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This year presented the opportunity to decorate a second tree in our home – something I’ve dreamed of doing for awhile. I realized, however, that it would need a tree skirt. Rather than run out and buy one I thought I would try my hand at a diy Christmas tree skirt made out of materials I already had in my stash.

The process is quite straightforward and your tree skirt can be as plain or fancy as you’d like. Mine is made from vintage linen purchased from a church rummage sale ($3 for a whole box of fabric!) as well as scraps of lace trim from my childhood. The larger lace was the trim to my beloved bed sheet which eventually got a big hole in it. I trimmed the lace off the edges and saved it for probably 15 years, awaiting a future project such as this. The smaller lace was a stash leftover from when my mom used to sew dresses for my dolls. All of these materials combined make it a very special tree skirt for me.

How to Make a DIY Christmas Tree Skirt

Supplies Needed for a DIY Christmas Tree Skirt

Fabric for the top
Amount varies based on desired size. (About 48 inches in diameter is a common medium sized skirt but you should measure and do what works for your space – see directions for how to measure.)

Quilt batting
Or other heavier fabric for the middle layer of the skirt – same amount as top fabric.

Bottom backing fabric
Just a neutral (or not) fabric for the bottom layer. Same amount needed as the other two fabrics.
Could pick something fun for a reversible tree skirt!

Trim, if desired
Lace, ruffles, rick rack, or other embellishments

Fabric scissors

Sewing pins

Measuring tape or yardstick

Sewing machine

Coordinating thread

Directions for a DIY Christmas Tree Skirt

Step 1: Measure for your tree skirt.
Decide what diameter your tree skirt should be and write this number down.
Decide what diameter the center hole should be (for the trunk) and write that number down.
Tree skirts vary greatly in size and depend on the size of the tree and the needs of your space. I made mine on the small side because the cabinet is right next to the tree, but generally a skirt should extend a few inches beyond the bottom set of branches.

Step 2: Prepare the top fabric
(Always iron your fabric first.)
Fold the fabric in quarters (half, then half again).
Find the center fold and mark with a pin.
Measure out from that point the radius (half the diameter) of your tree skirt + 1/2 inch for seam allowance.
Mark that point with a pin.
Continue measuring and marking from one side to the other in an arc shape, always measuring from the center fold.

Step 3: Cut the top fabric.
Cut along your arc shaped pin line from one side to another.
If you feel more comfortable drawing this out with fabric pencil first, do that.

Step 4: Measure and cut the center (trunk) hole.
Repeat steps 2 and 3, but this time for the center (trunk) hole.
This measurement will the be radius (half the diameter) of the center hole measurement you took earlier.

Step 5: Cut the side opening
Unfold your fabric – you should now have a nice circle with a circular center opening.

Cut up one side, just to the center hole, so that you have a slit to get the skirt around the tree.

Step 6: Cut identical pieces from the other fabrics.
Use the top fabric as a pattern to cut identical pieces from both the quilt batting and the bottom backing fabric.

Step 7: Sandwich the layers.
With right sides facing, place the top and bottom layers together. Place the quilt batting layer on top of the top layer.
Place any edge trim you are using in between the top layers. Be sure any ruffles are pointing inward.
Pin in place all around the edge, with 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Step 8: Sew around the edge.
Using a straight stitch on your machine, sew all the way around the edge of the skirt and up one slit. Leave the other side of the slit open for turning.

Step 9: Close up the skirt.
Turn the skirt right side out through the side slit opening. The top fabric and bottom fabric will be separated and the quilt batting will end up sandwiched in the middle.
Tuck under the edges of the side slit opening and sew it shut as close to the edge as possible.

Step 10: Finishing the skirt
Sew on any finishing embellishments such as this extra lace edging. I overlapped it with the larger lace and secured it with a simple straight stitch.

All done! Now wrap it around the base of your tree and enjoy!

I hope you found this tutorial helpful and that you enjoy making your own DIY Christmas tree skirt this season!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

I had been wanting to make some throw pillows for my bed for quite awhile. The poor bolster pillow that had been on there – a cheap find from a big box store several years ago – had seen better days. It was all lopsided and misshapen with tassels coming unraveled or missing completely. Something more cozy, feminine, and cottage-y was my desire, so when I saw this lonely curtain at the thrift store inspiration struck!

Before I cut into it I did try it out around the house to make sure I didn’t want to use it as a curtain first. But alas, being 100% cotton it had obviously shrunk in the wash and no longer fit a standard width window. Probably the reason it was donated! The beautiful light blue toile with country scenes made my blue and white toile-loving heart sing!

