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DIY: Sweatshirt Remake

Do you have that one comfy cozy sweatshirt that you just can’t bear to get rid of no matter what its state? I do. Normally I don’t have a problem getting rid of clothes when I am done with them. In fact, I actually look forward to getting rid of stuff! But there is something about this particular sweatshirt that I just can’t part with. It was Jason’s before we ever got married and then somewhere along the way it became mine. It is ragged and old but I still like to wear it around the house. Here it is in all its glory:

See how the cuffs are coming off of the sleeves? I wore this thing to the ground! For whatever reason, I decided this crusty sweatshirt could be saved and remade. And I promptly took my scissors to it! First, I cut off all of the cuffs and most of the sleeves. Then, I turned it inside out and sewed up the sides to give it a new seam and make it a bit more fitted (this is a xlarge originally so it was always way too large).

Then, I cut off the excess. I ended up taking it in 6 inches on both sides! After doing this step I decided to cut all of the sleeves off. Since it’s still big, it looks like it has sleeves even though it doesn’t.

Then I decided to fashion a little pocket. And did I tell you my new and improved sweatshirt will now be worn inside out?

I sewed along the top of the pocket before adding it to the sweatshirt so it would have the stitch marks all the way around once it was in place.

I tried to get a self portrait with it on but I wasn’t too happy with it so I had Jason take a better photo for me.

Since I just finished it, I haven’t washed it yet but I can’t wait for that because then the raw edges will start to curl a little :)

The pocket serves two purposes. First, it’s cute. Second, it covers the stitched emblem that was original to the sweatshirt.

I think I have a new winner. I wonder if it will work out for me for another 15 years. What do you think?

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Tagged: Before & After, DIY, Sewing, Tutorials

DIY: Rug Pillow

A pillow? From a rug? Are you crazy? No, I not. And I didn’t come up with this myself. I’m not sure where I first saw this idea but Martha has done it and I saw it here and also another really cool one here. So while I didn’t come up with the concept, I thought I would share it with you just in case you haven’t seen it done yet.

Since I have been working on my guest room, I knew I wanted some large pillows for the bed. While we were at Ikea a few weeks ago, I saw these rugs and remembered someone had turned them into pillows.

A genius idea and so I promptly decided to steal it. Best of all, the rugs are only $3.99! I grabbed two of them and took them home with me.

I didn’t follow any of the tutorials, I just made my own up along as I went. First, I went to the fabric store and got some fabric for the back. At $3 for the fabric makes the grand total of this project only $11. Not too shabby!

I created a pillow case by sewing the fabric onto the back on just three sides. I decided not to cut the rugs because I really wanted to keep the fringe. So even though these are a little larger than a regular pillow, I decided to make it work. I think I will go to the store though and buy king sized pillows to make them fill out a little more. The reason I didn’t for these pictures is because I literally finished this project and took photos about 30 minutes before Jason’s parents arrived! There was no time to run to the store :)

The cool thing about this method of making them into pillows is I can always use them as a rug later on down the line. They still lie flat so I can just flip them over and they will work just fine.

I really love the texture they add to the bed.

At first I was unsure if I would like the off white with the whiteness of the duvet but I actually really like it. I think it adds some depth to the bed ensemble.

Are you now a fan of turning rugs into pillows? Especially at Ikea’s unbeatable prices. It makes it tempting to try it even if you don’t have a place to use them :) If you have tried this, send me links! I want to see :)

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Tagged: DIY, Sewing

DIY: Chair Slipcover

I love my living room. I have slowly been working on it since the beginning of the year and I love how it is coming along. You can see the progression of it here. But there is one thing that I really don’t like. One thing that really needed to be fixed and redone. That one thing was my mid mod chair.

I found this chair at a thrift store quite a while ago. I think I paid $25 for it. In its original state it looked like this. The color never really went with my decor. Especially since I was using it downstairs in the family room and I was wanting everything to be black and white at the time. So, to make it work with my decor, I did the unthinkable. I sprainted it. Knowing we rarely sat in the chair I figured it wouldn’t hurt. It turned out well but it didn’t hold up to wear at all. Just a few sittings and you could already see the old color peeking through. Since we rarely used it when it was in the family room, it didn’t matter that much.

I bought some fabric and was always planning on reupholstering it but I never got around to doing it. I guess I was a bit intimidated. What if it didn’t work out? This chair that I love would be ruined if I couldn’t figure it out. So the chair just sat in the family room and then eventually the living room undone. I threw a sheepskin throw over it so it wouldn’t show the wear as much but you could still tell. Here is how it looked just before its makeover:

Last week was the final straw. Jason mentioned something about wishing we had more seating in our living room and asked if we could move the other chair into the room. The other chair, while I still like it, doesn’t work with the furniture in the living room. So I figured I should do something about it.

