Hi all, I've been reading here for awhile, getting a kick out of the knowledge you all have. I decided today should be the day that I burst in with my first question.
How do you uniformly stuff pillows? I know that several years back I managed to get a pretty decent, non-lumpy stuffing and liked how it looked but now I can't seem to duplicate it. I'm making floor pillows for my daughter and they are quite large so forms aren't an option. Thanks!
Rhiannon
How large? I can occasionally get 30" ones here in the UK... However, I have had great success with holofibre - the stuff they put in duvets. It's easy to grab a handful and spread it well, so it's nice and even. But it IS expensive! I've used dacron toy stuffing with great effect when making fancy shaped cushions.
Cushions always take a lot more stuffing than you think, and floor cushions need to be a bit more stuffed, to give you enough padding when you sit on them...
Best places to get good stuffing are places that deal with folk who make stuffed toys. For those in the UK, I'd recommend Dainty Supplies in Washington New Town - full details on my Fabric List on the web site.
For really large pillows, start with a piece of foam. I like the dense (hard) stuff, it's usually blue here, about
4 inches thick and round, square or rectangular as you want it for the finished cushion. Then I wrap the foam with thick comforter batting - the polyester high loft stuff. Since it's already in a sheet, it's easy to cut off strips to wrap my foam inner core. Then put the whole thing in a plastic bag and sit on it to get as much air out as possible, close the top of the bag, slide the whole thing into the pillow cover (put the open end of the plastic bag in first) get it all inside and straight, then pull out the plastic bag.
Thanks for the placcy bag tip - I *really* struggled last time I cut a new foam inner for the cushions on DH's computer chair, next time it will be much easier.
Lizzy
That's very clever with the plastic bag!
Before I knew about it -- maybe before plastic bags! -- I made a pair of slab couches, that were just foam slabs, covered, to put on a solid platform. Wrestling that foam rubber (it was real foam rubber, too) into the covers was an experience I hope never to duplicate. They took on a life of their own. I felt like I had trained for professional wrestling. When I heard about using the plastic bags, I could only think that I wished I had known that trick.
Another trick, good for pillows or cushions is to turn the cover wrong side out, then right side over the foam. Keeps the foam straight in the covers, and you don't have to have the strenght of 100 people to get the darn thing in there.
Gail
You've gotten great, really wonderful advice on stuffing. I just wanted to throw one more thing into the mix. I made some pillows for my niece for Christmas to go in her newly redecorated (as a present from her parents) bedroom. I usually just make pillows, no pattern, I mean who really needs a pattern for pillows, right?? ;) Well, I was thinking about making her one of those pillows that has the little arms and allows you to prop up in bed. Didn't end up doing that, but I did get a pattern for one. ;) In that pattern, they suggest putting interfacing on the wrong side of your fabric before you make the pillow cover. I'd never done that before with other pillows I'd made. (and I have made legions of pillows in the past! lol)
So when I made her pillows this time, I did back the fabric with some fusible interfacing, medium weight as that's what I had on hand. I could not believe the difference it made in how the pillows looked. It really helped a lot. They held their shape a lot better once they were stuffed.
Just one more thing to think about. :)
Sharon
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