I have been thinking about what I do and I DO realize that the ins and outs of how to make a decorative pillow are not all that mysterious.
But apparently there are some questions about MY methodology so here it is, my process, laid out in black and white and in 10 easy to follow steps!
#1… Have a vision, usually it is about a place or an ambiance, a texture, a color.
#2…Plan a trip, take too much luggage, haul a computer and a camera and several pairs of comfortable shoes across several parking lots, airports and an ocean here and there… Strap on those shoes and start walking and looking and seeing and dreaming. Some of the images I take with me are bound for my photography portfolio and some are for pillow making…. those are the ones we are concerned with here. Usually a week away will net me about 1500 images.
#3… Download and start looking…be surprised by all the things that went previously unnoticed, be more surprised that the serendipitous moments are sometimes more interesting than the planned ones.
#4… Work on images for hours, days…weeks, altering their size and color, creating patterns and designs – reimagine your entire experience and hone it into a small perfectly balanced object that someone else will love as much as you do…. start all over again, the first time didn’t meet your expectations.
#5…Print: test strips, test prints, alter the colors, test print again on another fabric, and finally – an AP that is the correct size? – oops let’s try that again, the silk shrinks in one direction, resize, reorient, reprint…ahhhh.
Pin test strips all over your studio and move them around forming collections based on subject matter, pattern, color, style…make this look serendipitous and effortless. (An important aside… Just in case the press drops by…it is essential to look as though every day is spent in a golden beam of sunlight and you are always wearing a flowing fine linen designer shift that glows in said sunbeam… it’s an image thing…ignore cold, damp, heat, mud and the tracking in of same… and all the other discomforts of the average studio as well as the distractions of you know, life. You are an artist damn it, look like one!)
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#7… Design and Order a label – after you have designed a logo of course
#8… Find backing fabrics that are fresh and interesting, match your vision (see #1), have the right hand and work with your imagery… this is an ongoing process and if you want to make more than one pillow you will be doing it frequently. This step is delightful, but several warnings should be heeded… First, your pockets will be full of snips of fabrics, remember to remove these before washing your clothing. These snips will also turn up in purses, briefcases, car cup holders and random bowls and containers throughout your home and office. Second, you will be coming home with a lot of yard goods, they will stack up in every room, be careful they do not slide under foot, silks are slippery. Third, do not stack fabrics on your desk… phone bills mysteriously disappear when dark materials are stored nearby… an unexplainable phenomenon being studied by textile collectors and conspiracy theorists everywhere.
#9… Match Zippers and Threads… think about serging and corners and linings. Learn more about invisible zippers and tension than you ever thought feasible.
#10… In a 50 minute flurry of activity….sew it all up, put the insert in, attach zipper pulls sourced on trip (see #2), attach tags, bag it and ship it out to the person you are making it for before you think too hard about all the work you have put into it and can’t let it out of your sight! Should you decide to do this for a living, it is this 50 minutes that will be all anyone thinks about when asking you how you arrive at your asking price, so make sure you look like an expert at this particular piece.
Bonus Tip! Before you begin, spend a few decades immersed in the arts… it is amazing how much that helps with those pesky invisible zippers!
SO, that is how to make a decorative pillow. As you can see it is a straightforward process.
Oh yeah – the most important part, love it, love every step, every bit of it and know that your pillow … your pillow is exactly the pillow you want to share with someone else.