As you know, I'm making pillows for Sarah. She has two different pillow covers that she sent me to duplicate: one large square case and one smaller rectangular case.
"Three of the large, two of the small," she said.
Unfortunately, she only bought enough fabric for two of each. I hate disappointing a client, but she doesn't seem too upset about this, so I'm going with the flow.
I had a crazy week at work, and yesterday was a full day at the in-laws, so today I really needed to vegetate and get my head space back in order. Psyche myself up for work, so to speak. So, I didn't finish the pillows, like I'd hoped. But, Sarah (bless her!) assures me there's no hurry. Still, I'll work on them over the course of this week.
I have been putting a lot of thought into these. Each case has a zipper. There's nothing fancy about them, just plain zippers. I thought that since they're on decorative pillows, they should be lapped zippers. Thing is, I make items that don't require zippers. And I'm self-taught. So I have no clue how to sew in a zipper.
However, I'm my father's little girl, and my father always had the attitude: "How hard can it be?" The same attitude that led him to build the three-bedroom bungalow our family lived in for more than fifteen years. I inherited the Over-Achiever Gene.
So, I flipped through some sewing books I have, and I looked up lapped zippers. After reading the instructions, I thought I better do a few test runs. I pulled out some scrap fabric and I practised.
The instructions weren't very clear and I admit, I struggled. After watching a few tutorials, I realize I'm not the only one who thought the written instructions were confusing. Unfortunately, I didn't watch those videos until I sat down to write this blog. So, my seam-ripper was well-used. However, I figured out how to make a lapped zipper. And that's all that matters.
It's a little worn after taking it apart so many times, and I haven't cut off the threads, or finished the ends...and I don't even know why I'm apologizing for this. It's a scrap, after all.
All that matters is that it looks like it should. See? Peek-a-boo zipper.
Now to sew the real thing. Soon, Sarah, I promise.
Hi UC, as a interior decorator I create custom soft furnishings and window treatments for clients. I always use an invisible zipper opening on my pillows. This way, the pillow can be placed with any side of the pillow facing out without the zipper being visible. As a bonus they're simple to sew. Try it sometime.
ReplyDeleteI should also add, its much easier to line up patterns as well, making the opening almost invisible. Hope you find this helpful. Have fun creating :)
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