Day 37 of Forty: Ruffles

Hello friends!

No, this post is not about potato chips. (I wish!)

I ordered this amazing fabric a while back. It's called "ruffle fabric". You can order it online from, where else? Rufflefabric.com  After looking at the tags, I see that it is located in Utah. (Who knew?) Anyway, I believe it runs around 15-17 dollars a yard, but if you love ruffles, it is COMPLETELY worth every penny. I would never in a million years be able to create anything like it. I ordered a yard of pink, hot pink and eggplant.

 When the eggplant came, I knew that it was going to be the color of our "theatre-like" room. Remember that man cave? Remember how I needed to hang some pictures or make some pillows for that dark room? There is where the ruffle fabric comes in.

It looks like this:

Beautiful, no?

I had some of this crispy, inexpensive cotton from IKEA ($4 a yard). I figured I could use it for the backs of the pillows :

I had hideous well-worn blue pillows I used as pillow forms.

And then I made these:



So much better, don't you think? With pillows selling for ridiculous amounts of money these days, I figure I saved at least half, and they match the room perfectly. Plus, they are removable and washable. For a room where teenagers hang out, that is a must.

Would you like to try to make some? Here is what you'll need: (for 2)

* 2 old pillows/pillow forms. Mine are 17" square
* 1 yard ruffle fabric cut in 2 squares; cut 2" longer on all sides than your pillow. My pillows were 17", so the squares were 19".
* 2 pieces of quilter's weight interfacing You can use fusible, but I just sewed mine on. 19" square (you can also use flannel for this part. Diaper flannel works really well.
*1 1/2yrd of 60" width cotton for the backs. I used 4 pieces of the IKEA fabric cut 24" X 19"each
*thread, ruler, sewing machine, scissors

Tutorial Codes:
RST= right sides of fabric together (touching)
RSU- Right side of fabric facing up
WST- Wrong sides of Fabric touching
RSO- Right Side Out

1. Lay pillow form on ruffle fabric, or Measure two inches extra around the pillow and cut. If you are making more than one pillow, you can fold ruffle fabric in half, so you'll only have to cut once. The fabric is stretchy, so don't worry if it bounces back or looks askew..

2. Because the fabric is stretchy, you'll want to sew a sturdier fabric on the back. You don't have to do this step, but it makes everything easier to work with later on. . Lay your ruffle fabric on the interfacing/flannel, pin and cut out. Again, it doesn't have to be perfectly matched. I doubled the interfacing so I could cut two at once. (two pillows, remember?)

3. Lay out your interfacing. Place ruffle fabric on top of it. The ruffles are RSU. Pin the fabrics together. You can't have too many pins. Your goal is to keep the ruffles all facing the same way. Baste ALL around the square. You can use your sewing machine on the longest stitch, or do it by hand. I basted mine at 1/4 inch all the way around. This way, I don't have to remove it later. Work slowly. This is where you'll be glad you pinned.

You can square up the fabric if you'd like. This is the front of your pillow.

4. Take your backing fabric and iron it. Fold each piece in half WST and press again. My pieces were 24'X19"; folded they were 12X19". On the folded edge, stitch across each piece (1/4"). This gives a nice, finished look to the back of your pillows. The picture below shows my four pieces, laying on top of one another (you'll need 2 for each back)

5. Okay. Remember, I am spatially challenged. Bear with me on the next directions. If you have any questions, leave me a comment... Lay your ruffle fabric RSU. Take one of your back pieces and lie it on top of the ruffles, matching up the corners on one side. Your finished edge that you previously sewed will be facing the center. In my picture below, the finished edge is where the fabric says, "seventeen eight" All of your other edges are raw.

6. Take your other backing piece and match raw corners again on opposite side. Your finished edge will OVERLAP the first backing piece. That is what you want! Again, all other edges are raw.

7. Pin that baby ALL THE WAY AROUND. Before you sew, make sure that your interfacing is on the bottom, your ruffle fabric is facing up and your backing pieces are on top of the ruffles, finished sides in the middle, and are over lapping.

8. Take that sandwich and sew around ALL sides (1/2 inch seam allowance)

9. Remove pins, cut off corners close to, but not through the stitches. This will help your corners be crisp. If you'd like, you can also trim any obvious excess around the pillow. Do NOT cut through any stitching.

10. Flip that pillow RSO. Poke the corners out with your fingertips. The back will look like an envelope opening (one side overlapping). Stuff your pillow form inside..

12. Cover completely, pull at the corners and fluff. You should be finished. Yay!

Here is the label for the ruffle company and a picture of another project I made using the pink ruffle fabric.

Have a wonderful Thursday, friends :)