Thursday, April 14, 2011

V and Co how to: shag pillow

*no animals or plants were hurt in the making of this project.
*one really stupid person did get hurt in the making of this project, but she would like to mention that even though the needle penetrated...no swear words passed her lips. it's was a modern day miracle.


i love how this pillow turned out. i made it in green for two reasons:
1. it's still kind of cold here, and still kind of brown...will be for a little bit longer so i wanted some GREEN and springy looking happiness in my home.
2. it's the only color of jersey i had on hand, and living in the middle of nowhere doesn't let me just jump in the car and go to a store that i can find jersey fabric at (which btw this fabric was found at jo-anns but i would suggest amazon if you can't find what you are looking for, that's where i get a lot of mine when i can't find stuff)

okay here's what you will need:
*1 yard (to be safe in case of mess ups) of jersey fabric with the width of 60" (jersey comes in a bolt length of anywhere from 42" to 62" or even wider...but the most common i've found is 58" to 60")
*2 squares of cotton fabric close in matching color to your jersey fabric cut to 11" x 15" (if you make a slightly larger pillow you will still be okay because you will have a little extra fabric)

now lets get started:
cutting:


*cut from jersey fabric 19 strips at 1 1/2" each.


*from each of the 19 strips cut 15: 4" length rectangles. (you should be able to get 15, but if your fabric is wonky, and you get less than 15 it's okay because remember you have extra fabric.)
*in the end you will end up with a few extra rectangles (depending on how many you put in each row (you'll see later) but all of my rows had 14 or 15 rectangles total.)
*now take your two cotton rectangles cut to 11" x 15"
*and on 1 of the right sides of your fabric, draw 3/4" lines all the way across your rectangle. (you should get 19 lines)
*now take one of your jersey rectangles, and measure at least 1/4" down from the top of your pillow fabric...
*and sew using your drawn line as your guide your jersey strip onto the pillow fabric.
***** i scrunched the jersey fabrics in the middle, but i didn't make them uniform because i wanted them to be different widths (you really can't mess this up, it's not exact but you will get basically the same look with the little variations that will happen when each individual makes it.)

*you will continue down the line making a small gap in between the jersey strips. i used a total of 14 to 15 jersey strips per drawn line.( i would say a certain measurement...but i just eyeballed it and didn't really measure it looks like around 1/4" or 1/2" in between each like i said, if you don't follow what i did exactly you will come out with the pretty close to the same result.)
*make sure you leave at least 1/4" gap from the edge of your bottom edge of your pillow fabric. (i didn't on the first line and had a little bit of an issue later on trying not to get it caught in my seam.)
*once you have your first line done, push over your jersey strips to make the next line visible.
*and then repeat what you did on the first line.
****note: i did try to stagger the jersey strips in between the gaps of the first line. so it would fill in a little better. (remember this project is REALLY forgiving so it does NOT have to be exact)
*continue doing this for all 19 drawn lines.
you will see the shag appear as you continue to sew on your jersey strips.

*once all your strips are sewn on, we are now ready to make it into a pillow!
*move all the strip ends away from the edge like the picture above.
*place on top and start pinning with right sides together the second cotton 11" x 15" rectangle.

*make sure none of your "tails" of the strips get caught in the pinned seam.
*sew all four sides leaving an opening (at least 4") in the middle of one side (this will be your bottom of the pillow) for stuffing.
*turn your pillow form inside out, stuff, and hand stitch close.
you are so done.
and enjoy a totally cool pillow.
i'm making some in other colors for my couch and on my bed, and on katie's and the boys' beds...kidding but i am making more in other colors cause i LOVE them!
you can even make little rodents play in the grassy knoll.
katie's put her rapunzel barbie on it (you know like in the movie when she's all excited to touch grass for the first time...okay i'm rambling now.)

make this pillow.
it's cool.
the end.

101 comments:

Timolily said...

This is fantastic, despite my silly comments on your facebook page! Well worth losing a finger over..!

Anna said...

love this! it must be fun to play with. :)

Brynn said...

That is fabulous! And I'm envisioning a multi-colored one for my little girl's room...

Laura said...

What a great pillow and tutorial! Thank you!

Ruth said...

I like th pillow AND the rodent!

Emily said...

Love the texture! Sorry about your finger.

Natalia from Piece N Quilt said...

You rock!

V and Co. said...

okay it's been made known to me that my "how to: shag pillow"
could be taken like "how to shag pillow" and that was def NOT my intention...though it is funny. sorry all you European readers! no X rated such things are allowed on the blog...but that did sound kind of along those lines!

Unknown said...

