My oldest step-daughter, "Lacy Chantilley" married "Mr Biz" on 14th July 2007. Of course, there is a lot to organise for a wedding. She looked and looked for ring bearer pillows. She found something, but it was beyond the budget. Since I can sew, I told her that I'd make some for her--as she wanted two. Her colours were pink and white.
I took inventory of what I had on hand, finding a pink sheet that would work--and I set to work. She wanted a heart-shaped pillow. The great thing about a pillow is that there are very few tricky measurements needed. To make the pattern, I made a nine-inch square. Then, using a 9-inch cake tin, I traced a circle. I cut the circle in half, taped them onto two adjacent sides and "ta-da" a heart-shaped pattern.
I decided that the best way to do things was to make two pillows, then make two covers. That required making another pattern so that the cover would have a slit in the back in order to put the cover onto the pillows. The partial pattern can be seen here at the top.
I cut out six heart-shaped patterns and four of the "split" heart patterns.
I sewed the pillows together. Then I nipped and trimmed the round tops of the heart so that the pillows would lie flat and smooth once they were turned. I also cut the tip at the bottom for the same reason. I left a small opening on one side. This opening is where I would pull it right side out and then place the stuffing in.
Before turning the cusion, I pressed the seams open.
I placed my thumb into the opening, then gathered the pillow down to the point of the heart. I chose to start by pulling out the tip of the heart, because it would be the hardest part to get tight and smooth in the turning process.
I guess I would call this turning process "leading with the point." Hopefully you can see the right side and point coming out.
Here is the pillow right side out and pressed. At this point I filled the cushion with some polyester pillow/cusion filling fiber/stuffing. I tried to make the pillows very firm, pushing in as much fiber as I could.
Since my machine is a basic zigzag machine, there are no attachments to put on embellishments. This meant I had to find a solution to embroidering their names and wedding date onto the front. Then I remembered that I had some iron-on transfer sheets. I went into Microsoft Publisher, typed the wording I wanted and then Flipped it. This was important because without creating the mirror image, their names and wedding date would have been applied onto the pillow backward. Iron-on transfer sheets allow a person to create personalised iron-on designs. The sheets are then fed into a printer one at a time. The sheets also come with instructions on how to apply the iron-ons, how long to use the heat and what temperature settings. But always remember to use a dry iron.
I also used iron-on adhesive to apply the lace to the front of the cushion covers. I did this before I sewed the cusion covers together.
The pattern for the split side/back of the cushion had to overlap to make sure the covers fits properly. At this point I stitched the straight edges first.
Then I attached the lace around the edges of the front, folding the lace inward, toward the right side. Once it was all pinned, I pressed everything and then sewed the lace down.
Then I attached the two-piece back onto the front, right sides together. Then I sewed the back and front together. Once again, I turned the covers and gave them a good pressing with the iron.
And this is the finished result. To make sure she had something blue on the day, I added a little blue ribbon for tieing the rings on--and also little bells. "Lacy Chantilly" was very pleased with the results. She told me that she'll keep them forever. That is a true compliment, and is sincerely appreicated.
These were fairly easy to make, and I hope to make more. After all, I have two more step-daughters to get married!
Serving Jesus, Author of our faith--"Lady Helene"
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