Heaven on Earth

Heaven on Earth

Monday, March 4, 2013

The silk purses (or my new-ish neckrolls)...

Remember those old daybed pillows?   Here they are after their "surgery".  They're in front on the bed.
I chose new fabrics for the pillows based on the 1850's antique album quilt on the bed.  I quite like the neck rolls now.  They are clean and the perfect size.  Best of all, there is no more lumpy stuffing. The old rolls from the day bed had removable covers but were too large for the bed.  So after removing the old shams, I unpicked the pillow and salvaged some of the batting that was used to stuff the old pillows and discarded the rest.  I unpicked the round fabric from one end and cut 2 inches in length from each pillow so that two neck rolls would fit across our antique bed (the previous owners had a carpenter widen the bed to queen size). I'll tell you the amazing bed story another time.  Then I stitched the round ends back on the tube halfway around (right sides together) and turned them right side out, leaving a hole to insert the new batting.  Next, a quick trip to the fabric store for batting on a roll, which I purchased for $8.00. I only needed 2 yards and it was on sale. Hooray!
I put the old batting inside the new, and stuffed it into the cushions.  As you can see in the photo above left, I turned the raw edges of the circle to the inside, basted them shut and then slip stitched the cushion together, enclosing the batting.  Neck rolls can be purchased at any linen store and they are fairly inexpensive or you can make your own inside pillow using scrap fabric. My New custom pillow inserts cost me only $8.00 for the batting as I used the old fabric again.  You can't beat that for value. Making the fabric covers is easy, quick, and great value for my time.

Another trip to the fabric store yielded some sale fabric for the removable covers.  It as my lucky day.  I made some tiny green piping with another new fabric and sewed it between the two print fabrics.
The piping cost just a few dollars, as I had the string in my stash.  For about $20.00 I got the pillows rebuilt and refurbished, and made entirely new covers and it only took a few hours.

I'm quite happy with the look and I like that I can remove the cases for laundering.  My husband loves his new neck roll for reading at night, and I have my eye on a woven indigo fabric for another set to match other quilts.  The Euro shams and down comforter cover are white Irish Linen, so changing out the quilts and pillows lets me switch up the bedroom color scheme with minimal effort and cost.
I love having matching pillows with my quilts!  It was a good day's work.

I'll be back with a tutorial for making pillow roll covers, if you're interested.   Check back for instructions.

16 comments:

  1. Oh, they look so lovely, Bonnie! Your quilt is a beauty, too!
    Well done!

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  2. They turned out wonderful! The fabric was a perfect choice to go with that beautiful quilt.

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  3. Wow Bonnie -- that bed is gorgeous! I LOVE the old quilt and you did a great job matching the new fabric to the colors. Beautiful!

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  4. The pillows look great, and the quilt is so beautiful! Enjoy the clear day!

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  5. I love the whole bedroom.....everything in the room. It
    is beautiful! The bed is beautiful....It is just me style..
    I love dark wood antiques and everything from the 1800's.
    I know the trend all over blog land is to paint everything white..
    but I think beautiful antique wood and homes should be left
    or restored instead of 'updated'. I love that spinning wheel
    at the top of your page...I wish I had a blog (maybe someday)
    to show my two spinning wheels! Your pillows fit right in..
    Corinne

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    1. Thanks Corinne. I love restorations as well. They are not always feasible but I think Old homes are wonderful. Start a blog. It's fun.

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  6. The quilt is GREAT, thanks for sharing. Would love to add it to my collection!

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  7. Off topic here, but I have a tendency to have OCD when it comes to some projects. Could you please post a tutorial on your gorgeous rag rugs? Pinterest called it a Swedish Rag Rug and when I looked it up it also showed the toothbrush rug. Are they the same, doesn't look like it to me. Would be much appreciated!

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  8. Hi Kathyr, I wish I had a tutorial for you on my rugs. I am currently teaching them and travel to do so. I just haven't had the time to get a site up where people can take a class via internet. I hope to do so in the future, but haven't had the time just yet. Keep following here, if you are interested, because it's where I will post the information on the class when the time comes. Thanks for your interest.

    These rugs are unique and I am not sure what to call them. There are on similarities to other techniques. They aren't really related to Scandinavian rugs at all.

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  9. Do you have a teaching schedule? Remember the OCD thing. I will continue to follow. I had signed up to receive your posts long ago, but I don't get them. Thanks for your reply, kathy

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  10. Very good work! They look just lovely with the bed and bedding, and you can't beat the price.

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  11. Kathy, You might try using the Linky tool on my sidebar if you are having trouble following my blog.

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  12. Everything about your home is lovely and you have done a wonderful job with your bedroom.

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  13. Oh my goodness! The applique quilt on your bed is beautiful! I love the pillows you've added.

    Joyce

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  14. Bonnie, Your neckroll pillows are absolutely gorgeous! Is there anything you can't do?!? I would just love to camp out on that bed, those pillows, with a good book on a lazy afternoon:) You are the crafty QUEEN!

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