I recently connected with another blogger, Jillian from I am a Homemaker, who wants to be a seamstress.  She received a sewing machine for Christmas and was determined to use it.

Every time I write a sewing tutorial I wonder if it’s written in a way that a beginner can follow it and create what I’ve done.  When you’ve been sewing for 30+ years it’s easy to forget how a beginner needs to start.  There are a lot of techniques I’ve learned over the years that I didn’t do as a beginner and wouldn’t have wanted to have to try to do as a beginner!

So Jillian and I came up with a plan.  She would be the novice and I would be the professional.

She would follow my tutorials and give me feedback and ask questions about anything she didn’t understand.  And then she would share on her blog her own tutorial for how she did it and how it went for her.
We started with a pillow.  A pillow with an envelope closure.  I make a lot of pillows and never even think about how they go together anymore so I had to take a step back and regroup a bit to create a tutorial for one.

 So I made a pillow.  And took pics and wrote the tutorial along the way.

Jillian used the tutorial and made her own pillow, learned how to use her sewing machine, and created a lovely piece of decor for her home!  Homemaking at it’s finest 🙂  You must go over and read about her experience with her first sewing project!

Sewing is something I do as naturally as breathing.  It makes me happy to create lovely things out of textiles.

Another friend of mine, Ann from On Sutton Place, has a great tutorial on making a pillow with an envelope closure.  Her tutorial includes how to make it with French Seams!  French seams are a fav of mine when it comes to heirloom quality sewing.  They are easy to make and create the best finish for seams.  For most of my sewing I use my serger to finish seams but when I made dresses for my girls when they were little I used French Seams a lot.

And if I ever get the opportunity to create the line of linen pillows that I have created in my head I just may use French seams on them too – just to give them that extra high-end touch.

Before you head off to create your own beautiful pillows I want to share with you that there is an interview with me posted over at Floor Coverings International – you might find it interesting!

Jill