The dress was a bit of an accident.

You see, I bought it intending to try it on and wear it if it fit well. What I didn’t realize, however, was that it had slits up the sides that went all the way to the hips (how did I miss that?!). How one is supposed to decently wear that I am still unsure. “I’ll cut off the bottom and make it into a shirt!” I thought. So I cut off the bottom, but it still just didn’t look quite right. The beautiful soft fabric seemed to just beg to be made into something else. Once I noticed how well it complimented the toile I knew I had to make it into ruffles!

It always feels a bit funny using intact clothing as fabric, but I figure if it all gets used then it still serves a good purpose. I harvested the little metal buttons off the dress – all 9 – for a future project. The embroidered panels from the top were carefully cut out and set aside for yet another little project I have in mind. The tiny bit of fabric I didn’t use for ruffles has been set aside for a potential future quilt (maybe someday!). Nothing went to waste.

I’ll preface this tutorial by saying I am in no way a pro seamstress. I know some basics and am always learning, but still I wanted to share this project with you in case it proves helpful or gives you some inspiration. (I also happen to be quite pleased with the results so it’s fun to share!)

Let’s get to it!

How to Make a Ruffled Pillow Cover

Supplies:

Fabric – consider thrifted curtains, sheets, clothing, and more! Amount will vary depending on the size of your pillow inserts and number of pillows you are making. (Measuring details are in the instructions.) You can make the ruffles the same color as the main body of the pillow cover or something completely different but complimentary – get creative!

Measuring Tape

Rotary Cutter & Mat (scissors will work too)

Sewing Pins

Sewing Machine

Thread – coordinating color for fabric

Sewing Needle

Scissors for trimming threads

BIG TIP: When choosing a pillow insert, down feather pillow inserts always hold their shape and last longer than fiber filled ones! Consider some like these.

Instructions

STEP 1: MEASURING & CUTTING
You will want your finished pillow cover to end up not much larger than your pillow insert. This way it will look plump and not saggy. (This is also a trick for when you are purchasing pillow inserts and covers!)

Measure your pillow insert over the fullest part (mine was 16 inches square). We will be adding onto that number for seam allowance and an overlap of several inches on the back where the opening for the insert will be. (I generally stick to about 1/2 inch seam allowance so that’s what I will use here.)

Your first piece of fabric – the front of the pillow cover – will need to be these dimensions:
Pillow measurement + 1 inch vertically by pillow measurement + 1 inch horizontally

Your second piece of fabric – the back of the pillow cover – will need to be these dimensions:
Pillow measurement + 5 inches vertically by pillow measurement + 1 inch horizontally
(If your pillow insert is especially fluffy you may want to increase the 5 inches to 6 inches. This will be determine the amount of fabric overlap at the back opening.)

Iron your fabric on an appropriate setting to eliminate any wrinkles.

Cut the two pieces described above.

Take the back piece (the longer one) and cut it evenly in half widthwise (side to side).

STEP 2: SEWING THE EDGES OF THE BACK PIECES
We want a nice clean edge to our back halves where they will overlap. Be sure to keep your fabric’s pattern in mind when folding and sewing if it needs to be kept a certain direction!

Take the top back piece, fold the bottom edge under 1/2 inch (wrong side of fabric against wrong side of fabric) and pin. Sew a straight line the length of the edge to secure. Remove pins.

Take the bottom back piece, fold the top edge under 1/2 inch (wrong side of fabric against wrong side of fabric) and pin. Sew a straight line the length of the edge to secure. Remove pins.

STEP 3: CREATING THE RUFFLE
At this point we pause work on the main body of the pillow cover to create the ruffle. The ruffle can be as tight or loose as you want it and as wide as you want it, but your decisions will affect how much fabric is needed. I will share what I did and you can tweak it as you desire.

To create a ruffle you will cut strips of fabric which will be sewn end to end to create one long strip. The width of the strips will need to be twice the width of your ruffle. I wanted my ruffle to be about 2.5 inches wide when finished so I cut my strips of fabric to be 5 inches wide.

The length of the individual strips does not matter as they will all be sewn end to end in one continuous length. This is a reason scrap fabric is so great for ruffles because you can use varying lengths of strips! Your total length will need to be greater than the total border of your pillow but will vary depending on how tight you want your ruffles.

Measure around the border of your pillow (mine was 16in x 4 sides = 64 inches).
Add on an additional 25% for subtle ruffles, 50% for more pronounced ruffles, and 75-100% for tighter ruffles. Mine looked like: 64 inches x 1.50 = 96 inches of length.

