featuring guest authors; crafting tips and projects; recipes from food editor and sleuthing sidekick Cloris McWerther; and decorating, travel, fashion, health, beauty, and finance tips from the rest of the American Woman editors.

Note: This site uses Amazon affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

Thursday, December 2, 2010

DECORATING WITH JEANIE--NO-SEW PILLOW SLIPCOVERS

Thursdays are usually reserved for our fashion, beauty, and travel editors, but with Christmas fast approaching, they’ve stepped aside this week and next to let decorating editor Jeanie Sims step in with some great holiday decorate tips to get your home in the holiday spirit. First up, pillow slipcovers. -- AP

Thanks, Anastasia! One of the easiest ways to Christmas-up your home furnishings is to make Christmas print slipcovers for your sofa and chair throw pillows. And by using fabric glue, you don’t even have to lug out the sewing machine. I particularly like envelope pillow covers because you also avoid having to deal with zippers, snaps, or buttons.

Another plus to slipcovers for your pillows rather than buying or making Christmas pillows is not having to deal with storing those bulky holiday pillows the other eleven months of the year. Remove them from your existing pillows, and lay them flat on the bottom of your ornament storage box. They’ll take up next to no room.

Follow these simple directions, and you, too, can have Christmas pillows to scatter around your home. Note: allow glue to dry between steps.

Choose a Christmas print fabric for your slipcovers.

Using a tape measure, measure the width of your existing pillow from seam to seam. Add 1” to that number. In the same manner, measure the height of your pillow. Double the height and add an additional 6”.

On each short end press under 1/2”, then glue hems.

With right sides together, fold pillow, leaving a 5” flap extended. Glue 1/2” side seams. One way to make sure your seam measurement is accurate is to pin a piece of wax paper to the pillow at the seam edge before applying the glue.

Glue under side edges of flap 1/2”.

Glue fringe, beading or other trim to flap edge. Attach a button or bead for decorating if desired.
 
Great idea, Jeanie! So readers, how many of you are going to give this a try? Let's hear from you. Post a comment to be entered in this week's drawing for a book from our Book Club Friday guest author. -- AP

3 comments:

Caroline Clemmons said...

Glue and I are not friends. Or maybe we are since glue tries to stick to me, well, like glue.

ANASTASIA POLLACK said...

Caroline, these slipcovers can also be sewn rather than glued. Most people cringe at the idea of lugging out the sewing machine, though. Or I suppose you could use staples! Thanks for stopping by.

Anne W. said...

This is a dynamite idea, but I'll use the sewing machine. It's always set up in my basement. I probably won't have time this year, but next? Oh, yeah. Thanks for the great suggestion.