L is for Loveseat

Today is L day in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge! 

I mentioned back when I did the Good Night Pillows for letter G that I would be explaining more in depth how to make envelope pillows later in the A to Z. Today is the day!

My husband pretty much lives in his den. (Obviously, from the picture you can tell he also needs to tidy it up.) Since being in there had been effectively closing him off from the rest of the family, we decided that we should make an attempt to turn it into a more family friendly area so we could go hang out with him.

Our family Christmas present was the loveseat shown above and a flat screen TV that fits up into an area of his desk hutch. We can now all hang out, play video games, watch Netflix...it's kind of a mini man cave in there.

I had a few spare pillows kicking around the house that I figured we would use to add a little bit of color into the room, but they needed a little assistance. They were worn and older. One of them didn't even have a covering. It was time for a revamp, so I made some new envelope sleeves for all four.

I used the same fabrics I used for the Good Night Pillows. Why? Well...

1. Because I liked it.
2. Because I had it.

Simple enough.

I started off by cutting out squares for each pillow.

The square for the front of your pillow should be 1" taller and 1" wider than the measurement of your pillow. I'll be using measurements for the maroon and navy pillows above, which are 16 x 16" pillows. That meant that my pillow fronts needed to be 17 x 17".

The rectangle for the back of the pillow will be 1" taller and 5" wider than your pillow. For me, that meant 17 x 21" patterned rectangles.

If you use a larger seam allowance than 1/4" or you have extra fluffy pillows, add an extra inch onto these measurements in each direction to ensure that your envelope back stays closed.

Cut your back rectangle in half. In my case, each one became two 17" x 10.5" rectangles.

Create a nice edge for each rectangle by folding one edge in by 1/4", pressing, and folding another 1/4". Press again. Once you have these seams, stitch them down. These two seams will be where your envelope comes together in the back for the insertion of your pillow.

I sewed my pillows with French seams to keep everything pretty. I'm going to teach you how and you'll wonder why you never made seams this way before. If you're anything like me, you'll then be obsessed with making French seams on everything. They just look nice!

Layer and pin the fabrics with insides facing together. Stitch around the edges. Cut the corners at an angle. This will keep your corners crisp.

Flip the whole thing inside out. Make sure to push your corners out fully. Pin all the way around feeling for the edge of the other side's seam.

Sew around the outsides again, making sure that your new seam stays inside of the outside edges you will now be sealing inside. You just made a French seam! Look how nice your inside edges look!

Flip your pillow inside out once more. See how pretty your outside edges look too!

Insert your pillow through the envelopes in the back and smooth out your fabric.

That's it! Brand new fancy pillows for you. Take some horribly lit pictures for your blog that totally don't do the fabrics justice and you're all done.

Slide the cases off and wash them as you need to or -- since you're now a master pillow maker -- pull them off and make new ones any time you so desire.

Miss any of my A to Z posts so far this year? Find them below...

1. A is for Anna (Easy Anna Cape)
2. B is for Bath (Appliqued Bath Mat)
3. C is for Child (Children's Growth Ruler)
4. D is for Denim (Denim Bib)
5. E is for Etch (Etched Casserole Dishes)
6. F is for Felt (Felt Hopscotch Mat)
7. G is for Good Night ("Good Night" Envelope Pillows)
8. H is for Hood (Easy Hooded Towel)
9. I is for Insulated (Insulated Beverage Cozies)
10. J is for Jumper (Embroidered Spring Jumper)
11. K is for Know (Know When to Hold 'Em/Fold 'Em Laundry Sign)

Are you visiting from A to Z? 

Be sure to leave me a comment (including your blog link) so I can come over and return the favor!

I discovered yesterday that the Disqus widget has apparently been giving some commenters fits. I have removed it, so you should now all be free to comment as you please. If the comment box gives you an issue, please feel free to email me and let me know. Thanks!!

Next up...letter M. That will put us halfway through the alphabet and halfway through the month. It goes so fast!