Cut strips of fabric twice the width of your desired ruffle, totaling the length you calculated above.

Sew the strips end to end, with right sides of fabric facing each other, to create one continuous length.

Now fold the long strip in half lengthwise with right side of fabric visible on the outside. You can do this as you sew – no need to pin the entire thing unless you want to! Sew along the length of it, as close to the edge as possible. to close it into one long tube.
Although we would usually put wrong side to wrong side when sewing and then turn the tube right side out, the seam along the edge will be hidden inside the pillow cover so there is no need to do this. Turning a tube that long right side out would be a serious pain!

Now that you have your long tube we are going to ruffle it up! We will do this by sewing a running stitch along the length of the tube – right along that straight line you just sewed. The pretty edge of your ruffle will remain pretty and the unsightly seam side will be hidden inside the pillow cover.

A running stitch is just a basic stitch that goes in and out of the fabric. We will pull on this thread to gather the tube into a ruffle. This can be done by hand with a needle and thread or on your sewing machine, whichever you prefer. If you use your machine, be sure to set your stitch length and tension to appropriate settings for a ruffle. I personally prefer doing this by hand and will show you that method. I find I can keep the stitch very long and loose and keep it running very close to the edge without worrying about going off the fabric.

Using a needle threaded with a very long length of thread (knotted at the end), start at one end of the long tube and sew a running stitch the length of the tube, working right along your previous straight stitch.

Pull the fabric gently into a ruffle as you go. Tie off at the end.

The ruffle will be tweaked before the final sewing into the cover, so don’t get too hung up on how it looks right now!
You may want to periodically measure your ruffle or hold it up to your pillow cover to make sure your length will turn out correctly and you are not gathering the ruffle too tightly.

STEP 4: COMBINING THE RUFFLE AND PILLOW COVER BODY:
With the ruffle finished, it is time to lay it all out, pin it together, and sew it! This is the fun part in my opinion – to see it all come together!

Lay the FRONT panel of your pillow cover right side up with the pattern facing you.

Arrange your ruffle along the entire border of the front piece with pretty edge of the ruffle INWARD. This means that the seam side of your ruffle will align with the edges of your front panel and you will be sewing the ruffle INSIDE of your pillow cover (for now). It will all work out when we turn it right side out at the end!

Tweak your ruffle so that the ruffles are spaced evenly and gathered how you desire.

Place the TOP BACK panel over the ruffle, right side of fabric facing downward toward the other panel. You should be looking at the wrong side of the fabric. (Make sure the raw edge of this panel is at the top and the nice finished edge of this panel is now towards the middle of your project.)

Pin this panel in place, catching the TOP BACK panel, RUFFLES, and FRONT panel with the pins so they are all sandwiched together.

Place the BOTTOM BACK panel, on top of the ruffles, right side of fabric downward, aligning the bottom edge of this panel with bottom edge of front panel and ruffles. The nice finished edge of this panel should be towards the middle of your project and will overlap the top back panel.

Pin this panel in place, catching the BOTTOM BACK panel, RUFFLES, TOP BACK PANEL (where it overlaps), and FRONT panel with the pins so they are all sandwiched together.

Sew around the entire outside perimeter of the pillow cover using a straight stitch on your sewing machine, with about a 1/2 inch seam allowance. It’s always a good idea to backstitch at the start and end of your sewing so it doesn’t come apart later.

Remove all pins and turn pillow cover right side out through the center opening. Shriek with joy at your beautiful creation!

STEP 5: FINISHING TOUCHES
Your pillow cover can be finished at this point if you wish, or we can add a final finishing touch!

The overlap on the back of your pillow should be fairly sufficient to cover and hide your pillow insert. If you would like to add a fun detail – or if your cover needs a little help in holding the bulging fluffy insert inside like mine did – then let’s add some ties!

The thrifted curtain I used had some thicker parts where the fabric was already folded and sewn into a rod pocket or hem. I cut apart one of these sections into strips – 8 of them for my two pillows, so 4 ties per pillow. You can add as many ties as you like or need.

You can use lengths of fabric folded over and sew for added durability and a finished look, or change it up and use some accent ribbon, preferably a sturdy one that won’t fray easily like grosgrain.

To attach your ties, pin the ties in place on the back panels so they are opposite one another. You want the end of each top tie positioned UNDER the top panel so it’s not visible. The end of each bottom tie will need to be attached farther down the bottom panel so that it can meet with the top tie. I recommend sewing on the top ties first, then positioning and sewing the bottom ties so you can see where they need to fall.

