So there was a lot crazy comments on my Instagram stories when I shared my pillow storage..Obsession or Collection?! It depends who you ask! I absolutely love textiles! Whether it’s fabric for a pillow, a table runner, a valance, a kitchen towel, a fun upholstered bench, chair, rug… and the list goes on! So many beautiful patterns and textures.. and so many FUN ways to use them all. So obviously the pillows will get changed out every season, with a new one thrown in here or there!
Now when we were first starting out, I sewed almost every pillow because it was super economical. With one yard of fabric or less I could have a pillow refresh with maybe enough fabric left over to make a cute little table runner for a side table or whatever.
So I want to show you 3 FUN things you can do with a yard of fabric.
1. The envelope pillow.
So as cute as this pillow was already.. to throw an envelope pillow cover over it just gives a quick spring refresh!
Here I laid down the yard of fabric and cut it to the width of the pillow. Allowing an extra 1/2 inch for seam allowance.
Next you want to make sure there’s enough length of fabric to wrap it around the pillow and have 6 inches left on both ends to make each flap.
Pull up the other side and flap that part the other way, as shown above.
Gently pull the pillow out leaving all the folds in place.
Straighten up the fabric and sew up both sides.
Turn it right side out and stuff your pillow in! You can place the pillow so the flap is in the back or attach a button to the flap to make it the front.
A quick Spring refresh!
2.A faux Roman shade or Valance.
Once again with so many fabrics to choose from, a window is the perfect spot to add in color, texture and even bold prints to create that perfect pop color. Even though the shades in the above photo are faux I have cellular shades behind them for keeping the sun out..(rarely happens) So I can trade out my fabric anytime.
These shades I actually lined and sewed the casing for the curtain rod. The one I want to show you, I’m not going to do either. Here’s what we’re gonna do: measure the window and cut your yard of fabric to that width with enough for a 1/2 inch seam allowance on both sides.
Next, fold the fabric in half with right sides together and sew the 3 raw edges leaving an opening to turn.
After turning, finish the opening by top stitching it, and depending on the fabric it might need to be pressed after as well.
Now all you need is a tension rod.
Hang your piece right over the top, all the way to create a simple valance.
Or just tuck a small amount around the bar leaving enough fabric hanging to play with.
Leaving a good amount hanging, you’re able to play with the bottom. Here I simply pinned up a few gathers on each side. You can easily hide the pins or you could hot glue them into place after pinning.
Creating a relaxed look..a faux Roman shade.
Looking pretty cute here in my Laundry room.
3. A Table Runner or Placemats.
The fabric I used to make the shade was decorator fabric which usually comes 54 inches wide. That gave me a chunk left over to create a placemat. If you’re starting with a yard of decorator fabric you’d easily be able to make a runner for the table by following the same concept.
So here’s my extra fabric, which we’ll fold in half with the right sides together again. Just like the shade, we’ll sew all 3 sides leaving a small opening for turning.
After turning, the corners should be pushed out real good, like with a handle of a wooden spoon or something similar, to create nice square corners. Then pressed. After which point we will finish by topstitching again to close the opening.
And there it is, a super simple placemat!
I also like to use them in my decor as well to bring in more color in an area.
So there ya have it! 3 simple projects to create with a yard of fabric! So go get some and have some FUN!