First, I picked up 3 yards of white canvas duck at Hobby Lobby. Next, I attempted to make a slipcover. I have never made a slipcover before, so this was an adventure :)

First, I measured each piece. Then I used butcher paper to make a pattern. Next, I cut out all of my pieces and started pinning them together on the chair itself.

Then the sewing began.

And more sewing happened.

It took me all afternoon and into the evening but I got it done! And I’m so happy with it.

At first it felt very bright because previously the chair had been black but now I am used to it and I really like it.

I definitely learned things while I was making it and while this one turned out pretty good, I’m sure I could do better next time.

The big question: Why would I attempt a slipcover (which I have never done before) but not reupholstering? Probably because if the slipcover didn’t turn out the chair would stay the same. But if I took the chair apart to reupholster and I couldn’t get it back together, my chair would no longer be usable. There is some logic in this little brain of mine :)

One more thing done in my living room. Someday this room will be finished, someday :)

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Tagged: Before & After, DIY, Sewing

DIY: Napkin Pillows

Wow! I had no idea last week that I would end up taking the whole week off. I was having so much fun with my aunts and cousin here that I didn’t have any time to blog let alone make anything to blog about! Although it was unplanned, it was very enjoyable to have a little blogging break. Maybe even needed because now I feel super charged and ready to go! Hopefully tomorrow I can gather myself together enough to blog a little about our fun shopping adventures.

Onto today’s project. I know that I have made napkins pillows before. It’s nothing new really. It’s just that I made some for the guest room and they are so cute I can’t wait to show you!

During our shopping extravaganza, I found some super cute napkins at Anthropologie. Take a look:

You can buy them here. When I saw them, I knew they were exactly what I wanted for the guest room. I knew I needed to bring some more red into the room and I wanted something a little bit girly since the rest of the room doesn’t have any frill. I was also hoping to use pink and red together in this room and the pillows have both of those colors. The addition of green and blue made them perfect, just the color combination I wanted. And a bonus, at $6 a piece, they made for pretty inexpensive pillows.

Once I returned home, I dug in my fabric stash to see what I could use for the backing and found some off white velvet that was perfectly fabulous. I love me some velvet. Then I just sewed them together and stuffed them into some pillow forms I already had. Super simple!! I wanted to keep the little corner tassels so I sewed on the outside of the napkins, a first for me :)

Pretty cute, right?

I really love these two fabrics together. And they feel just a bit vintage which is just the look I am going for!

The little tassels are my favorite part!

I also bought something interesting at Ikea to make some large pillows as well. I’m looking forward to getting a start on that project too. Before you know it, this room will be all put together, just the way it should be!

Have you guys done any fun projects in my absence? I have quite a few things I’m working on right now and I like it that way! It makes me feel productive, even if I’m not :)

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Tagged: DIY, Sewing

New Silky Living Room Pillow

I have been admiring silk pillows lately and wishing for one to magically pop into my house. So far that hasn’t happened but it hasn’t stopped me from desiring one :) I especially love all of the silk pillows that West Elm has to offer (see some here, here, and here) and I just can’t seem to get them out of my head. Then yesterday I happened to spot this fabric at Joann’s. One look and that was all it took, I was in love:

It may not be silk, but it’s silky :) I really loved the colors and how it looks a bit like a watercolor. At first I thought it would make a cute shirt but then I thought of how amazing it would look in my living room. And the price? $6 a yard and then 50% off. I bought a yard, a steal for only $3! Yay for me :) Now I kind of wish I had bought more, I just might have to go back.

Here is my pillow:

Isn’t it adorable? I actually made this one with a zipper which I don’t normally do because I am lazy but I figured it might be a good idea. Plus I like how they look with a zipper better. I also made sure it was nice and plump since the last pillow I made felt very frumpy and lumpy.

I really love how it dresses up the couch a bit with its silky texture.

Here is a shot with all of the pillows in the background.

I ended up putting away the other pillow I made for now because they don’t go good together but I’m sure it will make an appearance again later. I enjoy swapping things out every now and again :)

I had really been dragging my feet about living room pillows and not really making any commitments to anything in particular because I hadn’t found anything that really felt right. Until now. This fabric was what I had been waiting for. That is how much I love it. I’m so glad because now I feel like I can move on with some other projects in the room that I have put off simply because I didn’t have direction.

Pillow love :) Maybe I will make another one for the chair on the other side of the room. Or maybe I will make that shirt I thought it would be cute for. Or, I will go and get some more of this wonderful fabric and make both!

Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all have a fabulous holiday weekend and enjoy the 4th of July!!

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Tagged: DIY, Our House, Sewing