Use your machine – or a needle and thread – to secure the ties to the edges of the back panels. I ran two layers of stitches across the end of each tie for added security.

(Another fun variation on this would be to add button holes and buttons instead of ties! I won’t get into that on here though.)

All done! Put that pillow insert into your brand new pillow cover and enjoy it, taking pride in the fact that you made it yourself!

BIG TIP REMINDER: When choosing a pillow insert, down feather pillow inserts always hold their shape and last longer than fiber filled ones, which can start to look misshapen and flat with use. Try some like these.

I hope this tutorial was helpful to you and I’d love to hear if you make a ruffled pillow cover of your own! Drop me a comment below!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

My 5-year-old son wanted to help make this pillow and I thought it would be a great introductory sewing project for him. We worked together to pin, sew, and stuff this Christmas tree pillow, and it was a fun Christmas bonding activity!

How to sew a simple Christmas Tree Pillow

Supplies

• Fabric (amount depends on size of your pillow) – I used a thrifted bed sheet!
• Contrasting fabric for the back (optional – can make the back the same as the front if desired)
• Pencil or fabric marking pencil
• Sewing scissors
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine (can sew by hand if desired but will take far longer)
• Coordinating thread
• Stuffing (fiber fill, etc)
• Needle and thread for hand stitching

Directions

1. Wash, dry, and iron your fabric. This is the least fun part, but trust me, it makes your end product look much better.

2. Fold your fabric in half, right sides together. (I took this photo after the fact, which is why this fabric is so wrinkly looking – the fabric I used for my pillows had been ironed – promise!)

3. Use a pencil to draw half a Christmas tree coming out from the fold. Remember in school when you’d cut out a heart shape – you’d fold the paper in half, then cut half a heart so that when you opened it up it made a whole heart? Yep, same thing here except a Christmas tree! Make the tree whatever size you’d like.

4. Cut out your shape, keeping the fabric folded in half as you do so. You’ll end up with this:

5. Open up your tree and lay it on top of the backing fabric, keeping right sides together.

6. Cut out the backing fabric to match the front fabric.

7. Pin your pieces together in preparation for sewing. Do not pin the bottom – this will be left open for turning and stuffing.

8. Sew all along the sides, about 1/2 inch in from the edge, leaving the very bottom of the tree open.

9. Turn the tree right side out through the opening at the bottom.

10. Stuff with filling to desired firmness/fluffiness. A wooden skewer or dowel rod can be helpful in pushing the stuffing into those tricky corners.

11. Hand stitch the bottom of the tree closed, turning the edges inward to create a clean edge. I used a simple straight stitch (not a whip stitch).

All done!

I hope you enjoyed this simple Christmas sewing project! You can add embellishments to your Christmas tree pillow if you desire. The dollar store had some cute Pom Pom trim that I thought about adding to another pillow, either all around the edges or tacking onto the front as a zigzag garland. Buttons as ornaments would be another really cute addition. I opted for plain trees right now as I have a baby who would love to pull all those decorations off. I also just like the simplicity!

Thanks for reading!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

My mom and I watched many old movies together as I was growing up. She would sit and fold laundry and I’d either help with laundry or would work on some project of my own – usually crocheting. I always loved the women’s outfits in those movies and especially loved their frilly aprons!

When I think of those aprons I particularly think of Marjorie Reynolds in Holiday Inn when she helps in the kitchen – she’s wears a gingham apron with pockets, trim, and buttons up the back. Of course with all those buttons, Bing Crosby has to help her unbutton it when it’s show time – terribly impractical, but also terribly cute!

I’ve been collecting true vintage aprons for awhile now – mostly half aprons – but have always wanted a frilly full apron that would fit my modern day [read: not 1940’s petite] body.

One of my favorite places to purchase true vintage aprons is from my friend, Elizabeth Tuttle, over at Pretty Vintage Linens – she gets so many cute ones in her shop!

About a year ago I purchased some red and white gingham from Hobby Lobby. I didn’t know what I would do with it, but I loved it so much I bought it. I almost made it into Christmas throw pillows…now I’m glad I didn’t!

The thing is, though, I’m not big on sewing. My mom did her best to teach me when I was little, bless her, but I was not the most receptive or patient student. One time I tried making a teddy bear – the kind where you cut the printed pieces out of the fabric and just sew them together. That poor bear…I had to re-sew his head on so many times that it left a scar. We covered it over with a ribbon, haha!

My point in telling you this is that I’m not the world’s best seamstress nor do I even pretend to be. I know a few basics about sewing and that’s about it. I’m sure there are things I could have done differently or better if I really knew what I was doing, but here we are…with an end product that I am pretty proud of no matter how we got there!

