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Sew a small pillow - PEP BB textile.sand.pillow

BB textiles - sand badge
posted 5 years ago
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This is a badge bit (BB) that is part of the PEP curriculum.  Completing this BB is part of getting the sand badge in textiles.

In this project, you will make a small pillow.

Minimum Requirements:
  - Must be stuffed with a natural material: bedstraw, straw, feathers, or wool
  - Fabric must be a natural material (hemp, cotton, wool, linen, silk, etc)
  - Be at least 10x10 inches
  - It can be machine sewn, as you can probably already sew by hand if you can use a sewing machine!

To document completion of the BB, provide proof of the following as pics or video (< 2 min):
  -  Show your fabric
  -  Show your pillow in progress
  -  Show stuffing your pillow
  -  Show your completed pillow!

Here's a quick video on sewing a pillow

 

If you've never sewn before, I have a more in-depth tutorial down below!

Here's a tutorial on how to sew!

Step
1

Measure and Cut the Fabric



Generally, it is useful to first WASH the fabric, as it will shrink when washed. Though, if you're never planning on washing your pillow, this isn't really necessary. And, if it's an old tee-shirt or sheet you're re-purposing, you don't need to wash it, either.

Once the fabric is washed and dried, you'll want to iron it flat (not as necessary in a little pillow, but it's a good thing to get in the process of doing when sewing most anything)

Now lay it on a flat, preferably smooth surface and measure and cut it.



If you don't have the fancy clear ruler and slicy-thingy, no worries! Use any sort of straight edge to draw the line you'll cut. Find the sharpest pair of scissors you have, and cut on the line! (You can also buy a brand new pair of scissors and devote them soley to fabric so they stay sharp. Threaten your family with dire consequences if they use your precious fabric scissors for anything that's not fabric. Hide the scissors from them, too, if need be!)



Step
2

Pin the Fabric and Thread the Needle



Pin the pieces of fabric together



Thread the Needle


Tie a knot at the end of the needle





Step
3

Sew It



You might want to use a pencil and draw a line 1/2 inch from the edge of your fabric. This is where you'll sew. Make sure to NOT sew the whole pillow. Leave a gap to turn the thing right side out, and to stuff it.

You can Either sew it with a running stitch



or the back stitch. The back stitch is a bit more secure.





Step
4

Turn the Fabric Right-Side Out and Stuff It



Reach your finger through the hole you left, and grab some fabric and pull it through the hole. Just like when you turn your pants right side out.

Shove your stuffing through the hole. Push the stuffing into the corners first, then keep putting more stuffing in. And more stuffing. And even more. Because it will compress.





Step
5

Sew the hole shut!



For this, you need a blind stitch



COMMENTS:
 
Nicole Alderman
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Finally got a chance to make my pillow! I used an old dress shirt and knit shirt (two layers in hopes that it would keep the feathers from poking out), and stuffed with wool and duck feathers that I picked up from my duck house. I tried to surround the feathers with wool so that they had a harder time poking out.
20190708_123600-1-.jpg
old shirt for fabric
old shirt for fabric
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shirt for fabric
shirt for fabric
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sewing a pillow
sewing a pillow
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pillow ingredients
pillow ingredients
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stuffing home made pillow
stuffing home made pillow
20190708_140502-1-.jpg
sewing up home made pillow
sewing up home made pillow
20190708_141432-1-.jpg
home made pillow
home made pillow

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Staff note (r ranson) :

"I certify this badge bit is complete."

 
r ranson
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I dug through the GoodWill pile and found this old skirt with some lovely twill fabric.

I had some wool that is too fragile to make into yarn, so I lightly carded it for the filling.  If I used the wool as it is, I would have lumpy filling which makes for a lumpy pillow.  
twill-skirt-for-pillow-fabric.jpg
twill skirt for pillow fabric
twill skirt for pillow fabric
IMG_7177.JPG
pillow fabric
pillow fabric
IMG_7178.JPG
making a pillow
making a pillow
carding-wool-for-pillow-filling.jpg
carding wool for pillow filling
carding wool for pillow filling
sewing-up-pillow.jpg
sewing up pillow
sewing up pillow
IMG_7203.JPG
home made pillow
home made pillow

how permies works
homegrown linen | crazy chicken lady grows yarn!

Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

I hereby certify that this Badge Bit is complete!!! (And looks very nice, and very soft!)

