Pleats?

This past Saturday we were fortunate enough to actually be at home all day and just lounge...okay, so maybe I'm stretching it a little on the lounge part...do we ever just lounge? Ummm...no. We're the couple whose minds are always running. Even Anthony's runs, along with his mouth, while he's asleep. So anyway, we spent our day at home cleaning up the leaves in the yard, sweeping the patio, and tidying up the house. By noon we were done and Anthony began his hide-out in the office for the rest of the day writing a paper for a grad class. Then there was me. Of course I can't just sit and watch T.V. or take a nap...so, I sought and found a project.

The small decorative pillow in our guestroom is simply an old pillow covered and folded with a standard size (not to mention very irregular) pillow case.

Yes, it's weird but I needed a decorative pillow that was white and that was all I had. The problem, along with the pillow case being way to big, is that there's a gaping hole in the seam on one side. This is how, Operation "Make a new pillow cover out of the existing case" began.

First, I turned the case inside out so that I could cut it to the shape I needed it to be. Then, of course, it has to be sewn inside-out to look good right-side-out. :)

Can you see how irregular it was? It figures since I only paid about 50 cents for it awhile ago.

Since I wanted this to be a quick project because I had to cook dinner, I opted for heat 'n bond tape (so every time I write "sew", I really mean "iron together tape"). So after measuring my pillow, cutting the pillowcase to my measurements, and then ironing my seams together, I had a perfect pillow cover for my decorative pillow. The end...or is it?

This is when I noticed I had some more time to fiddle around and saw the excess "pillow-edging" or whatever have you, just lying there silently begging to be used.

And this is how my mind works: Hmmm...what could I do with that? Put it around the entire edge of my pillow? No, it's not long enough. Just sew one long piece across the face of my pillow to add character? Okay, maybe. (Thinking, thinking, thinking.) Hey, why don't I cut a few pieces of equal lengths, sew in the edges, and create a 'pleated' look down the front of my pillow?! Yeah! (I know, my mind is a crazy place.)

So, I measured, cut, and sewed five equal pieces of edging.

Then I figured out where the center mark on my pillow was and penciled in 5 equally spaced marks where each completed 'pleat' would go.

. . .

Side Note:

Have excess fabric lying around? You can give a bland pillow cover character by doing what I did with any type of fabric, ribbon, or ruffles (or all of them together). Using two or more coordinating colors or patterns would also be so fun. You can also extend the pleats to cover the entire front (and back if you wish) of your pillow to create an entirely new cover. Just have fun!
. . .

Finally, my afternoon delight...a new pillow cover.