Alright, so you’re probably ready for me to quit rambling and get on with it – I understand! Let’s hop to it.

Vintage Inspired Apron Step-by-Step Photo Tutorial

Supplies needed:

Packing Paper (or other large paper)
Pen or Pencil
Sewing Tape Measure
Yard Stick or Ruler
Scissors (for paper)
Fabric (how much you need depends entirely on your size and how you want your apron to fit)
Lining fabric
Sash Fabric
Lace/Trim
Fabric Shears
Straight Sewing Pins
Sewing Machine
Thread to coordinate with your fabric
1 Button
Sewing needle (for sewing a few stitches by hand)

1. I used several sheets of packing paper taped together to make my pattern.

2. First let’s make the skirt pattern. You’ll need to take some measurements with a sewing tape measure. Measure around the narrowest part of your waist and write that number down.

Loosely measure around the fullest part of your lower body. Write that number down. We’ll just reference this as “hip measurement.”

Make sure to leave this measurement roomy as this will determine how full your skirt will be and how much it will cover you. The bigger the number the looser fitting the skirt.

Measure from your waistline (the first spot you measured) to wherever you want your apron to end (I chose right above my knee). Write that number down.

3. Cut a piece of paper at least as wide as half your hip measurement + 1 inch and at least as tall as your skirt length + 2 inches.

(We’re adding extra inches for seam allowance.)

4. We’re going to make a half-skirt paper to ensure your skirt ends up symmetrical. You will fold your fabric in half when cutting which will result in a full skirt.

Starting at the top left of your paper, measure to the right half your waist measurement + 1 inch. Draw a straight line out to that point. This is the top of your skirt.

Now measure down the left side using your skirt length + 2 inches. Make a mark.

Measure out from that mark using your hip measurement + 1 inch – mark that point. This is the bottom of your skirt.

(You may wish to label them top and bottom to avoid confusion.)

5. Draw a straight line connecting your waist mark to your hip mark. This will be the gradual flare of your skirt out from your waist.

Here’s a diagram of what I mean by all that:

Cut out your pattern piece.

6. Now to make the upper portion of the apron pattern.

–> Let me take a moment to comment that you can certainly make the front of your apron all one piece if you choose. I did it this way because my fabric was not wide enough to cut it all out in one piece. <–

Loosely measure around the fullest part of your chest, stopping halfway under your armpits. Write down that number.

Measure how far it is from the middle of your armpit to where your shoulder strap will begin. Write that number down.

Loosely measure from the top of your shoulder, over the fullest part of your chest, stopping at your waist (where your skirt will meet up). Write down that number.

Decide where you want your neckline to be. Measure to that point also from the top of your shoulder. Write that down too.

Decide how wide you want your neckline to be. Write that down.

Decide how thick you want your straps to be. I wanted mine wide – roughly 4 inches. Write that down.

7. From the edge of a large piece of packing paper, leaving yourself room both up and down, measure out half your chest measurement + 1 inch. Make a mark.

Go back inward the length of your armpit-to-strap measurement (+ 1 inch) and make a mark. Then draw a straight line upward the length of your strap. Draw a line inward the width of your strap, then another straight line down the length of your strap. It should look like, well…a strap!

Now draw a straight line back inward to the edge of the paper.This will be half the width of your neckline.

Shame on me for forgetting to take photos in-between, but here’s the gist of it. (Ignore the squiggled out lines – I was experimenting.)

The bottom of your front panel should be one quarter the width of the waist of your skirt + 1/2 inch. (In other words, the bottoms of the front and back panels will add up to equal the width of the waist of your skirt.)

Here’s another diagram:

Before completely cutting out my front panel I traced it onto another piece of paper to make my back panel. They will be the same, except I personally wanted the back neckline higher than the front, so I adjusted that measurement as you can see in the photo below.

8. Here is your friendly albeit annoying reminder to always iron your fabric before cutting out your pieces. It matters in getting accurate measurements – really it does.

(I don’t enjoy ironing – that’s why I said annoying. Haha)

9. Carefully fold your fabric in half, ensuring that it is straight and there are no ripples on the bottom layer.

If you are working with a pattern be mindful of orientation.

Place your pattern flush along the folded edge and pin it in place with sewing pins.

Carefully cut it out (if you’d prefer to trace it and then cut it out, by all means do, but I’m impatient I guess…)

Do the same with your front and back panels.

10. I wanted my apron lined as my gingham is not a very heavy weight. I didn’t want it to cling to my clothes as I moved about.

