Burberry Accent Pillows

Going through our winter gear last week, we found an old Burberry scarf that Alberto had bought ten years ago in Spain at El Corte Ingles (love that store!). The last time we used it was for a Christmas picture we took of the dogs, so we thought it was time to bring it back into use…by making a few decorative pillows!

After getting it back from the dry cleaners, we decided to make two kinds of pillows…a square pillow that is going to use the fringe ends of the scarf as accents and two kidney pillows that will have black cording around them. Both types are made pretty much the same way, the only two differences are the fringe and cording, and how each type is finished (the square will be sewn shut and the kidneys will have Velcro to secure the backside).

The first thing we did was cut off the scarf’s fringe ends leaving about 1-inch of fabric. Then, we began to measure and cut the scarf. We decided to use the scarf fabric to make the front-end of the pillow. We bought a tan twill for the back of the pillows because it matches the tan background of the tartan.

The scarf was only 11-inches wide, so the height of the three pillows was limited to 10-inches (since you need at least 1/2 inch at each side to sew them together).  The square pillow is 10×10, the kidneys ended up being 10×17.

To make the square pillow, we simply cut two 11×11 inch squares: one from the scarf and one from the twill fabric.  When measuring the scarf, we wanted to make sure that the pattern was centered.  We always try to envision the final product at this point.  (Otherwise we would  end up with a great pillow that looks off center.)

We chose to use the fringe ends of the scarf on this pillow for a fun accent. To build a pillow, you do all of the work on the inside so it looks finished on the outside when you’re done. Keep this in mind when putting the pieces together.  Place everything down the opposite of how it will be when it’s finished.

First, we placed the scarf fabric on the table with the front facing up.  Next we placed the fringe on either side of the square with the fringe pointing to the inside of the square. Then we placed the twill fabric on the scarf fabric so that the finished twill side is facing down.  (All of the components of the final pillow should be inside this sandwich at this point.)

 

For the longer pillows, we cut two 11×18-inch pieces of the tartan. Since we’re planning to make pillow covers for these pillows, we need a flap in the back that will be held together by Velcro. We used the tartan fabric as a template for the cutting of the twill, however instead of cutting the twill to the exact same size, we left an additional 3 inches at one end making the size of the twill 11×21  inches.  We removed the tartan and measured the twill down 8 inches from one end, and cut it across.  This left us with two twill pieces: an 11×13-inch piece and an 11×8-inch piece.  We will use these pieces to create the flap on the back.

After all the cutting was done, we got a craving for a Maker’s Mark Sour cocktail! It’s basically the same as a whiskey sour, but instead of Jack Daniels, we use Maker’s Mark, and instead of simple syrup, we use Agave (which saves in the calories!)

While Alberto was making the cocktails, Brent lined up all corners of the square pillow, pinned the fabric in place and, with the sewing machine, sewed the sides together (remember that you’re sewing the covers inside out!).

Always start in the middle of the fabric instead of the corners. Also, start on the side that you have designated as the bottom of the pillow.  That way if there’s a small misstep at the end, it won’t matter because it will be on the bottom.  In this case, we started on the bottom because we’ll need to slip-stitch it together. Keep in mind, this should not be the side with the fringe as you don’t want the fringe on the bottom and top of the pillow. We turn the unfinished cover inside out and stuff a 12×12 pillow insert into the opening.  Just be careful that you don’t rip out the seams that you just sewed.  We use slightly larger insert pillows because we like the puffy look it gives the pillows once they’re finished. Finally all we need to do is sew it shut using a slip stitch.

Many pieces of the kidney pillows are similar to the square pillow, but there are some significant differences.  First we like to finish the flap pieces so that the openings will be neat.  We basically create a 1/4-inch hem on the two ends that will meet in the middle.  To make the hem, we fold the fabric over on itself by 1/4-inch and sew it together.

Next we added the cording.  We used the cording much the same way as the fringe, but we put it all the way around the pillow instead of just on the ends.  We generally sew the cord onto the front of the fabric prior to sewing everything together. The cording should be sewn onto what will be the front of the pillow, and the cord should be pointing toward the center of the fabric.

We put the tartan and the cording aside and begin working on the flap pieces.  We used three pieces of Velcro.  We put the two hemmed ends of the twill together (long and short, one of each) with the hooked side of the Velcro on the inside of the smaller piece and the softer pieces on the outside of the larger piece, right under the hem.  We always put the softer side of the Velcro facing out because it won’t scratch you when you’re sitting on it if the pillow gets turned around. Once the Velcro is on both pieces, we Velcro them together so that they make one piece of fabric.

Now it’s time to put all of the pieces together.  We  place the tartan with the cording face up on the table, place the twill flap with the outside in on the tartan and pin both pieces together.  Once we’ve pinned it, sew it up like you did the square pillow.

After we’ve sewn the entire pillow, we need to cut the leftover cord out. There is a way to cut the cording and braid the two pieces together to make it look like one, but Brent has never been able to get that to work for us.  Instead, he just crosses one on top of the other and sew over the both of them securing the fabric and the cording in place.  Once this is done, turn the pillow inside out, stuff a pillow into it, and decorate!

Now…where is Alberto with that cocktail?!