Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Scrappy Iowa Pillow Cover

Ike and I did it.  We took on the Pinterest challenge.

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We made this Iowa pillow cover with exactly 99 little pieces of fabric. By “we” I mean, I cut a ton of fabric pieces while he drug stuff out of my fabric closet.  Super helpful, Ike. Super helpful.
I was inspired by this pin…



My take on this project was to make the state of Iowa instead of the United States.  Sometimes it’s hard having a doctorate.  You see, I thought the WHOLE United States seemed like a lot of work and Iowa would be much easier.  Until I dove right into the project and soon realized that the 99 counties of Iowa would make my take on the project almost twice the work.  Genius.  The upside is that Iowa counties are pretty square so the top stitching was easier. (That’s what I kept telling myself when I realized my genius ways.)

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I do love how it turned out though.  It is currently living happily in our master bedroom next to our headboard. I like the little dose of happy color it brings to the room!

Want to make your own state?  It’s honestly fairly easy.  It is, however, time consuming.
  • Print 2 maps of your state (counties included).  Cardstock is preferred.
  • Number each county on both maps.
  • Line up some fabric scraps.  Apply Heat N Bond to them as directed on the package. 
    • I recommend buying the strongest Heat N Bond.  I had a little trouble with the counties coming off as I continued to work on the project.  Annoying.
  • I placed the counties in a Ziploc bag and randomly drew them.  Neighboring counties sometimes had the same fabric.  But I was okay with that. I told myself to forget my perfectionist ways and just have fun with this.
  • Cut the counties out of the cardstock and use them to trace on each fabric scrap.  When tracing, remember to flip your county or you’ll end up with backwards pieces.  Not that this happened to me…
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  • Place the completed counties on your intact map.
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  • I decided to make my map into a pillow cover.  You could frame this, hang it on the wall, etc.
  • Find the center of your piece of fabric and find your center county.  Remove the back of the Heat N Bond and iron away.  Be sure to take crummy cell phone photos on your dirty ironing board for your tutorial.
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  • Keep on ironing.  I promise you will make it.  Looking back on this, I’m not sure how I didn’t burn myself.  Go me.
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  • Now for the fun part.  Top stitching.  If you used strong Heat N Bond you could probably get away with leaving it. I think the top stitching gives it that great scrappy/quilted feel though.  I did mine with my sewing machine but by hand may have been easier.
  • From here, I finished off my pillow cover and told myself I’d never make another one.  But now I’m thinking a little black and gold Iowa Hawkeye pillow might be pretty cute.  Hmmm…
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Did you take on the Pinterest challenge?  Anyone with a dog assistant?  Who is sad that work interferes with taking quality daylight photos?  Would your state/country/homeland be easier or harder?

***Check out our past Pinterest challenge projects…. West Elm Inspired Bedframe, Stenciled Powder Room, Painted Tub Claw Feet, and a Washer Monogram!***

Linking up to: Young House Love, Our Fifth House, The Ugly Duckling House, Bower Power


44 comments:

  1. Sew cute! I don't think I would have the patience for that, but I do love it.

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  2. that is ADORABLE!!! i love love love your take on it!

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  3. Oh nice! Love that. Michigan has lots of weird angles by the great lakes, so I need to work up the courage before I attempt one for myself. :) I made a succulent terrarium for the pinterest challenge and I'm so excited to see everyone else's projects!

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  4. I LOVE it. I would never, ever, in a million years do it, but I seriously LOVE it.

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  5. whoa this is awesome! I made a cushion cover for the pinterest challenge too, but it was nowhere near this ambitious!

    It's a shame the British Isles are such a funny shape! But then maybe that would make it better... will think about making this!

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  6. Love it! I also did a little stitching project, but yours was, um, A LOT more work!

    The last Pinterest challenge is how I found your blog over the summer (that bed, girl, that bed). This is such a fun blog event.

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  7. Wow, it looks great! Your hard work paid off. The fabrics really mesh well together too.

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  8. Counties! Impressive, awesome way to use up scraps, too!

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  9. I have to say, this is my favorite project you have done yet! I LOVE it!

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  10. This is one of the most beautiful pieces I've seen in a long time.
    And I am not an American... but of course one can do that with every Country! :)

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  11. Holy heck girl! I would never have stuck with it, but I love the end result. So pretty!

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  12. I'd never have the patience. I am amazed at your dedication to the tiny details. Must be the pharmacist in you. ;)

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  13. Cute! I will not be making a 159 (second only to Texas!) funny shaped counties Georgia pillow. I will content myself with admiring yours :)

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  14. IOWA!!!!! Oh how I miss home, thanks for the pretty peak at my favorite state!