I found this old sheet from my childhood – the elastic had crumbled from age, so I cut out the elastic and ironed the whole thing.

11. Lay out your pieces on the lining fabric. I just cut it out directly, but if you feel more comfortable tracing & cutting, do that.

Allow me to introduce you to my favorite sewing shears!

They’re awesome. I do have to wear work gloves when I use them, though, as my hands get sore after awhile.

12. Pin your fabric pieces and lining pieces together, wrong sides facing.

Before sewing your back panel, cut it exactly in half. This will give you the split back of the apron.

Sew along all sides of your pieces EXCEPT the bottom.

13. Turn all pieces right side out (be sure to get all those little corners popped right side out).

Press them all with an iron.

14. Pin front and back panels together along the armpit seams, wrong sides facing, and sew.

It should look like this when spread out.

[Notice my bottom lines don’t meet up perfectly. It’s fine – no big deal. The skirt will cover it.]

15. Pin opposing shoulder straps together, wrong sides facing, and sew. This forms the arm holes.

16. Line up the waist of the top piece with the waist of the skirt, wrong sides facing.

Be sure to leave enough seam allowance that there will be no gaps between the two, especially if your top piece didn’t have a perfectly straight bottom edge.

Pin and sew.

17. Try on your apron and decide how much to hem the bottom.

Fold under the edge, pin, and sew.

It’s looking like an apron! Let’s add some details now!

18. Choose your trim – this was some vintage lace my mom had given me a long time ago. It’s off-white, just like in my gingham fabric.

Sew your lace right along the outside edge of your straps.

Like this.

19. Let’s make pockets!

Cut two identically sized squares of your fabric, making them a little larger than you actually want your pockets.

I would have liked my pockets a little larger but I was almost out of fabric.

I purposely made my pocket fabric line up with the skirt fabric, but you don’t have to if you don’t want to.

Pin and hem all sides of your pocket squares to give them nice, clean edges.

Make sure to keep your folds uniform so your pockets remain the same size!

Sew a piece of trim to the top of each pocket square.

Sew pockets to the apron skirt, only on the bottom and sides – don’t sew your pocket shut!

Lift the lace as you sew, so as not to sew over the lace.

20. Time to make a sash! I made mine from some vintage linen I bought at a rummage sale – it was a whole box of vintage fabrics for $3!

Again, the off-white color of the linen goes with the color in the gingham.

Decide how wide you want your sash. Double that number and that’s how wide your strip should be.

Now decide how long it should be – long enough to go around your waist, tie a generous bow, and leave some hanging.

Center your sash strip on your apron.

Tuck the top and bottom edges of the sash strip under, so that they meet in the middle under your strip (hidden). Pin.

Sew along the top and bottom edges of your sash, only from one edge of the front panel to the other edge. Leave the rest hanging freely.

I decided to do it this way to allow for more flexibility in how tightly (or not) I tied the apron.

I wanted a big, flowy vintage bow in the back of my apron, so I purposely left the linen unhemmed, knowing it will probably fray a bit more over time.

21. To close up the back, I sewed a short, straight line (maybe 2-3 inches long) just at the top edge, overlapping the back pieces about 1.5 inches. Then I sewed a decorative button over the top.

To put the apron on, I slip it over my head. I decided I didn’t want to mess with having to button and unbutton the apron every time. You are welcome to put in a real button and button hole if you wish!

22. Finally, to avoid the neckline looking too boxy, I created a pleat from the chest up to the corner of the neckline on each side, as you can see below.

It’s helpful to be wearing the apron when you decide where to make a pleat.

Just a gentle fold of the fabric and a few stitches by hand.

And there you have it! I hope it made some sense…

Thanks for reading through my little tutorial! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to drop a comment or send me a message and I’ll do my best to help out!

I’m rather excited I got this done in time for Valentine’s Day. I guess that means I have to make a nice dinner now, eh?

Want to save this for later or share with friends?
Pin it!

Blessings,
Melissa

This post contains affiliate links for which I may earn a small commission on qualifying purchases. Please click here for more details. I truly appreciate your support!

If you’ve been around here awhile, you may know I’m not the biggest fan of sewing – I can do it, but I avoid it when possible. Many of you have told me you don’t enjoy it either. Thus I like to come up with ways of making things that get good results but don’t require sewing. I hope you enjoy this little tutorial I’ve put together!