That pillow is so great! I saw one like it yesterday and was I thought "Oh, I can make that". Now I actually now how. Thanks so much. Your ideas are so great and you make it look so easy. Sorry about your finger. I sewed through mine (just the tip) a few months ago. Ouch!!

thesplitstitch said...

VERY cool idea! I love your sense of style :)

justbe said...

I really liked it..well done and thanks for sharing

Taylor said...

Love it! Thanks for the tutorial!
Taylor

Alathia said...

The title made me giggle! Love the pillow. Blue tape works wonders for keeping fringe out of the seam when sewing. I'm presuming it would work well for this, too.

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise said...

Super cute, now all I need is some jersey!

And...

hahaha shag pillow...

Linz said...

I have to make one of these. Or two. Ot ten. LOVE IT!

Linda said...

Love it!! Thanks for the tutorial!

Kathleen Casey said...

You seriously rock! You have whipped up another amazing tutorial! I hope you have nursed your finger back to health with lots of chocolate...

oh, one more thing, the room you took the pic in is gorgeous (i'm in love with the floors)... the middle of nowhere Utah must be absolutely beautiful!

Thanks for everything V! Happy Spring!

Kathleen Casey

Unknown said...

This is fantastic! And jersey fabrics are on sale on joanns right now. Too bad I didn't see this this morning before I went! Guess that just means another trip, lol.

trish said...

Too cute!! :o)
And thanks for the tutorial!
Sincerely, Trish
ps. I feel your pain about living in the middle of no where. :o)
pss. The government could still possibly close, will find out tomorrow if we have a job. Will be glad to get off this roller coaster!

emily and logan said...

LOVE that pillow!!

Melody said...

love this ~ you always have such fun tutorials! I still need to make the circle rag rug you showed so long ago - bought the fabric and everything! Will probably go buy some jersey knit fabric to make this pillow too...will see how long THAT takes... :) hope your finger is mending quickly!

Kate said...

this would be cute detailing around the bottom of a dress or skirt. Thanks for the inspiration!

Barbara said...

Pillow is very very cute. The CHAIR is ~awesome~ - do you remember where you purchased it ?

Lisa @FishyFaceDesigns said...

Sorry about your finger... I think you handled it well!!!!! Nice pillow... I am thinking it would make a great pillow (or two) for my daughters room!

Anonymous said...

That's a really cool pillow. But to be honest, I like to visit your site because you're just so stinkin' funny. Thanks! :)
Sara

Amy at Ameroonie Designs said...

This pillow is gorgeous! I love how it looks! Would be fun in so many different colors.
xoxo,
Amy

Purple Quilter Queen said...

So cool - and your chair rocks too! Aren't you the little crafty one?!?!? Jenn

Anonymous said...

I really love your pillow. I hope spring comes your way soon. It comes and goes where I am but at least the grass is looking a little green.

Vivian said...

Wow! What a great easy project. I just have to have one or two or three of these.

Tiffany said...

Ur right, It is cool.

Linda said...

I love this pillow.....funny thing..right before you did the post for the bracelet and now this pillow, I donated all of my knit fabric. What was I thinkin'!!!??? I never throw anything away!

Aaron and Kristi said...

That is so STINKIN cute! I have been wanting to re-make my daughter's bedrooms and was thinking about making a little shag style rug, so why not a pillow to go along with it??? And I have to say you freakin crack me up. I am totally the person who would sew through my finger and if I made tutorials of any kind, they would inevitably involve one of my children talking about poop in the background! :)

Adam Syd Redford said...

Soo cute! Soo cool! It's on the list of fun things to make!!
PS sewed through a couple of fingers myself. You are now eligible for the purple pin cushion. For valor in face of crafting injury!

Jen Hayes said...

yeah! Another GREAT project! Since I found your blog awhile ago my "to do" list has become quite long (but no complaining here! :) This week I've been working on several baby life quilts. Now all I need to do is get my blog together so that I can share! Thanks again for all the great ideas that you share.
p.s How's your finger healing?

Anne said...

That is SUCH an awesome pillow!! I linked to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-jersey-knit-shag-pillow/2011/04/14/

--Anne

Anonymous said...

How clever is this pillow, I love love love it. I can see a couple of these on my daughter's bed. Thank you for being so sharing. Roz

Heather at Happy Chippy Junk said...

Aweee HA!! The grass IS always greener on the other side!

Six-Pack Momma said...

I L.O.V.E. this pillow! I am not normally big on pillows because it's one more thing I have to pick up when my kids drop it in random places...but this...this I will have to make!

Unknown said...

Love it! So fun and clever. Thanks for the idea.

Chikosa said...

V.,very gently! In explanation of your purse with a bow, I sewed her :) http://chikosa.blogspot.com/2011/04/blog-post_15.html Thanks!!!

LakshmiRP said...

So cool!

Gail said...

