Tag Archives: pillows

Fabrics Along the Way – Androsia Fabric

I enjoy finding new and unique fabrics during our travels and first wrote a post about "fabrics along the way" here. When we were in the Bahamas last winter I fell in love with the iconic Androsia hand-crafted batik fabrics designed and made exclusively in the Bahamas on the island of Andros.  These cotton fabrics just speak to me saying, "You're in the Bahamas, mon!" and instantly transport you there.  You can buy the fabric by the yard and find many items of clothing and household items made of these colorful fabrics at stores throughout the islands.  I knew I had to have some of this fabric.  I had passed it up on a previous Bahamas cruise.  Now how to choose which fabric and what to make?  Why not pillows to perk up the saloon. Read more [...]

Piping – Going the Extra Mile

Piping requires extra time.  No doubt about it.  But it is one of those things in life that is worth the extra effort.  It really makes my pillows and duvet look almost professional.  The captain requested matching piping on the duvet - one way to get a perfect color match.  I grumbled at the work.  Piping for  a queen sized duvet is measured in miles, not feet.  But I took the time to make it.  Luckily the fabric had some give making a bit easier to work with.  I hate it when he is right, which is most of the time.  It looks great.   It wasn't that hard either. Making custom piping - I used a cotton cording 12/32".  The strips of fabric were 2" wide as long as I could make them.  I sewed the sections together at right angles Read more [...]

Pillows

Pillows are an easy sewing project.  They can be very simple or dressed up a bit.  Where would you want to add a bit of color and comfort? Start with your pillow form. What size do you want?  14" is small but cute.  20" is a good larger size. Maybe you want some in between or odd sizes? Joanne's Fabrics and Sailrite offer nice pillow forms.  Do you have serviceable pillows you could recover?  Or do you want a pillow sham that you can stuff with extra linens or clothes?  The captain requested one pillow cover for storing his down coat. What about a pillow made of old sailcloth for cockpit lounging? Are you going to sew in the pillow form or make a cover that you can take off easily?  You can easily make an envelope-style pillow Read more [...]