Sew | SunshineandSawdust

I was in several thrift stores right before Halloween hunting for the perfect accoutrement for my outfit. Yes, I just used accoutrement in a sentence. I like fancy words sometimes. While I was hunting through rack after rack of worn sweaters, I thought it would be cool to make a slightly less ugly one even better looking. It’s that time of year where sweater pillows and chunky knit throws are everywhere. Why buy new when you can make make your own and reuse?

Supplies & Tools Needed

Ugly sweater that has seen better days
Matching Thread
Sewing Machine

Total Cost

Sweater- $5.90
Thread (already owned)- $0

Total Cost: $5.90!!

1. Wash that sweater to get that thrift store smell gone! Although maybe you like the smell of moth balls and your grandma’s attic. Horrible lighting!

2. I cut off the neck and sleeves. I already had a 18″ x 12″ pillow insert, so I cut my sweater down to approximately 19″ x 13″. I kept the edges of my sweater intact so I would have 2 less sides to sew!

3. I then cut a straight line down the back of the pillow. I was doing this so I could do a flap-like closure. I wasn’t in the mood to sew a zipper or buttons, they’re a pain.

4. I then used the bottom ribbing of the sweater that I had cut off, and pinned and sewed it to the edges of the back flap enclosures. Skip to the 3rd picture below if it sounds confusing, the pic helps to explain.

This is how the flaps will look in their final position with everything sewn together.

5. Then I pinned the top piece together about an inch down from the top and sewed. I ended up having to hand sew the area where the sweaters overlap on the back as it was too thick for my sewing machine.

6. Repeat for the bottom side.

7. You’re done! This is what it looks like inside out.

8. Turn your sweater cover inside out, and insert the pillow through the open flap. Fluff and enjoy your new pillow!

Penny doing her best Blue Steel impression

Disclaimer: Next time I am going to make sure I use a much bigger sweater. I was paying so much attention to whether I liked the pattern on the sweater, I picked the smallest sweater ever. Seriously I think I bought it in the kids section.

Last we left off in the Ladies’ Lounge, the windows were looking a little too Panda friendly. Bamboo Galore! I wanted to add curtains to help soften the lines of the bamboo and break it up so it wasn’t one big wall of brown. The only issue is that there are 7 windows in this room, so I knew buying curtains was going to be a pretty big expense. Especially when I decided I liked the look of Pottery Barn’s Emery Linen Drape. 7 panels of those would have cost $973! If I had chosen to go down the store bought path, I would have also had an issue with the width of the panels. The windows are only 30” wide, and I didn’t want them to be overwhelmed by 2 -54” panels framing out each window.

I went to Joann’s and took a look at all the linens they had and found something that is very similar-Sew Classics Linen. I waited until the linens went on sale, and then bought the 19 yards needed to make the 14 panels that would be used for these 7 windows!

Supplies & Tools Needed

19 yards of Sew Classics Linen in Papyrus
Sewing Machine
Ivory Thread
Straight Pins
Bronze Curtain Clip Rings

Total Cost

19 yards of Sew Classic Linen in Papyrus- normally about $250, I got 50% off- $123.50
3 packs of curtain hooks- $20.91

Total Cost: $144.41

How To:

1. My windows are approximately 30” wide by 63” tall. Since I wanted each panel to just graze the floor, I needed them to be 90″ tall. This can completely change based on your own window size, so be aware. I first cut the 19 yards down to 7 lengths based on the height that I needed.

2. Since I knew that my curtains were going to be more decorative rather than actually pulled close, I specifically bought the amount that I did so that I could get two panels out of the width of one bolt. My fabric was 54” wide which worked perfectly because I didn’t want the wall of windows to be overwhelmed with so much fabric. You might want to only use the width of the fabric for one panel instead of two. At this point, I cut my fabric down the fold line in half.

3. In order to hem the sides, I folded it over about a quarter of an inch and ironed. Then I folded it over again about ¾”. All of this was done by eye, I did not measure or mark off. After everything was ironed, I pinned it.

4. I hemmed the top as well. I folded it over a quarter of an inch and ironed. Then I folded it over again 2” and ironed and pinned.

5. Sew! This is the part that seriously took forever! With 14 panels that means there were 56 sides that needed to be sewn!

6. Then I used curtain ring hooks to place the curtains on the rods to see where they needed to be hemmed to. I used these Bronze Curtain Clip Rings that I found at Lowes. Seriously these are the cheapest that I could find anywhere, and they were half the price of the competition! Awesome when you need it for 7 windows! I pinned up the bottom of the curtain so it was flush with the floor where it touched the quarter round.

7. After pinning the bottoms of the curtains, I ironed along that fold to create a crisp crease. Then unfolded it, and cut the bottom off at 5” from the folded line. Then using a tape measure, I folded 1” in. This created a hem stitch at 4” from the bottom. I then ironed this fold as well.