Well, I've been making tie pillows for years now, but recently a client requested something a little different. Here's what I came up with for her.
The pillow is comprised of 4 "string" blocks using random widths of ties laid on a 45 degree angle. When placed together they form a wonky block set "on point". There were 4 special ties from her dad's travels to the Far East while in the military and those were used in the center as a focal point.
Then I stitched all the tie labels together to form four equal lengths and placed them around the perimeter of the pillow, one strip on each of the four sides.
Simple top stitching holds them all in place and keeps them tidy. Finally, dark grey and black ties were cut into strips and joined together to cover welting. Now, on to the back. It's always an issue of what technique to use to close up a pillow. Should I invisibly sew a zipper into a side seam, make flaps that overlap and close with a button and buttonhole, or place a zipper 1/3 of the way down from the top inserted into 2 pieces of fabric?
Since my client wanted to use her dad's sweater on the back, I discovered that by utilizing the ribbed waistband of the sweater, I could eliminate a buttonhole or other form of closure, which would be difficult on such a stretchy knit. The overlap method worked great and stays in place because of the tension the ribbing causes against the down pillow insert.
Pretty cool, huh? Especially when you consider this is what I started with..............a pile of ties.....and a sweater.
I love what I do for work!
Just sayin',
Debbie