 
Dave Burton
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I used a t-shirt that I found on the Free Shelf at Basecamp.



This a progress picture of me working on my pillow.



This is before I turned it inside out.



This is after I turned it inside out.



This is while I stuffed the pillow.



This is after I finished the pillow.

Dave's SKIP BB's / Welcome to Permies! / Permaculture Resources / Dave's Boot Adventures & Longview Projects

Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

I certify that this badge bit is complete!

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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I made this small pillow of reclaimed cotton duvet cover material. It isn't square, but round, I hope that counts too.

the fabric


cutting the round shape with the help of a glass plate


pinning


stitched with the sewing machine, left a part open


filling with wool


closing the opening with overhand stitches


finished!  

"Also, just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them" (Luke 6:31)

 
Nicole Alderman
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Inge, any chance you can measure it?

I'm thinking that if it clearly uses the same amount of stitches around, it would be really easy to certify. So, if a square pillow that's 10x10 has 40inches perimeter, a round pillow that's has the same amount of inches in circumference would be easy one to certify. I divided a circumference of 40 by pi to find out that a pillow with a diameter of 12.7 inches (32 centimeters), would have the same amount of stitches as a 10x10 pillow.

That's a lot of math! Basically, if your pillow is 32 cm across, I can easily certify it. If not, then I'll have to ask the higher-ups to weigh in.

~ Dragons, Fairies and even a Mini-Paul! ~ You Know You're a Permie When...~ All About Permies, including tutorials ~Herbal Hugel Spiral of Randomness!~Tricks to Keep the Dirt from Sliding off a Hugel~List of Cascadia Bloggers and Facebook Pages!~

 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Nicole Alderman wrote:Inge, any chance you can measure it?

I'm thinking that if it clearly uses the same amount of stitches around, it would be really easy to certify. So, if a square pillow that's 10x10 has 40inches perimeter, a round pillow that's has the same amount of inches in circumference would be easy one to certify. I divided a circumference of 40 by pi to find out that a pillow with a diameter of 12.7 inches (32 centimeters), would have the same amount of stitches as a 10x10 pillow.

That's a lot of math! Basically, if your pillow is 32 cm across, I can easily certify it. If not, then I'll have to ask the higher-ups to weigh in.


Nicole, in that case this pillow is too small. No BB for this one.
Never mind. I will make another one. A square pillow of the right size, probaby made of an old T-shirt, like the others did. I can use such a pillow in one of my pillow covers.

"Also, just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them" (Luke 6:31)

 
dawn west
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It is still raining in the PNW so on to making a small pillow.  My son ripped out his jeans which are cotton so I am using them as my fabric. The wool is from the Black Sheep festival from 10 years ago when I thought I would learn to spin. I broke 1 machine needle and remembered why thimbles are so important to hand sewing. Starting to do some BBs in nesting and textiles reminds me that these skills are just as important as tool care and woodland care and that I am rusty.
20200116_130422.jpg
torn jeans
torn jeans
20200116_134011.jpg
wool
wool
20200116_134500.jpg
stuffing
stuffing
20200116_141025.jpg
measurement
measurement
20200116_141142.jpg
done
done
Staff note (Nicole Alderman) :

I hereby certify that this badge bit is complete!

 
Jennifer Kobernik
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I sometimes like to stuff cushions with fabric scraps from sewing, rags that have disintegrated, yarn trimmings, etc. If I used cotton/wool/linen scraps, would this be an acceptable natural stuffing? Or might the requirements be expanded to include reusing/repurposing old synthetic stuffing materials? I think this is a pretty good way to sequester the stuff, which is hard to figure out what to do with.
 
Inge Leonora-den Ouden
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Jennifer Richardson wrote:I sometimes like to stuff cushions with fabric scraps from sewing, rags that have disintegrated, yarn trimmings, etc. If I used cotton/wool/linen scraps, would this be an acceptable natural stuffing? Or might the requirements be expanded to include reusing/repurposing old synthetic stuffing materials? I think this is a pretty good way to sequester the stuff, which is hard to figure out what to do with.


Hi Jennifer. I thought of that too. I found an old pillow I made as a teenager (at my mother's house). Because I decided it could better be thrown away (being very dirty), I first looked what was inside. It was filled with tiny pieces of old wool blankets. Then I thought: this kind of stuffing material might be OK for the BB too.

"Also, just as you want men to do to you, do the same way to them" (Luke 6:31)

 
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