Modern DIY Doily Throw Pillow

Do you have a pile of inherited doilies, with no idea what to do with them?  Even if doilies aren't your jam, you might like this project: a modern, simple, DIY doily throw pillow.  Between the pale aqua linen (yum) and the unusually cool doily - which I swear looks like an eye! - this easy to make decorative pillow might have turned me into a doily covert!

The idea for this doily project actually started germinating when I was rummaging around in my Mummu's yard sale pile and discovered an entire box of vintage crocheted doilies.  Even though I don't love doilies, I couldn't help but marvel at how intricate and delicate some of them were.

You might remember that I dyed some of these doilies different shades of teal for a wintry table runner?  After I was done with that project, I couldn't think of another use so I returned the box of doilies, but couldn't stop thinking about this eye-shaped one - so I asked for it back.  I had NO idea what to do with it, because I'm not really a doily person.  I loved how my tablescape turned out, and I do have a sentimental Hungarian embroidery framed in the hallway, but other than those two anomalies, my aesthetic tends a little more to the mid-century/modern.

I decided to hoard this doily anyway, and then magic happened.

When I bought the white linen fabric for my DIY closet curtain, I also purchased the same linen fabric in an icy, pale, shimmery blue hue because I couldn't resist.  It was also on sale for $3/meter.  $3 for LINEN - that's ridiculous.  I had thrown it on the dining room table and then happened to empty some other crafting supplies from a random bin of stuff to sort out and the eye doily tumbled out onto the blue linen.  All of a sudden, seeing the doily on the pale linen, I realized that the combo would make a gorgeous throw pillow!

Yup, I was right!  I hate when I'm rewarded for hoarding... 

If you love the look too, here's how to make a modern DIY doily pillow.  Read on for my tips and tricks for adhering the doily for a smooth look.

Supplies:

• Heat Bond iron on adhesive
• Vintage crocheted doily
• Ice blue linen fabric
• Sewing machine + thread
• Iron + ironing board
• Pencil
• Zipper 
• Scissors (I am smitten with these)
• Self healing cutting mat and olfa rotary cutter (optional) 

Sewing this pillow was the easy part.  The only trick was deciding how to properly affix the doily...

I thought about using the same fabric glue I used for my DIY linen tea towel with gold reindeer trim, but I dreaded the idea of dabbing glue on every inch of the finely crocheted doily.

My Mom offered to try sewing it on, but we were both worried it would slide around and end up wonky or stretched out.  Luckily, while rummaging around in the Fish Room, we found some Heat Bond iron-on adhesive (rewarded for hoarding again).

This is how heat bond iron-on adhesive works: you apply it (backing up) to the wrong side of whatever you want to adhere to another fabric.  You gently iron (no steam), remove the backing, place the newly created applique onto the fabric (adhesive side down) and iron again.  The adhesive bonds the two fabrics.  It dries clear and the only sign is if you hold the pillow to the light, it's a bit shinier where the adhesive is.  It's really, really not noticeable. 

I experimented a bit with some lace and a scrap of linen to get the temperature right and during those experiments, I pulled a piece of the adhesive apart for you to see what it looks like:

Satisfied with our experiments, we traced the doily onto a sheet of Heat Bond iron on adhesive, cut out the rough doily shape, and proceeded ironing it - per the instructions I outlined above:

Although this heat bond adhesive is strong enough to use alone, we were worried because we've had this stuff for a long time - would the glue weaken?  Just in case the bond relaxed over time, we decided to sew the doily down in a few inconspicuous places.  With the adhesive helping to keep it in place, we no longer had to worry about the doily sliding or bunching while we sewed, so we did a few loops around the doily, tracing the design in the middle and along the edge.

With the doily firmly adhered and sewn in place, we sewed the linen into a cute throw pillow with a flapped zipper.  Check out our tutorial for how to sew a throw pillow with a zipper - there are tons of detailed photos and step-by-step instructions (click here if you missed that post).  You could always just add a doily to a pre-made pillow, but you'd have to put all of your faith into the adhesive. 

Here's what the finished doily pillow looks like!

Clearly I need to get that box of doilies back and make one for every room...

