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Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Long Lumbar Pillow Tutorial

A couple weeks ago I showed you C's new extra long lumbar pillow.  It was created out of a need for color in his monochromatic room. 



Today I will share with you the steps I took to make this pillow.  As I said in my last post, this project is really not that expensive if you are able to sew, and if you can find a fabric you love, at a great price.  This pillow cost me less than $20 including the down pillow form.  However, if you were going to have one custom made, the cost would be well over $100 and depending on the work room you choose, perhaps even a couple hundred dollars.  As always, if you have any questions please ask me at the bottom of the tutorial under comments.  That way I can share my answers with everyone.  (Don't be afraid to ask me even the most obvious questions, I have been known to leave a step out here and there....) For this project I am going to show you the general steps to take so that you can make your pillow any size to fit your space.

Step 1:
Finding your inspiration fabric.  You will need approximately 2 yards for a pillow this size.

Step 2:
Cutting out your pieces. I like to use round household objects usually found in my kitchen to create circles...for this project I used a pie pan for the diameter of the circle.  Trace the circle with a fabric pencil, and then cut it out.  All other measurements come from this cut.


Cut out the rest of your pieces.  For this step you need to determine the circumference of your circle.  The first way you can do this is by measuring the diameter of the circle (the length of the entire circle through the center point) So in this case, 10 inches.  Multiply that number by pi (3.14) and you will have a length of 31.4 inches.  Add one inch for seam allowance so we need to cut our long piece of fabric 32.4 inches long.  The long strips are for the self cording.  (Cut them 2 inches longer than your circumference, and 2 inches wide)


If you are terrible at math like me, you can do it this way too...


Pin your circle to your remaining long piece of fabric.  As you follow your circle, you will be gathering the length of the rectangle. Add one inch to allow for seam allowance, then cut.

Step 3: 

Sew your cording.  Use your zipper foot, and put the needle in the left most position.  (I sew this entire pillow with my zipper foot in the left most postition so I can be right up on the cord).


Sew cord to the circle piece.  Repeat.





Sew your zipper into the long rectangular piece. I am going to assume you know how to sew in a zipper.  If you don't leave me a comment and I will write a zipper tutorial.


Sew long rectangular piece together.  (Sew fabric together on either side of the zipper.)

Sew rectangular piece to the round pieces.



Your pillow case is finished!  Now follow the steps omit the cording step to make the pillow form.  I always stuff with feathers. (I buy cheap down pillows and use the feathers in my custom pillow forms) Because this pillow is so large, I used two standard queen pillows to fill this one form.  I am able to buy pillow forms at Ollies for $6.99 each.  This is the most expensive part of the project.


Stuff pillow form in case, and ENJOY!





Rebekah

I linked up to the parties on our Where we Party Page!

30 comments:

  1. I am your neighbor over at Tip me Tuesday. My name is Melissa. I am from daisymaebelle.com. This pillow is beautiful! NIce work! And, I love the owl :)

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  2. Such a comprehensive, easy to follow tutorial!!! Love the piping on the lumbar pillow! It really finishes it off well. I would love for you to share this at our ongoing link party that's just for Pillows and Cushions...
    http://threadingmyway.blogspot.com/2012/01/threading-your-way-pillows-and-cushions.html

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  3. Wonderful tutorial! I need a new lumbar pillow but the ready made forms are too big -- never thought of using feathers from other pillows. Great idea. I would love it if you would consider linking to Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy, a Sunday through Thursday link party for ideas that make life easier, better and more fun!

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  4. Thank you Pam and Charlene! I am linking up to both of your parties!
    threadingmyway.blogspot &
    Busy Monday at A Pinch of Joy

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  5. Thank you so much! If it's not too much of a bother, I'd love to see a zipper tutorial.

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  6. Donna Burkle AriebellsmimiApril 19, 2012 at 3:58 PM

    Thanks for the tutorial Rebekah! I think I might try making one! You rock!
    deejay62@msn.com

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  7. Pellibaby, I would be happy to write a zipper tutorial. I have sewn about a thousand zippers into a thousand pillows, but I remember my first time I was really intimidated.

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  8. Good Luck Donna! Let me know if you run into any problems. Send me a picture!

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  9. great tutorial and like the idea of using cheap feather pillows to use as insert.

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  10. Thanks for sharing this tutorial. I pinned it for future reference.

    Using cheap feather pillows to fill a pillow is such a great tip, thanks!

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  11. Love this tutorial! I'm pinning it so when I learn how to finally sew I can make it. :) Megan

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  12. Very nice pillow and tute! Thanks again

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  13. Totally looks doable :) Love the color too!

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  14. That orange really "pops!" It's nice to have something different than the standard square pillow! Thanks for sharing at oopsey daisy!

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  15. I've worked for a company who made these at a huge premium, so I'm glad to see easy-to-follow instructions for DIYers. One thing, though-if you're going to use feathers and down, wear clothes they won't stick to (not sweats), and if possible, find a small place where you can keep the flying feathers down to a minimum!!!

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  16. how do I sew the round pieces on

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