Monday, November 7, 2011

Never Too Many Pillows


I stumbled across Sensations Pomp Yarn and love how incredibly soft it was.  It felt like minky fabric.  I was dreaming of nice soft pillows for our couch. The difficulty was figuring how to cast on with this yarn.  There weren't any instructions in the store and I couldn't find anything online.  This yarn is not like Red Heart's Pomp a Doodle because the pom poms are small and so is the thread between each one.  I favor crochet and tried a hundred different ways to crochet with this yarn and tried a hundred different hooks.  It was not working.
(ignore the pillows in the middle~I made them last year and they have been very loved & slightly abused by boys who like to have pillow fights~ahem~namely my dear son and dear husband~the oversized third child)
I finally read somewhere on the Joanns forums that you could only use the knit stitch with this yarn and had to use the thumb method of casting on.  I tried this with the smallest knitting needles I has but they were still to large so back to the store I went and purchased a very small set of bamboo knitting needles.  Then the fun part began.  I was able to cast on a decent row of stitches with a neat row of  pompoms.
 With each new cast on it became easier.  The key was knitting every row and using the small size needles.  This makes a super soft double sided pattern.  I would have loved to be able to stick a pillow form between those two sides but you can't.
 Once I had knitted the four pillow fronts I pulled out the sewing machine to start putting some backs on them and fill them with pillow forms.  But I ran into a big snag.  YOU CANNOT USE A SEWING MACHINE.  The little pompoms got caught in the bobbin and there was a lot of sweating, hand wringing and tears as I tried to get this off the machine.  I have a Brother Embroidery machine.  The needle was stuck in the fabric and every time I tried to bring it up the machine beeped a warning.  It was wracking my nerves.  I thought this machine was going to bust and I would never have another as nice as this one.
I tried putting the feed dogs down and gently working the fabric out but it was not budging.  I finally looked at  some of the maintenance photos and figured out that I would need to take apart half of this machine to safely remove the fabric.  I tell you I was nervous and scared.  
I did not want to send this baby to the sewing machine hospital.  I was able to remove the front plate and the bobbin.  Then I removed the bobbin holder inside the machine.  I could then see exactly where this pompom was stuck.  By gently pulling and unwrapping it I managed to get it free.  I was elated.  This minor episode nearly gave me a heart attack.  All I could envision was the needle breaking off, falling into the machine and wrecking it.
 So now I had to sew each one of these by hand.  Not so bad except that your fingers get a little numb and I was already shaky from the crazy sewing machine episode.  Then I gave the machine some loving, a little cleaning and then tried sewing various stitches on normal fabric to make sure it was still working.  Thankfully, it is.
The pillows were a little plain so I added some rosettes.  Each was made with some bits of trim that were leftovers a friend gave me.
This one is my absolute favorite.
Isn't it gorgeous?


 I'm linking to:



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8 comments:

ElphiaDesigns said...

These pillows are awesome!! Also loved your thrift shop finds :) One of my absolute favorite things to do!

Anonymous said...

Your pillows turned out great. Wouldn't mind trying to do this. Thanks for the inspiration!

Carrie O
http://carriescreativehome.blogspot.com

Sugarr2518 said...

Hey Ruth! I love your color choice for your pillows and the flowers that you put on them:) It's just so great being able to see it all come together isn't it?

Judy @ In His Grip said...

These are so great. I have never used that pom yarn and now it makes me want to try. Thanks for stopping by In His Grip.

Unknown said...

These are sooo pretty! You can never have too many pillows!!

Maggie Lamarre said...

Ruth, luv the colours you have chosen, Would luv for my readers to see this awesome idea, will you please join our weekly party at
http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-showcase-tutorial-with.html
Maggie
http://passionatelyartistic.com

Holly @ Bella Nest said...

Hi, Ruth, I'm a new follower. Your rosette pillows are too cute! It's always great to find other Christian bloggers like yourself. Have a blessed weekend and if you get a chance, check out my blog @ bellanest.blogspot.com!

Brooke @ Spruce Your Nest said...

Those are great! Returning the blog love from www.spruceyournest.blogspot.com! I am your newest follower :-)

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