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  15. I really like projects that incorporate states, counties, neighborhoods, etc, in unexpected ways. Last time we were in California we saw a really cool piece of artwork that was made up of license plates from each state cut into the state's shape and pieced together to make a full US map. It was very cool, but also $5000, yowza!

    I really like your pillow implementation and I think it really turned out great. People who live here in DC love their city's shape, they think it's iconic. You could probably make an etsy store just selling these made up of DC neighborhoods and make a nice living. Then again, with all of the odd shapes of the DC neighborhoods, I'm sure you might also go crazy from the cutting.

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  16. Love this!! I'm a fan of maps so this is just too cute!

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  17. Love it! Indiana wouldn't be too bad. The Southern part of the state would be the worse. Jealous of all those Coloradans. I was a big slacker and didn't participate in this Pinterest Challenge. Shame on me.

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  18. Beautiful pillow! Saw it linked on YoungHouseLove. But the true reason I'm so excited to have found your blog is little Ike! We have a 2 year old wire fox terrier named Artie, and he's all up in my business any time I'm doing a DIY project, so it's fun to see Ike in lots of your shots. Such cute, curious little guys!

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  19. You and Ike are quite the talented duo! It is veeeeery cute.

    I don't have a doctorate, but I do have a masters, and D looooves to point that out when I do something especially dim. (Again... men!!)

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  20. That's neat! I love that you made it and it has a meaning. Looks great!

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  21. This is really cute! It turned out great and congratulations on having the patience to complete it! I think I would have a hard time with it!

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  22. WOW!!!!Thats some detailed work....Great job...

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  23. I saw your link pop up on Facebook. This is a super cute project! I also like the little splash of color it brings. I can imagine that it was a test of patience...well done!
    I just completed my first ever Pinterest Challenge!
    http://belleandbeard.blogspot.com/2012/10/maternity-pictures.html

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  24. How cute! And it looks like you put a ton of work into it. I have a doggie assistant as well. She is a mini schnauzer. She is really good at photo bombing my blog shots!

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  25. Holy Cow!! That is uh-mazing!!! Talk about having the patience of Job. That will come in handy when you have kids!! ;)

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  26. That is adorable. I am so impressed! I want to try Missouri... although I love the map of the US also. You know what would be really cute? Stitching on a little heart-shaped button over your home town.

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  27. This is such a cute project. Thanks for sharing all your tips.

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  28. Wow, very nice! Are you sure you're okay with all that color, Michelle?

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  29. Wow!! That looks like a lot of work, so thankfully it turned out really well. And I love the name Ike, and the dog it goes with. :)

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  30. WOW this was an ambitious project! Love it! I have followed your blog for a while and can I just say that your bed-frame and headboard were so inspiring.

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  31. That's great! Although, there would definitely be a lot of drool around Des Moines on that pillow if it were in this house. Not gonna say from who. :)

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  32. Love it! That is so cute! I feel like VA would be a pain in the arse to do though...

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  33. That is such a fun idea! I may have to try this...I would LOVE for you to link this up at my Ginger Jamboree Link Party!!

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  34. Oh my gosh, I love that! I would love to a Nebraska pillow but let's be honest...my house is not cute/sassy enough to handle it. If it isn't plain jane boring, it won't fit in.

    I think I need to reassess my house style because I LOVE this kind of stuff!!!

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  35. I'm super jealous of this. Can you make me a MN one? Please? I would probably get all of the pieces cut out and then never follow through with finishing it. Story of my life.

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  36. This came out incredibly cute. I seriously thought you were joking when you said that you cut out 99 pieces. I'm so sorry, but your efforts were well worth it.

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  37. WOW! This is so impressive! Your hard work paid off!! So adorable. If Florida was an easier shape I'd make one! Lol

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  38. This is super impressive! I really love the finished look. You are either insanely patient or just insane to tackle this project.

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  39. Wow! That was a lot of work, but it turned out great! Well done =)

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  40. Geez Louise, that looks like so much work but man, it looks great!!

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  41. This is SO AWESOME. Such an amazing job and perfect execution. Also, you have the patience of a saint.

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  42. Followed the Dare to DIY challenge to your blog and was looking around and IMMEDIATELY pounced on this! As an IOWA girl I had to come look. I love it. I am not sure I would have the patience for it but I LOVE IT. I think I would have to try to make a super special piece for my home county (Ida BTW) too. definitely adding you to my blog feed.

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