. Sew right up to the head of the zipper.
12. Lift zipper foot, pull back the zipper’s head and continue to stitch, and then back stitch to fully secure the zipper to the fabric — avoiding any weird bulges in places that might have been missed had you not maneuvered the zipper head.
13. Once this is complete, take the second side of the pillow form and place right sides together. Secure the other side of the zipper to the very top of this form with straight pins.
14. Sew the zipper on in the same way you did for the previous side.
15. You are now ready to close the pillow up. I pinned it on all sides to keep it straight. (Note: Be sure to start and end on either side of the zipper. If you want a finished look, create a little pocket for the zipper by sewing slightly below the zipper before continuing down the pillow form sides).
16. Sew down sides.
17. Before you make this last turn right below the zipper on the opposite side, be sure to leave the zipper open a few inches (even more than I did here) so you can open it once you’ve sewn it all shut). It will be tricky to open if you don’t.
18. Snip the bottom corners of the pillow form.
19. Flip the pillow form to the right side, and you are all set!

Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime. A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for nearly a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze is a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester, and provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.

Tags: chevron, ikat, pillows
Posted in DIY, Home Decor | 11 Comments »

Your Dog Shares Your Bed But Won’t Do the Laundry: A Solution

Wednesday, February 27th, 2013

Swatch is a big one for sharing the bed with his humans. He’s not much help doing the laundry, though.

Do your pets insist on sharing the bed with you? Yes, we know that it’s probably not the most sanitary thing to do and we’re aware that pathogens can be spread, but you can’t deny the feeling of contentment that comes from having a beloved pet within reach. Personally, my cocker spaniel makes the best foot warmer on a cold winter night.

Unfortunately, it’s not as though your pets join you in bed after their nightly bubble bath. They leave fur and dirt all over your bed, and aging pets sometimes can be incontinent. Unless you live in Downton Abbey, washing linens and changing sheets every day isn’t a practical option. Solution: Sew a pet-friendly bed scarf.

Bed scarves are perfect for pets that sleep at the foot of your bed. (Image by Shagreene, from Houzz)

Bed scarves—those small coverlets draped over the foot of a bed—first cropped up in hotels but are now going mainstream. My two dogs only sleep at the foot of my bed, so a bed scarf with a waterproof side sounded like a brilliant idea. For less than $20, I made a quick-and-easy bed scarf by taking a cotton flannel (top layer) from Mood NYC that worked with my bedroom decor, and machine-quilting it to some waterproof cotton (bottom layer) I had in my stash.

Pet bed scarf from Cabela’s. Not bad, but you’re limited to a few colors and it doesn’t come cheap.

It’s very simple to make your own pet bed scarf:

Option 1: Choose an outdoor fabric or water-repellent fabric that coordinates with your bedroom and just finish the edges with a bias trim (one layer of fabric).
Option 2: Choose a fabric likely to hold up to repeat washings, like a home decor cotton that coordinates with your bedroom. Pair it with a water-repellent fabric, such as treated cotton, ripstop or nylon. (At Mood NYC we have lots of rainwear fabrics in a wide array of colors.) Stitch the two layers right-sides together, leaving an opening to turn. Turn right-side out, press, and topstitch around the edges.
Option 3: Use a decorative, washable fabric paired with a moisture-repelling fabric as above, but add a layer of batting between them and machine-quilt to hold the layers together. Finish the edges with a binding like a quilt.

At Mood NYC you can find bolts of water-resistant fabrics as well as Sunbrella® fabrics (right).

Cute as Swatch may be here, I have it on good authority he snores.

Readers, do your pets sleep with you? Do they stick to the foot of the bed like mine do, or do they need to snuggle on your pillow with you? Tell us here, and please share your solutions for co-sleeping with your pet!

Tags: bed scarf, pets, water-resistant
Posted in Home Decor | 12 Comments »

Mood DIY: Armchair

Wednesday, January 23rd, 2013

When Mood’s home dec expert Danyce was offered a used armchair, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity. With the holidays fast approaching, she didn’t have the time to fully reupholster or slipcover such a large piece. Friends and family were coming over and she needed extra seating in good condition. Ever the resourceful one, she cooked up this foolproof, fake-it-’til-you-make-it DIY project that’ll give you a brand new armchair in a blink.

The original chair.

Tools:
Staple gun
Scissors
Chalk or another fabric marking tool
Pins (optional)
Hot glue gun (optional)

Fabric quantity: Consult an upholsterer’s guide or measure all angles of your piece.

Fabric type: Go for non-stretchy, mid- to heavyweight wovens. Beginners, shy away from patterns that require matching or fabric with an obvious nap.

Estimated time: 4-6 hours

Draping the fabric over an arm.

1. Measure, measure, measure. Drape your fabric over the chair to determine pattern placement and cut lines. Drape front to back and inside to outside. You’re going to be pulling and fastening everything to the back and bottom.

2.Once satisfied with placement, cut away any excess fabric. Tuck, shift, and pull, pull, pull before you fasten. If you think you’ve pulled the fabric as tight as it can possibly go, pull it one more time, just in case. Once everything is taut, staple away!

Excess fabric gathered in the corner, reader to be pleated and snipped.

3. Let the chair be your guide. Follow its lines to make pleats or corners. Once everything looks good, iron or hot glue your folds in place.

4. If your fabric is too bulky at the corners, use chalk to mark a cut line then shear away the excess.

5. When all folds and sides are secure and you’re satisfied with the look of your chair, staple fabric to the back and bottom of the chair. Reattach legs, if you have any. If you’re as obsessive as we are, you can cut away the excess fabric from the fastenings and make any last-minute adjustments.

The finished product.

There you have it. An afternoon armchair that’ll be ready for company in a snap. If there’s a spill, you can unstaple any component of the covering and toss it in the wash. If you get a bit tired of your fabric choice and long for a switch, the whole pieces are large enough to transform into throw pillows or use for smaller upholstery projects. We’d call this a win.

Ready to get started?