Thank you for the clear cut instructions.

Danielle Bartran said...

Wow. You made that look so easy, but the look is so complicated-I'm amazed! Thank you for sharing this!

Brenda S said...

I love the touchy feely pillow! It has so much texture it just invites you to play with it. Thanks for sharing the tutorial. I am excited to try this.

April said...

I love this pillow! Thank you for sharing this tutorial with us. I have always wondered how it was done. Great job and congratulations on the "modern miracle". That was fun.

Lisa said...

I grew up in LA area and go through DT's about once a year. You can't take the beach outta the girl! And I totally remember making these in school! Good job. I had forgotten!

Lisa said...

great tutorial. I love the green colour. I am thinking that this could also be made from old/on sale t-shirts.

Wendy M said...

Thats fab I love it, this is going to be my first ever sewing machine project so thank you for the inspiration :-)
Wendy

Anonymous said...

My question really has nothing to do with the pillow (which is amazing) and everything to do with the dresser in the background. What is the paint color? i'm building a vanity and that is EXACTLY the color i had in mind

Iron Girl!! said...

Oh, this is fantastic! I see jersey sheet sets at the thrift store all the time and this would be a good use for them (since we seem to have plenty of sheets around here). Great tutorial!

pat sloan said...

all because of you I now want jersey fabric... stop

Unknown said...

Just to be even creepier than usual, when I saw that nice picture with the pillow on the chair and all that white space all I was thinking to myself was about how nice it probably smells in that picture.

Deb said...

If the injured finger is the pointer in one of your pictures, I am sporting that very same injury on my long finger! First time I ever did that. I didn't swear, either (proud look), but I think I lost the ability to speak while I was trying to disengage my finger from the needle. You're a trooper! And the pillow is wonderful.

cecile said...

It's a great idea ! I think I'm going to do it with thrifted/used t-shirts. I love it. Thank you !

Ciara said...

I love this! I think I could *actually* make this one!! Thanks for sharing :)

Atticelf said...

Oh! I've seen these here and there and always sigh heavily and wish I could make one. I could do this! Thank you so much. A rainbow of colored pillows is dancing in my head...

Kelly @ Run With Glitter said...

I LOVE THIS!!! Thanks for sharing!!

Krista said...

Love it. I've done the same thing with my needle and it was pretty traumatic.
2 questions: Do you think it will shed at all? And WHERE did you get that chair?? Totally in love.

Susan said...

I can't remember how I stumbled across your blog now, but I liked the pillow so much I made one this weekend! I don't have a rotary cutter though so it seemed like it took forever! Thanks for sharing.

Simply Jessabells said...

Love it and your directions are great too. Thanks so much for sharing!

J.

zumrana said...

I love the pillow and the colos.. Wonderfull.

http://zumranam.blogspot.com/2011/04/v-and-co-how-to-shag-pillow.html

Amanda said...

Love it! Featured you on Today's Top 20 today!

Amanda
www.todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com

vivi said...

hi v
I love it, and I love how you work with jersey fabrics, I like it, but for some reason have never done anything (I have done head bands with olivia, but not so much sewing)
I wouldlike it in whites and creams, let's see

OnePerfectDay said...

This is wonderful!
And your tutorial is so detailed and easy to follow!
I'm definately making this!
Thanks a lot!!

Unknown said...

Love the color! Can't wait to try out the tute.

Susanne said...

I'm thinking about using some thrifted t-shirts, maybe 3 springy colors, to make a bright pillow this weekend.
SO sorry about your finger. In my 8th grade home ec class, I remember a boy doing the same thing to his finger. What a nightmare.

Unknown said...

Glad you survived the making of this pillow. It turned out awesome! Love the texture and color!

Debbie @ OtRD said...

Love this!

Erika Mulvenna said...

This is an awesome project! We think your crafty tutorial is great, and we want to share it with other sewers and quilters by featuring a link on www.WeAllSew.com! We’ll be featuring a link to this project at our "Free Stuff" page all next week. Please let me know if you have any questions about being featured at WeAllSew.com. Thanks so much-Erika

hart44 said...

Wow! this is amazing :) thank you :) Im going to make lots of these to put on my bed and no doubt my daughter will want a few too lol.

BluKatKraft said...

This is the best tutorial for a shag pillow I've seen , thanks!

Avry said...

I made a few.. And linked back to your site. Thanks for the tutorial!
http://craftyourself.com/2011/05/how-to-make-a-jersey-knit-shag-pillow/

Avry!

Debs - debslosingit.com said...

I'm American, but I also read it as "how to shag (your) pillow". Its very cute, though if I made it, I'm sure out puppy would eat it. The shagginess would be irresistible to her!

emmys said...

