Have you seen the wall of
ribbon at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store? It is
amazing! This is where you will find satin,
grosgrain, velvet, printed, lace and sheer ribbons, plus ric-rac, sequins and
other decorative trims.
Ribbon has so many uses! You can tie ribbon around a jelly jar, use
to hang pictures or ornaments, sew to hems in skirts or pants, make hair bows,
decorate presents, use to make necklaces, tie-back curtains and much more.
Ribbon makes a wonderful trim
for your home decorating projects. The
pillows below were created with cotton fabrics and colorful grosgrain ribbon.
Here are the steps to make geometric
ribbon pillows:
Start by cutting the front
and back pieces to the size needed (adding for seam allowances). Apply blue painter’s tape to the front piece
of the pillow; inset the distance you would like the ribbon to be. This will give you a nice line to
follow.
Place the ribbon along the
inside of the tape, folding a miter at each corner and pin. A 7/8” wide ribbon was used for this pillow.
Continue around the pillow,
creating a geometric design. You can
make the pillow as simple, or complex as you would like. When you have finished pinning the ribbon in
place, you can remove the tape.
Add more color by weaving a
second color ribbon into the design.
This gets a little tricky! Pin
the ribbon in place and hide the beginning and end under a solid piece of
ribbon.
For the smaller, rectangular
pillow only one color ribbon was used, with a less complicated design.
Sew carefully along each side
of the ribbon using a matching thread. Sew the front and back pieces of the pillow together.
You can add an invisible zipper at the bottom
or hand-sew closed after adding the pillow form.
The finished pillows are
colorful and trendy! Stop by Mary Jo’s
today to see all the ribbons and fabrics that you can use to make your own geometric
ribbon pillows.
Our
store has been a flurry of activity with customers buying fabric and supplies
to make Christmas gifts and buying gifts for a special sewing someone on their
list. 
We continue our countdown to Christmas with a great gift
idea that you can make for your family and friends. Faux fur throws are a hot trend in home décor
because they add a texture and romance to any room. 
To make your own faux fur throw, begin by selecting your
favorite faux fur for the front. There
is a tremendous selection at Mary Jo’s Cloth Store, from solid colors to realistic
animal prints. Keep in mind that faux
fur with a short pile will be easier to sew, especially if you are
inexperienced with sewing faux fur. 
We
selected a faux chinchilla that is silky, soft and oh-so irresistible! For the lining we chose a red satin from the Mary Jo’s bridal department. Red is perfect for Christmas, but any color would be lovely. 
