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Thread for sewing

Thread for sewing ()

No matter what flea market I go to, someone always has some sort of table linens: tablecloths, placemats, runners … You name it! And they’re usually really cheap, especially when it’s not a matching set.

Recently, I picked up this lovely item at a Flohmarkt at Toom for 50 euro cents. Actually, I got two for that price, but we’re going to focus on this one for now.

It’s so pretty! You almost don’t want to cut it up. Oh, but I did!

There are so many possibilities with table linens. The hardest part of the project was to decide what to do with it. Finally, I landed on making a little pillow for my daughter to use as her Tooth Fairy pillow. It has a small pocket for the tooth, and for the money the fairy will leave for her in return.

You’ll be hard-pressed to find these exact same linens. Where would be the fun in that? However, play with the fabric so you include the pretty parts. In this case, I wanted to include as much as possible of the top and bottom. I started by cutting off the bottom end, which makes the pocket.

Here’s where you get to play with pretty parts of the linens. You don’t want the pillow too large, so I recommend a maximum size of 3 inches by 4 inches finished. Lay the piece you cut for the pocket on top to get a better visual.

Turn your project wrong side out, so the right sides are together. The piece to make your pocket should be on the INSIDE of your work. Using disappearing ink or chalk, draw lines on the left and right sides, and then sew along those lines.

Remove the extra fabric on the sides. I left one quarter of an inch (that’s probably the quilter in me coming out). Sew along the bottom starting at the perpendicular seam, but leave about a 1.5 to 2-inch opening. I prefer to sew some on each side and leave the opening in the center.

Cut the corners on an angle. This will allow for cleaner points in the corners. Be very careful not to cut your threads.

Turn your pillow right side out. Push out the corners of your pillow with a pen or mechanical pencil making sure you don’t have the ink or lead exposed.

Front

Stuff the pillow with polyfil or something similar. Stuffed animals and old pillows are also pretty easy to find and inexpensive. You can use the stuffing from one of those. Then sew the hole closed. If you’re sewing machine permits, by all means, please sew the bottom hole closed. Otherwise, hand sew it by creating a hidden stitch.

Voile! Your child’s Tooth Fairy pillow is ready to go!

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