~ Supplies ~

1 Square Pillow Form (mine is 16 inches)

Fabric: I used a thrifted bed sheet! You will need 2 squares, each 8 inches larger than your pillow form in both directions. Example: For a 16″ pillow case I needed two pieces each 24″x24″

Linen (or similar off-white material): Whatever size you want for your “embroidered” panel

Fabric Scissors

Measuring Tape

Pencil

Fine tip permanent marker, black

Hot glue (for no-sew) OR needle & thread (for sewing option)

Optional: straight pins

“God bless our native land;
Firm may she ever stand Through storm and night.
When the wild tempests rave, Ruler of wind and wave,
Do Thou our country save By Thy great might.”

~ Tutorial ~

1. Trim off any existing seam from your fabric edges as it will be too bulky to use (I used a thrifted bed sheet, so this was necessary).

2. Cut your fabric to size. You will need 2 squares, each 8″ larger than your pillow form in both directions (for a 16″x16″ pillow form you will need two squares each 24″x24″)

3. Place the two squares one on top of the other. You will be cutting slits 4″ deep every 1 inch around the whole perimeter. To do this, measure 1″ in from the side and 4″ up from the bottom. Cut a slit up to that mark. Because my fabric was a grid pattern, I simply took note of which line was 4″ up from the bottom and always cut to that point. If your fabric doesn’t have a consistent pattern, take a measuring tape or ruler and mark off 4″ up every 1″ over from the next slit.

4. Continue doing this around the whole square. The corners will naturally get cut off when you turn to the next side. Just keep going consistently every 1″ over (and 4″ up from the bottom) – the corners will form themselves as you cut away some strips you’ve already made. Once all your strips are cut, it should look like this:

5. Line up the two squares with the fabric right side out. Take opposing strips from each square – and tie them together in a double knot. Continue doing this around the square until you have just one side open. (Sorry this is such a terrible photo – it was on my lap while I was watching tv and I didn’t want to get up, ha!)

6. Insert your pillow form into the opening. Finish tying to close up the cover.

7. Trim your linen (or other fabric) to the size you wish your panel to be. Mine was a little over 9″ wide by a little over 8″ tall.

8. Pencil in your phrase or design. (This is hard to see – sorry.)

9. Working with a light hand, use the fine tip permanent marker to trace the words/design with even dashes to mimic the look of stitching. Let dry completely!

10. You can either hot-glue the corners of your panel to the pillow for a no-sew option, or use a needle and thread to barely stitch the corners to the front of your pillow, like I did (pictured).

That’s it!

I hope you enjoy this little project! I’d love to know if you try it and how you decorate yours! Tag me on social media (@hymnsandhome) or leave a comment below!

I had been looking for something to break up all the white. I mean, I love the brightness of my white kitchen – it’s what I’ve always wanted – but it just needed some contrast.

Enter my love of black and white buffalo check. Or is it gingham? I don’t know, but I love it and actually have a dress that is black and white gingham from Shabby Apple (got it a few years back and it’s no longer available – sorry!).

After seeing Miss Mustard Seed’s tutorial for curtains made from linen, I decided that’s what I wanted in my kitchen – only, in black and white gingham. While I did not use her design or pattern, she did inspire me to use linen to get that perfect drapey look with slightly raw edges!

One little problem, though: We have wood blinds in our kitchen – NEW wood blinds – and we love the versatility, ease, and privacy they provide. Also, given my perfectionistic tendencies, I didn’t think it would be the best idea to have to tie up and let down the curtains every day. I would forever be adjusting them to get them “just right.” And if my poor husband was to try to do it – well, I’m sure I would be obnoxiously “fixing” them!

So…

I decided to make my own faux tie-up curtains, meaning they look like the real deal but will never move. I can pull the wood blinds all the way up and they are hidden by the curtains. Yay!

Now before you run away saying, “but I want REAL, functional tie-up curtains,” don’t worry – you can still follow this tutorial and make them functional. You’ll just need more fabric than I used.

And…I had one more issue…

Both in our bay window and over the sink there is pretty much no room for a curtain rod. Like, zero room, and if we were going to keep the blinds, I couldn’t use a tension rod inside the window frame.

Hmm.

Right or wrong, I came up with a solution: since I would be using a very lightweight fabric, I would use the decorative front piece of the blinds as my “curtain rod.” I would not try doing this with heavier fabric!

Tutorial

Let me begin by saying that this is not rocket science – I made this up as I went along, and it worked. I was able to finish these in one afternoon/evening, pausing for a few hours in the middle to make dinner and get the kids to bed. It does involve sewing, but please know I am pretty much the world’s worst seamstress (ask my mom!), and if I can do it so can you! You only need to be able to sew a relatively straight line.

I used this black and white gingham fabric from Amazon. (Did you know you can order fabric by the yard from Amazon?) It is gorgeous and drapey and everything I wanted!

