Living & dining room treats

Nearly finished.....

I think these two rooms deserve a couple of spring treats.
This year I am thinking of changing some lampshades & making new cushion covers.
For the dining room maybe some pretty napkins & napkin rings, all my dinnerware is white and so is the tablecloth I use for dinners (I have a pretty one for afternoon tea) a pop of colour will do the trick.

 




If you would like to make 8 napkins ONLY you will need:
 1/2-yard of Echino Solid in Bright Pink
1/2-yard of Echino Solid in Chartreuse
 1/2-yard of Kona Cotton in Bright Pink
 1/2-yard of Kona Cotton in Mustard
Embroidery Thread in Light Brown Black
 A small embroidery needle
 fabric marker such as tailor’s chalk or a pencil

Finished Measurements
Napkins:  16-inches square
Placemats:  13-inches x 17-inches

Cutting


Cut one 18-inch square from a solid fabric.
Use tailor’s chalk or a pencil to mark a line 1-inch in from all four edges as pictured above.

Hemming Step 1


Press two opposite edges in 1/2-inch to meet the drawn line.


Fold these folds over 1/2-inch once more, encasing the raw edges.
Press and pin the folded edges into place.


Beginning 1-inch from the corner, at the intersecting drawn line, sew the two folds into place with a small running stitch approximately 1/8-inch from the fold. Stop at the opposite intersecting drawn line, 1-inch from the raw edge.


Your stitches should be neat and relatively straight along the fold.

Hemming Step 2

Fold all four corners in a right triangle shape as pictured above, press into place.


Press the two remaining raw edges in towards the drawn lines like you did for the first step of the hemming. Make sure to keep your corner triangles pressed down as you do this.


Fold the edges over again 1/2-inch, press and pin into place.


Starting from the inside of the mitered corners sew these folds into place with a small running stitch approximately 1/8-inch from the edge of the fold. (The miter of the corner is a great place to hide your knot!)


 
This pattern is found @ Purlbee.

I am going to make these in pretty pastel shades (sorted)

this fabric will make some little napkins

 



I can't decide... I like these and they will be simple to make



 

 

If you only have a scrap of fabric you love....
use a different one on the back.




I love  the trim


To make all of my DIY Envelope Pillows for spring I used:

-5+ yards of fabric
-11 pillow forms
– rotary cutter and cutting mat (if you don’t have this you can use fabric scissors)
– sewing machine, thread, fabric scissors
– iron and ironing board


I started by measuring my pillow forms and cutting my fabric to fit each form. I mainly used 18×18 square pillow forms (I like the ones from IKEA the best) but I also made a couple of lumbar style pillows in a 12×18 size as well as a 14×25 size. For the purposes of discussing measuring during this tutorial I will refer to the 18×18 size forms.
You are going to need to cut your fabric to the correct width (18″) and length doubled plus 8″-10″ – So: 18″+18″+8″ = 44″-46″ total for the overlap on the back.

How to judge what size to cut your fabric:
I only added about 1/2″ for seam allowance on my 18″ width because I like my pillow covers to fit the pillow forms nice and snugly – no saggy loose pillow covers for me. You need to be the judge of how much seam allowance you need to add because it depends how full and firm your pillow form is. If you have a super full form then maybe add 1″ for seam allowance. If your pillow form looks like horses recently trampled on it, then squish it together to get the accurate size for a nice plump pillow when you measure it.
When it is time to cut, measure twice (or 3 or 4 time) and cut once!
I’ve screwed up cutting before. It is truly heart wrenching to waste beautiful fabric. I might not be lying if I told you it has brought me to tears.
Think it out first and be careful. If you don’t have a rotary cutter and mat (probably my favourite crafting tool ever) then you can use a long straight edge and pencil to mark a line and regular ol’ fabric scissors to cut your fabric instead.

Once cut, give ‘er a little iron to smooth out those wrinkles. At the same time you can fold over and iron the hem on the edges that will make the envelope fold on the back (by this I mean hem the short 18″ ends that are at each edge of the looooooong doubled+8-10″ piece). I used the salvage edge of the fabric for one end – it will be folded inside the pillow so you won’t even see it. Then I only had to hem one end. Score.



Now measure your piece of fabric and fold it in onto itself, with the ‘right’ or good side facing in. If, like me, you used the salvaged edge then make sure you fold down the nicely hemmed edge first and have the salvaged edge on the outside of your folded pillow cover (so that when you flip it inside out the salvaged edge will be on the inside of the envelope flap where you won’t see it).
I always like to iron my edges to set them at the correct size before sewing.
Now you just sew together the two edges of your form
Flip it inside out

And stuff it! Literally

Re covering a lampshade

First- Lay out your drum shades seam in line with the end of your fabric:

Second: Start drawing a line on the top and bottom of the drum, leaving 1 1/2 in. between the drum and the line.

Third: Roll your drum across the fabric until you have completed a full circle and your back at the seam. Make sure you have your line {1 1/2 in. away} outlining the drum. This is what your fabric will look like once cut out:
 
   
Fourth:Once cut out, wrap around the drum to make sure it fits properly

ignore my excess fabric here, it was on purpose because I have a serious habit of cutting fabric too short

Fifth: Start by glueing the fabric at the seam on one side:

Sixth: With the extra 1 1/2 in. of fabric hanging off the top and the bottom of the drum, start gluing the inside ring of the drum and pressing down the fabric.

Seventh: Glue down the fabric on the top, then make sure that the fabric is taught, and glue the bottom down. When it comes to the areas where the metal parts are, simply cut the fabric a little so it can go over the metal easily:

 

 

Eighth: Once all the fabric on the top and bottom is glued down, fold over 1in. of extra fabric to make a flap to cover the seam {sorry-no photo}. Then trim off all excess fabric on the inside of the drum:

 
   
Ninth: Step back and admire how you just covered a drum shade and made it new again!

 

Thank you Dreambookdesign for this tutorial

 

 
   

ignore my excess fabric here, it was on purpose because I have a serious habit of cutting fabric too short