I installed an invisible zipper!

lovely vintage sheet

Well, I finally got around to sewing more than napkins.  Mark and I have had two uncovered pillow cushions on our couch since January and they have been crying for covers since day one.  My sewing mojo returned when I found a new-to-me fantastic vintage sheet at the thrift store last week, and suddenly I had an idea for what I wanted to do.

pillow front

pillow back

The cover includes two different sides. The front is a solid square of the vintage sheet with a layer of warm & natural batting underneath.  The other side is also a vintage sheet in solid mustard yellow with blue grid quilting.  I used spray baste to adhere the sheet to the batting, then I used my hera marker and my acrylic ruler to mark 1" lines.  I quilted along the marks and then repeated the process in the other direction.  I love that the lines are all straight (more or less), but that they aren't exactly 1" apart.  Handmade quirky!  Great reassurance that I am not a machine.

I installed an invisible zipper using my invisible zipper foot so that the cushion cover can be washed (frequently).  When I was living by myself, I think I did a lot less washing-- of rugs, pillow covers, kitchen towels, etc.  Now that I am married and there are two of us using these things (plus Moses!), it seems like we do three times as much laundry.  That's okay, though: laundry and vacuuming tend to be my favorite types of housework.  Instant gratification-- nice, neat vacuuming lines and clean, folded laundry.  Putting the laundry away is a different story...

I have plans for zipper covers for the remaining pillows on our couch as well-- working towards being a washable household!  And of course, I have to make a mate for this cover.  I've even been thinking, in lieu of completely re-upholstering our loveseat (or maybe leading up to it), I could sew quilted cushion covers for the seats on our couch.  It would take a lot more time, fabric and energy (not to mention piping!), but is an interesting challenge and our loveseat isn't worth much, so what have I got to lose?  Can you imagine an entire couch redone in quilted vintage sheets?  I vacillate between being in love with the idea and thinking it's highly impractical.

I'm just glad to have something to show for all the thinking I've been doing about sewing lately.  Oh, and just in case you were wondering, Moses approves (Mark likes it, too).