Tap here to buy the fabric I used!

(I love my Gingher dressmaker’s shears pictured above – if you do any amount of sewing or fabric crafts, do yourself a favor and buy some good sewing scissors! It makes all the difference in getting a clean cut!)

#1. Determine how much fabric you need:

Now, I’m totally not a math person, and I get easily confused when measuring, but somehow I managed this without trouble.

My fabric was 55 inches wide. Since my “rods” were 43 inches wide (less than the width of the fabric), and I didn’t need the fabric to reach all the way to the bottom of the window, I settled for 1 yard of fabric per window, plus an extra yard for making all the ties. I had 3 windows, so I ordered 4 yards of fabric.

Measure the width of your rod(s) as they will be when they are in their final position, not including any finials or decorations on the end. We’re just looking at the actual part on which the curtain will be hanging.

Decide if you want the fabric to reach all the way to the sill to be functional or if you want it to be a “faux” curtain, in which case you don’t need as much fabric and can save some money. Be sure to measure the diameter of your rod or whatever you are using to see how big the rod pocket will need to be. You will need enough fabric to wrap around the rod, plus some extra for seam allowance and wiggle room to get the rod through. Remember, you can always fit a smaller rod in a bigger pocket, but not the other way around!

#2. Gather Supplies

• Fabric:
  • Desired curtain width + 2 inches for hemming = total fabric width needed
    Desired curtain length + 1 inch for bottom hem + ? inches for rod pocket = total length needed
    Extra fabric for ties
    • 1 yard was plenty for 6 faux-curtain ties. You will need a longer length for functional curtains – this will be double the length of your curtains, plus extra for tying a bow. You could use ribbon if you don’t want to buy this much extra fabric, or you could sew two strips together and put the seam behind the curtains to hide it.

• Sewing Machine
• Thread to coordinate with your fabric (I used white)
• Sewing Scissors (sharp sewing scissors really make a difference!)
• Fabric Measuring Tape/Ruler
• Straight Pins
• Curtain Rod(s) (I’m not covering how to hang a curtain rod.)

#3 – Cut your fabric to the right size. See above for measuring details.

#4 – Pin the side hems of each piece. To make it easy on myself, I folded the fabric so that one line of squares was in half, which ended up being about 1/2″.

NOTE: Make sure you’re folding your hem over to the back side (the “wrong” side) of your fabric. You want the “right side” to be the front of your curtain!

#5 – Sew a straight line down each pinned side.

#6 – Pin the bottom hem on each piece, as you did for the sides, and sew a straight line across each bottom edge.

#7 – Measure and pin your rod pocket. Mine was extra wide, because it was going on the front decorative piece of the blinds (see above for explanation).

#8 – Sew a straight line across to make the rod pocket.

Now, as an aside, I will show you how I made this work with my blinds. If this doesn’t interest you, skip down to #9. Here is the decorative front piece of the blinds on which I hung the curtains:

See all those little clips? Yeah, I had to make sure I could still clip them to the blinds, so I snipped tiny holes in the back of my rod pocket like this:

Then I put the clips through the holes and secured them, like this:

Sorry that’s a horrid picture, but I was working with my phone camera at, like, 9pm trying to get this done without waking the kids.

Even if I ever wanted to hang these with a “real” rod, no one would ever see those little holes in the back, so it doesn’t ruin them by any means.

#9 – Thread your curtain(s) onto the rod(s) and hang.

(Side note – this is what 1 yard of fabric looks like in length on my very long window after hemming and rod pocket, but before tying up.)

#10 – Decide how wide you want your ties to be, and cut 2 strips per window. I went with one “square” wide which was about 1.5″. I cut them width-wise from the fabric, so that each strip was 55″ long.

NOTE: If you’re working with gingham like I was, or something similar, the different “rows” of color on your fabric will give you different looks. Allow me to show you. See how two strips below are white & gray and two are black & gray:

They’re all from the same piece of fabric, but alternating rows. I would not advise mixing them as ties on one curtain. Choose either two of the lighter or two of the darker. If you mix them, you end up with something like this:

Looks a little wonky, huh? Thought I’d share my mistake to spare you the trouble!

#11 – Drape your ties over the curtain rod like this:

#12 – Bunch up your curtain on one side:

#13 – Tie with a bow.

#14 Repeat on the other side.

Done!

P.S. That bench isn’t there anymore – it’s painted and in a new location! Now I have a church pew in this window and can’t wait to work on it and show you soon!

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!

Oh, and thanks, Mom, for letting me borrow your sewing machine!