Home Couture's Blog

Go Sew: Fabric Strip Pillows

2012-02-06T18:13:00.000-08:00

If you sew then you have fabric leftovers. I haven't met a sewer yet that doesn't have a stash of "someday I'll need this" fabrics in a closet.

It's time to put them to good use! This is a very easy project, is custom and once you have figured seam allowances, you can take this process and make

just about anything.

Step 1.

Lay out your fabrics and decide on a design. This one is very simple: 3 same size strips sewn together to create an overall size of 24" X 24".

TIP: Your pillow insert size is the same size as the finished fabric cuts. No need to add seam allowance to the outside seams.

Step 2

My strips are cut to make a 24" square when sewn together. Therefore, the center orange is cut at 9" and the two flanking purple are cut at 8 1/2" . This is because of the seam allowance of 1/2" when attaching the purple to the orange. My back fabric is one solid fabric cut 24" X 24"

Step 3

Pin the strips right sides together. Sew using a 1/2" seam.

Step 4

I always serge the raw edges on pillows after seaming-it adds strength to the pillow and prevents fraying.

Step 5

Sew your back to the front, right sides together with a 1/2" seam, rounding the corners-not pivoting.

Remember to leave a healthy opening for inserting the pillow.

This is how the pillow looks when all the raw edges have been serged- of course you can do decorative serging, but this is wrong side out!

Step 6

Turn the pillow right side out and press all the seams with an iron.

Stuff your insert into the opening. If you leave yourself too small of an opening it takes a LOT of extra effort to get the insert in the cover. You may be tempted to do this since we are hand-sewing it closed. I recommend hand sewing the extra few inches-otherwise you may split your seam- (I learned this lesson!)

Step 6

Hand sew the opening closed with color matched thread, doubled, using a nice invisible stitch. I have tried doing this on the sewing machine but I have never liked the results. Your stitches may look nice on one side, but the other they are often mis-aligned. Plus, it is very difficult to get the pillow under the presser foot! My youngest sewing students (5 years old) have done beautiful invisible stitches so you can too.

Done! See how easy?

It's 2012! Time to....Slow Down?

2012-01-17T21:26:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again: January. What are the Magazines announcing? Not just the New Year, but a New You, a New Body in 30 days,

...and an interesting suggestion: A New Room in 2 HOURS!...or some such equivalent

Hmmmm...sounds good, but probably not achievable. At least not without the crew of Extreme Makeover Home Edition.

I admit, there is a copy of this month's Shape on my nightstand by a giant glass of water but I know I won't be transformed into the cover model in this lifetime (a girl can dream!) never mind in a month.

So let's slow it down..
The truth is that good design is thoughtful design. To think carefully about furniture placement, scale, wall colors, fabrics and most importantly how the room is used by the people in it, takes time; and it's worth it.

There is a quote by a notable Interior Designer who said "Interior Design doesn't happen on a Saturday afternoon". Well put. I recently spent an entire Saturday afternoon just looking online at light fixtures...

Last Friday I helped a friend of mine pick paint colors and before she knew it we were rearranging her living room.

Knowing the visual weight of the new paint color on one wall would affect the visual interpretation of the furniture on the other side, this change was necessary. If we rushed the process, the overall feeling in the room would have been off.

The room certainly wasn't "done" in 2 hours, but we had paint colors, a basic furniture layout and a discussion about how she's going to use the space as her children grow.

Design is an interconnected process: change one element and before you can blink the love seat is relocated and the table you HAD to have is now banished to the guest room.

We spend the majority of our lives in a handful of rooms. Our environment deserves to have a significant amount of time spent on its layout. Wanting our homes to be welcoming, comfortable reflections of us, the result is creating an atmosphere that our friends and family love being in.

Courtesy http://www.dinneralovestory.com/

OK, you twisted my arm.

Here are my January-inspired tips for a "New Room"

1. Fresh flowers

I try to make this a weekly habit..

2. Updated window treatments

No surprise here-it's what I do for a living...

3. Properly scaled lighting (too small table lamps: Be Gone!)

teeny lamps do no service for reading...

Tips 4-10 require more effort and my hope is that tips 1-3 get your decorating mojo going to tackle other things like paint and floor plan re-design. If you feel in over your head, hire a professional Interior Designer who can expertly guide this process.

