Joan Ellen Cornell: sewing

6:05 PM

Star Pillow Tutorial

6:05 PM

I found a picture of these star shaped pillows on Pinterest, and of course it linked back to a photo only and not a tutorial. So I figure...

I found a picture of these star shaped pillows on Pinterest, and of course it linked back to a photo only and not a tutorial. So I figured it out and am posting one for you guys!

I love love love how they turned out, and they were sooo easy!

STAR PILLOW TUTORIAL

What you need:

A Star shaped pattern

Fabric (I used plain Muslin, it was cheap and came in the colors I wanted)

Stuffing

Sewing supplies (pins, scissors, sewing machine)

I created my own star pattern. It is about 28 inches from point to point.

Pin pattern to the fabric.

Cut.

Repeat as many times as you need to make however many pillows you chose to make.

Once all of the star pieces are cut out, pin two to each other.

Repeat until they're all pinned.

Sew around each star, leaving about 3/4 an inch between the seam and the edge of the fabric.

Leave a 5 inch opening unsewn so you can stuff the pillow (shown in two pictures down).

Stuff.

I used about 1 1/2 50 gram bags of stuffing for 5 pillows.

Once the pillow is stuffed completely,

push the stuffing down into the star from the triangle that has the opening.

This way you can sew the opening shut using your machine and the stuffing won't get in the way.

Afterwards, I shook the star with the unstuffed triangle facing down in order to fill it back up.

Then I kind of pushed the stuffing around to even it all out.

Pretty easy!

I might make some more :)

7:00 AM

Sewing pins...

7:00 AM

Well my Pinterest account has had me locked out for a while, and I finally just figured out how to fix it, and i've been pinning away! ...

Well my Pinterest account has had me locked out for a while, and I finally just figured out how to fix it, and i've been pinning away! I forgot how addicting it is :)

So lately i've been really missing sewing.

These are a handful of things i'm going to try and make in the next few weeks...

I will try to post tutorials as I go!

Awesome lace-y boot socks (for me)

(source)

Reusable paper towels (for house use)

(source)

Star pillows (for my couch)

(source)

Reusable snack bags (For P)

(source)

Car organizer (for P's stuff)

(source)

Felt Mr. Potato Head (for P)

(source)

7:00 AM

Makeup Pad Tutorial

7:00 AM

I never want to buy those little cotton squares (that you use to take your makeup off with), so I end up using toilet paper. Well that...

I never want to buy those little cotton squares (that you use to take your makeup off with),

so I end up using toilet paper.

Well that sucks because I always end up with tiny pieces of toilet paper on my face,

and I have to get that off too.

I saw a tutorial on Pinterest and decided to make my own pads,

problem solved and money saved :)

All I have to do is throw them in the wash (in a bra bag) and they're clean!

(scroll to the very bottom for more in-depth directions)

Makeup Remover Pads

You can make as many as you want, but I chose to make 20 pads.

Supplies:

Two patterns of flannel (I used a green one and a dotted one)

Scissors

Sewing Machine

Ruler

Rotary Cutter

1. Cut strips of fabric 3 inches wide using a rotary cutter. Each strip should be about 40 inches long.

2. Cut the strips into 3x4 inch rectangles. Since I chose to make 20 pads, I needed 20 rectangles of the green and 40 of the dotted.

3. Next, sandwich the rectangles. I used the dotted for one side and the green for the outside, and then used a dotted rectangle in the middle. To do this, I put a dotted rectangle face up on the table, put the front the green rectangle facing that, and then put a dotted piece on the top (the top dotted piece can face either way, as it will be in the middle of the "sandwich" and not seen). Pin the three pieces together- one pin in the middle worked for me.
4. Now sew three sides together, about 1/4 inch from the edges. Doesn't really matter what three sides you sew, but you have to leave one open to be able to turn the pad right side out. I sewed the two longer sides and one shorter side.
5. After all of them are sewn on three sides, go ahead and cut off all of the extra thread and cut any extra fabric off the edges, and trim the corners.
6. Turn all of the pads right side out. Push out the corners with a capped pen if you need to.
7. Now you will fold in the un-sewn edges.
8. After all of the edges are folded in, sew the opening shut- and so it looks good- sew all the way around the other three edges as well.
9. Cut off all extra thread.

7:00 AM

Make-up Brush Holder

7:00 AM

I'm slowly getting back into sewing lately...I went through a few months of having no motivation for it what-so-ever...but it's com...

I'm slowly getting back into sewing lately...I went through a few months of having no motivation for it what-so-ever...but it's coming back :)

A few weeks ago I made this make-up brush holder...I love how it turned out!

I used this tutorial as a base for it, but didn't follow it exactly...

7:43 PM

Rag Quilt

7:43 PM

My first quilt! I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out, i'm so excited for Porter to have this forever! I got the ide...

My first quilt!

I LOVE LOVE LOVE how it turned out, i'm so excited for Porter to have this forever!

I got the idea here. I followed her tutorial for the most part, but instead of doing the binding I just did the rag part around the edges.

8:00 AM

iPad or Laptop Case/Sleeve || a tutorial ||

8:00 AM

A tutorial my friends :) {I want to add this first- I just started sewing a few months ago, with the help of a lot of online tutori...

A tutorial my friends :)

{I want to add this first- I just started sewing a few months ago, with the help of a lot of online tutorials and a few phone calls to my mom :) This is one of the first sewing tutorials that i've posted, so bear with me if it's kind of confusing. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to email me, or comment on this post!}

iPad Cover/Case

{you could also use this to make a phone case, a computer case,

or a Kindle/eReader case by changing the measurements}

First, you need 6 pieces of fabric.

2- Exterior pieces

(I traced my iPad, and added 3/4 inch to each side)

2- Interior Pieces

(Fleece, or flannel. I used flannel for my iPad, and fleece for my computer)

2- An interior and an exterior piece for the flap at the top. Just hand draw a flap stencil on a thick piece of paper, then trace it and cut it out of the fabrics. Mine for the iPad case was about 3.5x7 inches.

Next, pin the two flap pieces together, right sides facing each other.

Sew them together about 1/4 of an inch in from the raw edge.

Turn the flap right sides out and iron.

Sew around the two long edges and the curve and the top of the flap. I used a zig-zag stitch for looks, but you could use a straight stitch as well.

Next, pin the two exterior pieces right sides facing each other. Just pin the two long sides and one of the short sides.

Sew the three sides you pinned about 1/2 inch from the raw edge.

I used pinking sheers and cut around the edges as close to the seam as I could to reduce the bulk once I turn the fabric right side out.

Turn fabric right side out and iron.

Next, pin the flap with the interior fabric facing out, to the back of the cover.

Sew to the back to keep in place.

Set the exterior fabric aside.

Pin the interior fabric right sides facing each other. Just pin the two long sides and one short side.

Sew around the edges, about a 1/2 inch in, but in the middle of the short side, leave a 4 inch gap. Refer to the two pictures below the following one.

Cut around the raw edges with pinking sheers to reduce bulk.

Leave the interior fabric wrong side out, and turn the exterior fabric right side out. Put the exterior fabric inside of the interior fabric and line up the raw edges at the top.

Sew the exterior and interior fabric edges together all the way around the top edge.

Pull the exterior fabric out of the hole that you left in the bottom of the interior fabric.

Take the open seam at the bottom of the interior fabric and fold it under. Sew it together. (I did this on my machine because you can't see the seam once it's inside of the case. If you really want to, you can hand sew an invisible stitch).