Yea! I have some cute jersey knit fabric left over from making my own Moby Wrap. I cut my fabric wrong and only got 2 wraps instead of 3 and have all this material left over but not wide enough to do anything much with. I'll give it a try.
Thanks so much.

Unknown said...

Thank you so much for the tutorial. I made one this weekend for my daughter and linked back to you on my blog.

Laura-IH said...

Oh, I almost didn't click on this because I thought, "Whoa! That looks way to hard for me!" But it was so cute, I had to see how you did it, and now I think, "Oh, yeah! I can totally make that!" Thaks for the inspiration!

kykimberly86 said...

Wonderful and fun idea! I went straight to the fabric store and bought jersey knit fabric for just this project. I've been on a black and white kick lately so I'm doing a mix of black and white, trying to see if I can get a nice pattern or something in the shag. Hopefully it will come out nicely. Thanks for the inspiration!

Anonymous said...

I'm going to take you at your word when you say "you just can't mess it up" and jump in with my less than expert sewing skills because this pillow is just too darn cute! Thanks for the tutorial! Jan

Anonymous said...

I'm going to take you at your word when you say "you just can't mess it up" and jump in with my less than expert sewing skills because this pillow is just too darn cute! Thanks for the tutorial! Jan

Kirsten @ Mushki Loves said...

Hi! I LOVE THIS! I am going to make some for my Daughters room! I am a new follower!I would love it if you stopped by blog, take a look around and if you like what you see, follow me back! Thanks!
Have a great holiday!
Kirsten

www.mushkiloves.blogspot.com

HADÄ°YE said...

MERHABA,

Çok Çok Güzel.
Teşekkür ederim.

Sevgilerimle*

Bell said...

Thank you so much for the great tutorial. I whipped one up this arvo in blue and it is so soft and lovely.

Kacey said...

Thanks for the tutorial! I cut my pieces last night and stitched the whole thing together this morning - I love my new throw pillow! Minimal effort for maximum effect :)

Rishana said...

Hi,
I love the pillow and just wanted to clarify: the yard of fabric is just for the strips and I'll need additional fabric for the 2 11x15 squares?

Tora´s Vintage Dream said...

OH I really like this one, and like so many other tutorials on the internet I WANT TO TRY IT OUT LOL LOL LOL, thanks for sharing :)

Carli The Quilter said...

This is the coolest idea. I make custom t-shirt quilts and this will use up those left overs!!

Stunningly brilliant. Thanks so much.

Kris from Duke Says Sew What said...

Hi V! Here's a link to the shag pillows I have made. Thanks for your tutorial!
http://dukesayssewwhat.blogspot.com/2011/11/knit-fringe-pillows.html

Robin said...

I absolutely love this pillow and the look of it is so cute. Can't wait to make one. I would love to link this project back to you on my blog if you don't mind. Thanks

Susikiu said...

Me encanta el cojín, gracias por las explicaciones son perfectas

gracias por compartir

besosss

Diary of a Brown Eyed Girl said...

I love this pillow!
I just got a sewing machine for Christmas. I am def. going to make this!

nurtenbegendi.blogspot.com said...

çok güzel bir iş olmuş. Ellerinize sağlık. Türkiye'den selam ve sevgiler gönderiyorum.

This old house said...

I love this pillow. I want to make a quilt for my granddaughter that is autistic. I was thinking of long strips of narrow strips of knit and attaching it to the quilt. (she likes ribbons and strings) Ribbons fray. Do you think this would work. again, the pillow is great!

This old house said...

Can you use cotton fabric for the rectangles? I was thinking of doing a shag quilt. I love your tutorial and clear instructions. Great idea. Hope your finger gets healed up soon!

fafuna said...

I love it!!! It's so cute! Thank you so much for this tutorial, I would love to make one!

All the way from Israel, Efrat :)

Cheryl said...

Love this thanks...I think I will try this for my little girls room after I finish your rag rug tutorial. Thanks for all the great ideas...keep them coming.

best-cook said...

great idea!!

dawn said...

great !!!!! i love it!!!

from: Dawna Paris
Etsy Shop

Anam (Delicious and DIY) said...

Oh wow this tutorial was so helpful i just made a shag pillow and it turned out beautiful. Thank you guys. If you want to check it out here is the link
http://deliciousanddiy.wordpress.com/2013/12/27/diy-shag-pillow/

Brandi Rogers said...

I found your pillow tonight and made it and it came out fantastic I really love it thanks!!

Project Run & Play said...

Your pillow is so gorgeous! We included it in our round up of things to sew with knit fabric! (http://skirtfixation.com/2014/06/20-things-sew-knit-fabric/) Beautiful and fun too!

Itni said...

Gracias, ahora ya sabré cómo hacer este cojín.

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