Courtesy of Decorology

Hey, it's cold out there and you're stuck inside. Get decorating!
Just take your time...

A Hungarian Tradition In My New England Kitchen

2011-12-24T17:44:00.000-08:00

Hungarian Kifle

In July 1914 my great-grandmother boarded the ship Ultonia from Fiume, Italy to join her husband in America. She left her parents and homeland of Olcsva, Hungary behind her forever. With her was my grandmother Rose, only 4 months old.

Before my great-grandmother left for America she sat with her mother, my great-great grandmother, for this photo:

My grandmother Rose Huszti is the infant above...

I love the way my great-great grandmother is putting her arm around her daughter, and smiling. She most likely knows she will never see her daughter again. Revolution was coming to Hungary and many people were moving to America to escape.

Sadly, my great-grandmother died before I was born, but she passed down a recipe for a cookie called Kifle. Doing a little research, I have discovered that others spell it Kifli, but I have my Grandmother's recipe and she spelled it with an "e". So perhaps it's regional,or simply misspelled! Either way, these cookies are absolutely delicious.

Note: the french croissant actually means "kifle" or crescent. They say Marie Antoinette had some kifle and introduced them to the french. Many people make them crescent shaped, but our family serves them folded..

To prepare the dough: Flour, margarine, butter, eggs
and sour cream

Into 4 cups flour, cut in 2 sticks butter and
2 sticks margarine
I use a pastry cutter, but the two-knife method works well also.

Cut in the shortening well, but not too fine.
This keeps the pastry dough flaky.

Next...

Separate 3 eggs. Mix 3 egg yolks with 1 cup of sour cream.

Add the sour cream and eggs to the first:

Now, I have tried mixing this with a spoon and a spatula, but the very best way is to do it with your hands!
Before I get to this point I cut 8 pieces of wax paper and lay them on the counter. Once you have mixed the dough, make 8 balls and wrap in the wax paper.

Refrigerate at least overnight.

Then, you can roll out the dough and either use a serrated roller or do what I do and use a ravioli cutter! It makes the process a LOT faster, and then all my cookies are uniform in size.

After the squares are cut, use a teaspoon of your favorite filling. My father says my grandmother used prune, nut, raspberry and apricot. There's a market in Fairfield, CT that sells them. You cannot use preserves, jelly or jam for these cookies, there is too much water in them. These fillings are dense with little water.

Fold over one corner and then the other using a dab of cold water to keep them in place. Bake at 400 degrees for about 8 minutes. Once cool, sprinkle with confectioners sugar.

Some family photos...

My grandmother is the oldest, sadly her two little sisters: Piroska and Barbara died of childhood illnesses.

A few years later she married my grandfather

They had 4 children, my father is the oldest.

When my father saw this photo of him with my aunt he said my grandmother took him to the doctor and asked if he was too thin.

Her eastern European agricultural heritage required a little extra padding for all the manual labor!

My grandmother loved Christmas and while she passed away when I was 10, I enjoy keeping

the Kifle tradition going in my family.

I LOVED this dress...Christmas Eve 1973

Right after this photo was taken, we went to Grandma's house for some Kifle!

Merry Christmas!!

Worth The Wait

2011-12-07T19:19:00.000-08:00

When you are searching for just the perfect thing..don't give up!

Today we installed some drapery panels in Killingworth, CT that coordinate with some roman shades we made earlier this year.

Romans

After searching in vain for a fabric to replace one we THOUGHT was unavailable, we struck gold. Literally. This beautiful

P. Kaufmann textile in a rich gold had been discontinued by the manufacturer but after flexing our telephone muscle were able to find it in Chicago. Within a week it was at my studio.

Sometimes a little extra effort is worth it!

Before

After-with wrought iron hardware

Complete!

Stitch Times Two

2011-12-04T14:53:00.000-08:00

It was a lovely day for a ride to Chaplin, CT today. After giving directions as to what size Christmas Tree I wanted to my husband and sons, I headed off to the home of Catherine Whall-Smith.

Catherine is a talented fiber artist and was in the midst of entertaining visitors for Open Studio week-end as Dave from Dumas Upholstery was bringing in the newly covered sofa and wing chair.

