Ribbon Pillows

Once the holidays are officially done and all the decorations are back in boxes in the basement the house always seems so drab.  And while the house seems that way, somehow all my closets and drawers seem to be woefully overstuffed and unorganized.  So, this weekend, lodged firmly  between the modes of "I need to clean out every drawer of this house" and "this house is so drab I want to redecorate everything" I created these through pillows to freshen up the living room and bedrooms from ribbon scraps in my gift wrap drawer.  (Yes, folks, I only have a gift wrap drawer and not an entire room...but that's the stuff of a future post.)I must say this is a completely easy project with very professional looking results.  I was so happy with them I shared the results on Hallmark's Home & Family this morning. Here are all of the details of how to do it yourself for you non-cable TV folks...

For the chocolate Scroll Pillow, you really can't get easier.  I was feeling brazen and did the whole thing freehand.  If you're more of a worrywart, sketch out your scroll pattern on the pillow with chalk beforehand.  Then, a couple of inches at a time, glue the ribbon along the chalk line using a hot glue gun. It gets a little tricky on the curves, but just go slow and steady bunching up the ribbon as necessary to get your shape. Make sure you leave at least 1/2" at the beginning and end at the pillow seam.  When you're finished, go back and trim those ends to meet the seam and add a thin line of glue to secure them in place.  Done.

The Random Line pillow is even easier.  Cut lengths of ribbon long enough to reach across the pillow.  Then, lay them out in a random line pattern across the pillow until you get a pattern you like.  Once you have that, use iron on hemming tape with self adhesive (this is what makes it a breeze!) and apply it to the back of each strip.  Remove the backing and press in place.  This stuff is very forgiving, if you don't like where you've put a ribbon done, just peel it up and re-locate it.  Nothing is permanent until the iron hits it.  When you have all the ribbons back in place, secure by ironing according to the package directions. Trim the ends to line up with the pillow side seams and glue them down using a small amount of hot glue.

For the Trellis Pillow, you use the same process, but in a more organized fashion.....yes, you'll have to measure.  Start off by laying out a piece on all of the four sides - I did mine 3 inches from the edge.  (And, yes, that's sidewalk chalk I'm using.) Using the hemming tape, secure these in place.  Then, mark the center of each side and cut ribbon to run diagonally between these marks and secure them in place. Once you've finished, go back and trim your ends and secure them.

All in all a very easy and quick project for some pretty fab looking pillows.....and if you've got ribbon and some plain pillows around....basically free!