For-Tiff-eyed

This is a post dedicated to the late great T. I was accosted in the street tonight for not having written anything... ever really. I suppose I was asking for it. I was dressed like a slut. A while ago I knew in my bones what I wanted this to be all about, but it took two cups time and 1 dash of commitment on my part. I will be chronicling my efforts in material creations. I've not yet taken the pictures of a few of my projects, but here is the first in a line of many more to come.

The Ironic Pillow.

I was packing for a trip to easter island and as I was filling my bag with my tent, enough underwear and my camera... I recalled my last camping trip was lacking a very useful object. A pillow! I thought fondly of how I had (misguidedly) rolled my pants up and ended up with my face on the floor anyway.

Since I rarely sleep before a trip (yes even little jaunts to t.o) I knew I had some time on my hands and the materials to throw something together. I'll begin at the beginning.


This was my favourite shirt. I made it with my friend Kjartan one day when we were feeling like having special T-shirts. It matches a tattoo on my chest in that same location. But notice if you will a burn hole at the very bottom of the picture... It's like my hopes and dreams burnt up in that fateful bonfire.

As I love making things out of old T-shirts (more to come) I decided this may be the best idea in the world. A pillow that condemns sleep?! Who has the audacity? me.


Now, I'm not really a stickler for invisible seams and the like. I enjoy seeing the thread. So when I mended the hole I chose my favourite colour from the age of 6 to 21. Green. If you're not savy on how to repair a hole, I think this is a good way to do it. It's stronger to cover a larger area than the hole because there's less pressure on all the stitches. Like laying on a bed of nails. It's a 3 part zig zag stitch at 2.5 length.


Next in lieu of cutting it out like a dummy, I just pinned the area I wanted to cut and sewed it right on the like of pins, removing them as I went along. I feel it guarantees that you don't end up with mismatched material the the end of a stitch (if you're not paying attention. Which I sometimes do not do) NB. You may notice It's also inside out. This makes a nice seam when you turn it right side out. But everyone knows that.

In retrospect, I should have taken more pictures while I was doing this. I missed a shot of it half full of stuffing and vulnerable to the wild.


This is a corner, showing the finished seam. I decided to make another pass to have a nice cohesive look on every side of the pillow. On the one end where it was still open to fill with stuffing, I folded the fabric in and it turned out just like the other sides. beauty! You can see on the left side a hint of the first pass peeking through.


And this is the finished product. So white! Not for long I'm sorry to report. I returned to my tent on evening to find things in a bit of disrepair, not to mention a dirty pillow! I suspect one of the dogs from the site got in and took a look around. Nothing was missing... just messing.

I hope this was interesting. I know I enjoyed putting it together. There are few things better than an opportunity to listen to music and create something. Except perhaps listening to music rolling along on two wheels... More to come on many things. Maybe a bit more on my trip, my bike and my other sewing projects.