This gorgeous family furniture was recovered in the

Kravet Smart Fabrics below:

Herringbone #31412/4

#31372/16

(After removing an interior door!) the furniture slipped back into the rightful positions in the sitting room of this circa 1840 house and I got a little tour of the house and Catherine's work on display.

This is one of my favorites:

Catherine and I share a love for the word "stitch". In fact she first stopped in my studio because of the name.

Her studio is Smith Stitch Studio and you can view updates of where she is showing work as well as other updates by visiting her website:

Catherine Whall Smith

To find out more information about Artists' Open Studios of Northeast Connecticut,

click HERE

While I was off having design fun I hope my family

picked a good tree!

How To Sew Beautiful Bolsters

2011-11-26T18:19:00.000-08:00

I just love a good "how-to" every now and again, don't you? Sewing pillows is just one of the many requests I get and when a recent bolster order came in, it presented a lovely opportunity to show you how I make these fashionable pillows.

Note: These bosters have no welt, trim or zippers. Once the basic version is accomplished adding any of the above is done relatively easily. Future blogs featuring how to's on welt, trim and zippers are planned!

Let's get started:

1. Take a soft measuring tape to get the circumference of the bolster pillow form. Add 1" to this number for your cut length of fabric. Measure the length as well adding 1" total to that number. This is to allow for the 1/2" seam allowance.

2. Measure the diameter of the pillow form as well. Mathematically, the circumference is the diameter multiplied by 3.14. However, we are working with soft materials so I like to make a sample out of interlining to be sure of a good fit before I cut the project fabric:

Mock-up bolster

3. Cut your "body" face fabric
to the desired length and width
remembering to add the 1" seam
allowance to both before cutting.
Tip:
If you are making more than one,
use the first cut as a template
for your subsequent cuts by
laying it on top of the fabric,
matching the pattern.

4. If you notice my end pieces
(circle cuts) on the mock-up are a little big. I cut the project fabric a bit smaller to get a better fit. Cut 2 circles (remember to match the pattern) for each bolster, one on each end.

5. Fold the body cut right sides together. Pin and sew just a few inches on each side with a half inch seam leaving a large area un-sewn to insert the pillow form later. Leave the ends unsewn.

Now, lay the body fabric with the opening towards you marking with pins the four "corners". Do the same with the circle (end) cuts:

6. The pins are to be used as guides for equal disbursement

of the fabric as you pin the circle piece to the body:

I like to pin the four quads first and then move on to pinning the sections in between:

I've found this to give me the best results, so there are very few if any areas where there is slack, or not enough fabric to match to the next pin.

7. Now that you have pinned both end pieces you are ready to take the pillow to the machine.

Sew using 1/2" seam, sewing slowly. I reinforce my seam by sewing a second row of stitching on top of the first row. You can take out the pins to sew the second set of stitches.

8. Once you have sewn with a straight stitch, you can finish by serging the raw edges. If you don't have a serger, use a zig-zag stitch. I always finish my pillows this way, it adds strength to the fabric and creates a nice, clean look with no unruly raw edges!

The fully serged pillow-inside out

9. You did it! Now turn it right side out through the large opening that was left unsewn from step 5 and insert your form.

10. Hand-sew your pillow closed using an invisible stitch, and you are finished!

Voila!

Blue and White: A Classic Color Story

2011-11-16T14:17:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a dining room in need of window treatments and a client in love with blue and white....

My Connecticut client had fallen in love with designer Carolyne Roehm's, A Passion For Blue & White where inside, several pages were marked as favorites.

After a tour of the recently wallpapered dining room,
I was given the book and a roll of the wallpaper from which to draw inspiration.

Ralph Lauren Wallpaper

As every designer knows, it's always nice to have options. I drew several cornice designs and happily my favorite was chosen.

From inspiration...

To installation...

No detail was too small! The client and I deliberately chose the white silk, trims and hardware to work beautifully together and pull from elements in the room.

All trims are by Brimar and silk is Kravet. Custom drapery, cornices and installation are by

www.stitchdrapery.com
860-928-0382

The drapery rod and finials are lucite

with brass rings and accents.

All hardware is by Deco.

Happily ever after!

What I'm Loving Right Now

2011-10-19T19:35:00.000-07:00

Something about October makes me think Fall is going to last forever. Holidays, what holidays? There's PLENTY of time to devote to relaxing pursuits. What I'm loving right now? Bedding. Sleep-in, crisp air through an open window, hefty new novel on the night stand, bedding.

