First off, remember these crazy mutts? Finn left on Friday night and Penny slept ALL weekend. Seriously, this dog was in total zombie mode. How cute are they, though??
I made those bandanas for them last week. They were pretty easy to make and I like how they slip over the collar instead of tying around the neck. I'm making Penny another one this week, so I'll post pics of how I did that in a few days.
Sorry for the no-so-awesome quality pics. Those were from my phone. They were just too cute not to share :)
Anyway...I wanted to share my new neon-trimmed throw pillows. I really wanted new throw pillows for our sleeper sofa in the guest room. The old ones I had in there were from Pier 1, and I've had them since the days of yore.
Boring.
Since I started working with Fabric.com a few months ago, I've come across so many fabrics that I fall in love with. We're allowed to take the sample fabrics home, which is coming in handy now that I have my sewing machine. Now, I have a confession to make. I love neon. My inner 80s child just can't get enough of it. Hardly a day went by in the 80s where I didn't leave my house looking like a box of highlighters. Those days are over however, I love using bright neon colors as an accent color - especially next to dark colors. I was playing around with some of my fabrics this weekend, and came across a combo that I fell in love with - dark grey and neon green. Who knew?!
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I started toying around with a few pattern combos. Being new to this whole sewing thing, I made it more complicated than it should have been. I finally came up with a pattern that I liked, that was surprisingly easy to do.
Step 1: Cut fabric to size. To make 2 throw pillows, you'll need to cut out 4 squares and 4 side strips. I made the main squares 16" x 16" each, and made each neon strip 4.5" x 16".
Start by sewing one strip to one side of a square. Remember to sew the wrong sides together so you can eventually turn it inside out. I used a straight seam and a 3/8" inseam.
Step 2: Do the same thing on the opposite side of the square. You'll end up with this:
Step 3: Iron the seams down to flatten them out. This will help the pillow lay better and will help you sew through them easier.
Step 4: Sew the other square to the opposite side of one of the neon strips (it doesn't matter which one).
Step 5: Fold it over (with the wrong sides still facing out), and sew the last non-sewn neon end to the other non-sewn end of the square fabric. They should be all connected and look like this:
Don't forget to iron down the 2 new seams.
Step 6: Line up the seams of each so that they are even, and sew entirely down one side. Do the same on the other, but leave a 4-5 inch opening on that one.
Step 7: Stuff away! I took the stuffing out of the old pillows and used that. These pillows were also slightly larger than the old ones, so I took a spare flat pillow that we had in the linen closet, and used some of the stuffing from that to finish them off. Either hand sew, or carefully use your machine to close up the seam.
The end result. I love them! I never would have thought to mix those colors, but I love them. The neon adds the perfect pop of color.
She sees a camera and immediately has to jump in. God forbid I don't include her.
What do you think? Not gonna lie, I totally wanna decorate the room with neon now. Though I'm sure that Mike would veto that in about 2 seconds flat...
In case you're wondering (and are as smitten as I am with them). Here are the fabrics that I used:
Green: Riley Blake Neon Green
