Guest post from Sarah of BlueSusan Makes: the pom-pom pillow!

Today we’re lucky enough to have a guest post from my good friend Sarah of BlueSusan Makes. I so love her striaghtforward approach to sewing (to everything, really) and her practical tips.

Hi
there everyone!! When Caroline featured this cute pillow tutorial a
couple weeks ago I fell in love with those pom poms.

I have a pile of pillows waiting for me to update and I knew this would be my next pillow project.  I had a couple of Fat Quarters left from Sara Trails Heart to Heart line, and I thought they’d be perfect for the job.

I’m
so happy with the way it turned out! Today I’m sharing a few tips for
you to consider if you plan on making one of these too. 

The
tutorial was super easy to follow but I found that working with those
pretty pompoms was a little tricky.

My first tip is to take Ashley’s
advice and baste them on first.  It really helps!  As I was putting
those pom poms on I discovered I was just a bit short,  Ugh! Much to my
dismay I had to go back to the store for 5 inches.  Oh well I guess
every project has it’s hitch.  

Tip #2 don’t give up when you hit a snag!

Tip #3 : Use your zipper foot!  As I was sewing the pillow sandwich together I figured out that it was much easier to sew close to the pompoms if I used my zipper foot. 

One more general pillow tip…make sure your zipper is partially unzipped before you sew around the sides.

Thankfully I remembered to do this…. but I did have another little
snag.  As I opened that cute red fat quarter I discovered I had already
used a corner of it.  I just grabbed another coordinating fabric on had
and adjusted the zipper panel measurements accordingly.  I love how it
turned out even better.

I really love my new pillow! Thank you Ashley for the great tutorial!  

If your are interested in seeing what else I’m making when I’m not helping at Sew Can She, you can visit me at Blue Susan Makes!