I recently decided to renovate our Master Bedroom. What better place to get inspiration than duvet covers and sheets...

Sumptuous embroidered linens..

and

pillows galore

How many pillows are too many? When they fall off the bed.

this chair gets the Ikat fabric above..

so of course I have to get coordinates...

Thinking about adding:

Bedskirt?

Duvet?

Definitely for the drapes...These are all Kravet fabrics, Vari (Ikat), Knappe (floral) and Fellini (links) I think I'm in love!

My Trusty Assistant

Maybe it's time for a...yawn...nap....

ZZZzzzzzzzzzzz

A Backsplash That Beckons: Result!

2011-10-12T04:41:00.000-07:00

So, this past week-end I was ready to get this backsplash completed already. There's something about a long week-end that gets me in the mood to finish house projects. I have spent multiple Labor Days, Presidents' Days and Memorial Days knee-deep in remodeling. One notable wedding anniversary had me sitting on top of the refrigerator holding sheetrock with my head. Ahh...glamour!

This backsplash project was coming together nicely, and the total spent was almost as nice as the custom result: $46.72 on lumber. The carpentry was courtesy my husband, but for full disclosure accounting: $7.12 for the apples I needed to bake his pie (paycheck) and the paint and gel stain was free as I had it from a previous kitchen project.

Once Greg was finished drawing the design I wanted, he set about constructing the frame, and then the grid. I knew it would look best if the projection of wood diminished as it was built inward

Some wood putty was applied to all the counter-sunk nail holes, which I then sanded and gave two coats of primer.

I painted the primed wood and the wall with Benjamin Moore's Monroe Bisque with a pearl finish. It most closely matches the color of our Kraft Maid cabinets.

Now time for the gel. I used Modern Masters Extender mixed with Benjamin Moore's Branchport Brown, for which I only needed the sample size.

I applied it with a brush and then wiped off to the excess to get the look I was after.

LOVE IT!

Success, now it's time for that paycheck....

Yum!

Eye Candy at the BDC

2011-10-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

I headed up north this morning to attend the last day of 3 “Design Boston” events at the Boston Design Center. I was going for the lecture: “Restoration of the Royal Opera House at Versailles”. I always enjoy a trip to the BDC for some designer eye candy, and today was extra-special. After a quick check-in with a catered breakfast to-go I found myself with a little time to spare before my lecture began. I ducked into Samuel and Sons to pick up a few trim cards and then spotted this gorgeous dress constructed from wallpaper outside The Martin Group:

Wallpaper Dress

The lecture I attended was given by New England Home Magazine and featured the lighting restoration at the Royal Opera House at the Palace of Versailles. The french company chosen to do the painstaking work on the chandeliers and sconces is Tisserant Art and Style in Paris. The owners presented a short film about the work they did and peppered their lecture with anecdotes about working in France referring to the french love of meetings: “We attended no less than 30 meetings and that was excluding the 30 or so we were excused from…” “There were 6 meetings about the light bulbs alone!” They poked fun at their fellow frenchmen by stating that the restoration work was organized the “French Way” in other words they said: “There was NO organization!” Their film had me looking up Versailles on-line and the website is accessible in English: Chateau de Versailles

Woven Paper Bodice

: Versailles Opera House Restored Lighting

It was a lovely day surrounded by talented designers and superb design. Can’t wait for my next Eye Candy day at the BDC!

Icing On The Cake

2011-10-05T08:24:00.000-07:00

Some beautiful shots from today’s installation of custom window treatments here in Connecticut…

Imperial Valance

Soft-Fold Roman Shades

Swag Bottom Roman Shade

I am very lucky to do what I love for a living and happy clients are the best part.

This job was a collaboration with Dale Minske Interiors.

I haven’t posted many work photos, but I’ve had requests so I will try to do it more often..enjoy!

I have a new website in the works but you can view my current site HERE for more photos

Turkish Cozy Corner

2011-10-05T08:13:00.000-07:00

What a busy morning, after installing some pillows and a throw blanket I picked up some cushions for a local client. The fabric is Kravet and the upholstery was done by Dumas Decorating in Thompson. They do a perfect job EVERY time!

