Pet Pillow made by my Daughter. :)

I recently put a sewing machine on a little sewing desk in our sunroom.  This room is where the kids go to play board games, do crafts or just watch tv.  I thought that if I had a sewing machine out and easily available it may encourage them to just use it when the mood strikes.  That idea may have worked. 😉
Yesterday, my youngest said she had an idea to make a Pet Pillow - not to be confused with Pillow Pets, which are toys available in the retail stores.  Her Pet Pillow is a pillow of her actual pet.


She has been taking lots of photos lately with a camera that has been handed-down to her.  She showed me a photo she had taken of our pet, Shadow that she wanted to use for her pillow.  Sounded good to me.  She was the crafter and I gave her guidance.

I have Electric Quilt's brand of fabric sheets so we printed the photo using their directions.   Printer fabric sheet packs are most likely available at your local craft store.   Most fabric sheets work with ink jet printers, and some work with laser printers as well.

Making a Small Pillow from a Photograph

  1. Choose a photo of your pet.  I helped my daughter get the photo from her camera to our computer.
    Our beloved Shadow.

  2. Remove other paper from your printer, and load a sheet of printer fabric.  
  3. Print the photograph with normal quality printing.
  4. Lay the fabric sheet flat and let the ink dry for about 15 minutes.
  5. Remove the paper backing from the fabric sheet, and soak the fabric in room-temperature water for 10 minutes.  Gently swish occasionally to remove any extra ink.
    Soaking in a sink of water.

  6. Lay the fabric flat on a towel and blot dry.  Allow to lay flat and dry completely.
    Drying out on a towel.

  7. Iron smooth.
  8. Trim the fabric to the size desired.  
  9. Choose your pillow's back fabric.  Place it face up on your cutting surface.
  10. Lay the photo fabric face-down on top of the backing fabric.  Trim the backing fabric to be the same size as the top fabric.
    Front and Back fabrics right-sides together.

  11. Pin both layers together all around.  Leave a opening about 2" wide for turning later.
    Pinned all around.

  12. Start at the opening, and stitch all around the photo, using 1/4" seams.  Tack down the beginning and end stitching at the opening for strength..  My daughter stitched just inside the photographs's edge so the white fabric border will not show.
    Sewing the pillow together.

  13. Turn the fabric pillow out through the opening.

  14. Fold the raw edges of the opening inwards.
  15. Iron everything smooth.


  16. Stuff your pillow with some filling.  My daughter used Poly-Fil. Stuff to desired fullness.


  17. Hand stitch the opening closed using a ladder stitch.  

  18. All done!

    My daughter is so proud of her project.  She loved sewing!  She wants to make more Pet Pillows!  She asked if she could sell them too, so I agreed to list her pillow in my etsy shop on her behalf.  

    She is beyond excited to see her pillows online for sale.   Check out her Etsy listing here.  So if you don't want to make one yourself, she'll be happy to do it for you.  😃



    Happy Stitching!

8 comments

  1. She did a great job and should be so proud!! What a great gift idea, too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank You Linda. You are right, that would be a good gift idea.

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  2. Hi Sylvia,
    This is so darn sweet. I love how involved your daughter was throughout the whole project. She had a vision and she completed it very nicely. Great job! She should be very proud of herself. I love the idea of the sewing machine being placed where they can use it when the whim strikes - I'm going to borrow that when my nieces and nephews get bigger (or should I say, born . . . ). ~smile~
    Roseanne

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Roseanne,
      I like that sewing machine out too. In fact, I just got a little task lamp today for that sewing desk to make it even more enjoyable. 😃

      Delete
  3. She did a great job! Photogenic pup too!!

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  4. This gave me an idea to make a pillow for my son who just lost his dog to liver tumors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That is a nice idea, Patti. So sorry for his loss.

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