How to Sew a Pillow with a Flapped Zipper

My Mom and I disagreed a little when sewing my DIY ice dye pillows for the boat.  I wanted to do a chunky exposed gold zipper but my Mom wanted to do a flapped zipper, like we usually do.  We discovered that a pretty, smooth gold zipper is around $21 bucks here (yikes), but I really wanted an exposed gold zipper - "so nautical," I argued.  We rummaged around our local Fabricland until we found a less expensive option.  Once we got it home, however, my Mom was worried that the somewhat rough teeth on our cheaper gold zipper would chew up my new boat upholstery from constantly being rubbed against it.  She suggested we go back to our DIY pillow with a flapped zipper idea.  I wanted an exposed gold zipper.

Here is our tutorial for sewing a pillow with a flapped zipper.

:)

First decide on the pillow size (we made 16"x16", 18"x18", 20"x20" and 22"x22" pillows for variety).  No matter the size, we added about a 5/8" salvage seam.

Once you've decided on your pillow size and added the salvage seam allowance to your measurement, cut out two squares of fabric.  If you've dyed it like mine, or it's reversible, decide on the front and back.  Place the two squares together, right sides facing inward.  Determine zipper placement; we centered it and left an inch on either side of the zipper.  Use pins to mark this placement: 

Set the zipper aside and sew the bottom of your pillow shut, using normal stitches outside of the zipper but, where the zipper will be, use a basting stitch - the largest stitch your machine can do.

When you're done, snip the basting every inch or sew.  You want it to remain sewn together, but easy to open later.

Fold the front of the pillow onto itself below the line you just sewed:

With the front of the pillow pushed out of the way, pin one half of the open zipper onto the back of the pillow, face down, with the teeth right up against the seam you made (it should be touching):

Here's a closer look:

Attach the open zipper, sewing from the closed end of the zipper toward the open end of the zipper, using a zipper foot.  The needle should be on the left side of the zipper foot.  Most zippers will have a different stitching/texture to provide a guide as to where to stitch (usually about halfway):

And then you've got this:

I'll zoom in a little:

Fold the freshly sewn zipper underneath the pillow and close the zipper.  Pin the front of the pillow out of the way, so a tiny strip of the back of the pillow is exposed:

Move the zipper foot so that the needle is now on the right side.  Sew in the same direction - bottom of zipper toward its opening (same direction as last time).  The point of this step is to anchor the strip of the back, so the zipper sits nice and flat. 

This is what it should look like:

Here's a better look:

Take the whole pillow, open it up and face it downward - with back of zipper toward you:

Keep the zipper foot as it was in the last step.  Now sew the side that hasn't been stitched yet.  Start where you left off, sew across the zipper tape (beyond the zipper stop), pivot and keep sewing along the un-sewn edge to affix the zipper to that side.  When you reach an inch from the other end, pause.

Before you get to the end, open up the zipper and move the zipper pull away from the edge, toward the area you've already sewn down.  Anchor your needle, lift the presser foot, lift up the front of the pillow and with your fingers gently pull apart where basting was cut.  Your pillow should open easily and you can move zipper pull down so you can sew past in nicely.

Then you have this:

Now open up the basting you sewed in the first step:

Making sure to keep the zipper open (so important, lol), flip the pillow so the right sides are facing inward and sew the edges of the pillow with a 5/8" seam allowance:

When the pillow is finished, and turned right side out, this is what the flapped zipper looks like:

When she's right, she's right: this flapped zipper looks polished, plus the zipper won't chafe my brand-spanking new upholstery job on the boat!  Mom's clever, she's really clever.

For a look at how I made the ice dye fabric we used, be sure to check out my post on ice dyeing.  Or if you're looking for a smaller project, take a peek at my DIY ice dye napkins!  We're got other sewing tutorials too, like:

How to sew a mitered corner (for polished DIY napkins and other linens):

How to sew a fell seam (perfect for making a tablecloth from too small fabric):

How to sew a self-lined fabric clothespin bag:

How to sew a pot holder (plus the right heat shield material to use!):

How to sew back tab curtains:

How to sew gathered curtains:

Check out all of our sewing tutorials here - and let me know if there are any others you'd like to see!  This fall and winter I hope to tackle sewing dresses from vintage patterns, taking clothes in, finally finishing my embroidery project (oy), and some other fun sewing projects, but we're taking requests...

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