Client's Tear-Sheet Inspiration

Working with New England Design and their client’s inspirational photo we arrived at this cozy corner result:

Back Cushions with "Turkish Corners"

”Turkish Corners” on pillows refers to a row of stitches when the pillow is still inside out. Here is a close-up”

Tailoring Detail

The client will be spending may happy hours here with her cat and a good book!

A Backsplash That Beckons

2011-10-02T08:36:00.000-07:00

When we moved into this house in 2007 the kitchen was the first reno project we tackled. Nothing else was as bad. Not the pink bathroom or crabgrass yard. There is also nothing I write that would do justice to the awfulness, judge for yourself!

Yes, that’s carpeting in the eating area, a shotgun view that leads right to a bathroom and a whole lotta pine cabinetry. When I see our “before” photos I can hardly believe it’s the same house.

Here’s a shot of “after”

To see more before and after shots, check out an earlier blog post: “Potential-itis Part II”

Now, the time has come for a backsplash behind the stove. I originally wanted a solid marble slab, but it was proving difficult to both match the marble of our island and stay with-in budget. So, time to get creative! I LOVE the look of english panelled walls and wondered how this might look in my kitchen.

An inspirational photo I found online (above) mirrors the thumbnail drawings I did for my husband (who will labor for Guinness or pie).

The only area to be panelled is directly behind the stove up to the range hood. To assist with the planning process I brought home some template paper from my studio. It has + and – marks as well as numbers that assure the proportions are correct.

Perfect for this project!

Next, Greg drew out a pattern and placed it on the wall:

A trip to the lumber yard and work has begun!

The finale will be posted, and the hubby will have his Guinness and pie!

The evolution of things

2011-09-05T11:36:00.000-07:00

If I’ve learned anything, it’s that plans have a way of changing when you least expect them to. In my teens I developed a Life Plan that was meant to take me down a very specific path. Shock would have been my reaction had I been provided a snapshot at 18 of my life today.

Last sunday, Hurricane Irene whipped through Connecticut knocking out power across the state, including our Quiet Corner. As I write this my husband, the boys & our beagle are on the way home where power was just restored after nearly a week. I opted to lag behind, enjoy a little quiet time in my parent’s empty house and think about things.
Just out of high school my plan was to be a City Girl, have my own design firm in a high-rise, marry a James Bond type lawyer/doctor & travel the world together buying art on our exotic vacations. Yeah, it was a bit simplistic, but what do you really know at 18 anyway? Unbeknownst to me I was destined to be a Country Girl.

The view from my studio is a marsh with a flowing brook and wild flowers. Not a high-rise in sight. James Bond? My husband is a suit-wearing professional by day (yes HE goes to the Big City) and Country Boy/Home Remodeler by night. Oh, and he can cook too.   Traveling the World is instead our 3 little boys who scribbled the art for our walls and as they grow, provide the anecdotes that flavor our days.
Even though I married at 24 straight out of college, became a mother, serial house-remodeler and professional seamstress, I somehow kept the 18-year old professional me alive as my Goal for The Future.  Spending my days in a high-rise, fighting traffic and rarely seeing a tree has zero appeal now. However, the vision I had of what success looks like has been something I’ve been chasing unconsciously. It’s lately occurred to me that I was trying to catch up/make up for the time I spent having children, responding to and experiencing the joys and trials of everyday life. My mother has a phrase she got from her mother: “Bloom where you are planted.” Well, I’ve been blooming, but always thinking I was going to transplant that bloom Elsewhere.
The evolution of my business has taken a shape I never predicted. I open the windows in my studio and smell honeysuckle. I meet people who just happen to drive by & pop in to see what I’m doing. The hours upon hours of pure enjoyment from drawing, sewing & installing soft-furnishings and teaching children’s sewing classes is so unexpected and yet surprisingly perfect. I am supremely happy that what I thought was “keeping my creativity alive” while I raised a family turned into a honest-to-goodness career that is so much better than my teenage version.
I’ve always been a Dreamer with a Plan. Who knows why I imagined myself successful only if I lived in The City and had High Professional Achievements?  Somehow I’ve ended up right where I was supposed to.   I live in a beautiful place, doing what I love, surrounded by people I enjoy. The evolution of things is that can recognize when things are good and be happy.
And they are.