Pages

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Pillowcase Pillow Mattress

I just realized that a lot of my posts will probably have two common themes. First of all, there will probably be a lot of posts that are about some type of hand-me-down item that was given to me by a family member. Second, many of my posts will probably be about projects that I have created for my daughters.

My mother-in-law gave me a stack of old pillowcases and bedsheets that were all in really good condition. We've used many of them on our beds, but some of the pillowcases I set aside until inspiration struck for a project. Thank you Pinterest, this fun mattress popped up and I knew what I could use them for.

(from here)


After doing some research and seeing tuturorials out there from others who had tried to recreate this, I knew that they hadn't used individual pillowcases. Most people had used a solid piece of fabric and then sewn across to create the five pockets. Since I already had the pillowcases on hand so I decided to give it a try.

For my first attempt I just sewed all five pillowcases together. It turned out like this:


It was great, I bought five of the dollar pillows from IKEA to put in the cases, and it was perfect for a two-year old to use for over night trips. She even slept on it for almost two weeks straight while we were refinishing the wood floors in the upstairs bedrooms. As you can see, it was plenty long and a little bulky to carry around. The pillowcases were also pretty loose around the pillows, so there were big gaps between the pillows. So, I decided with a little unpicking and a little cutting, that the pillow mattress could be improved.

I measured the pillows and found that they were about 17 inches long, so I cut off about 3 inches from one side on each of the four of the pillowcases. I decided to only use four instead of five this time.


I then turned the inside out and sewed the back together. Then I sewed all four of them together again. I also top-stitched over the little flap created from the seam from sewing the together just to make it look a little more finished. This is what my second attempt left me with:


 
It was much less bulky this time. The perfect size for my toddler with some room to grow. The gap between the pillows is much smaller. I still think that I will add some Velcro or ribbon ties to the open edges of the pillowcases to help keep the pillows in a little bit better. My little bug thinks that it is great to pad her landing when she jumps down the stairs.


-Mandi

Linking here to The Space Between & here to Blue Cricket Designs.

19 comments:

  1. This project is awesome! Such a cute idea, and such a cute girl!! It would be super cool if would come by today to enter my giveaway for a $50 Lowe's gift card and to link up to my very first party! http://thespacebetweenblog.wordpress.com/2012/01/31/imagine-the-impossibilities-link-party-1/
    Karah @ thespacebetweenblog

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love this idea, you were so smart to think of it! I'm definitely going to make one. I'm your newest follower!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I would totally love one of those just for me! I could see a version of it sitting atop a bench or even a daybed. Great idea! -TheModernParsonage

    ReplyDelete
  4. Thanks for your comments. It was definitely super easy to do. Because it is segmented, the pillows can be folded to form a backrest, and it can also be more of a lounge chair for watching tv or reading books.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Thanks so much for linking up to the challenge! Karah

    ReplyDelete
  6. Being part Swedish, I suppose I should stick up for the TemperPedic, but I have heard the same thing about them -- they wear out. Also, I purchased one of their pillows for my wife, who has back problems. With in a year the whole thing had gone flat and lost form. Tempur-pedic

    ReplyDelete
  7. If I'll show this pillow mattress to my daughter she will definitely like this. I hope you can post more designs here. Thank you so much for sharing. Anyway if your are interested, Check our other latest Sleepys Delivery here.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That is super adorable idea, my daughter will absolutely love it! www.medicomfortpillow.com would be a great solution for quality pillows.Thank you very much for this wonderful posting!

    ReplyDelete
  9. I have recently started a blog, the info you provide on this site has helped me greatly. Thanks  for all of your time & work.  
    whats memory foam made of

    ReplyDelete
  10. Very informative post! There is a lot of information here that can help any business get started with a successful social networking campaign!
    best mattress for bad backs

    ReplyDelete
  11. his is my first time i visit here. I found so many entertaining stuff in your blog, especially its discussion. From the tons of comments on your articles, I guess I am not the only one having all the leisure here! Keep up the excellent work.
    best mattress

    ReplyDelete
  12. I read this article. I think You put a lot of effort to create this article. I appreciate your work.
    how to fix a soft mattress

    ReplyDelete

  13. This is the best community for discission about any topics and sharing best ideas, knowledge and thought. and have great Article sharing platform. I like this concept. Thanks a lot of all.
    webseriesnetwork
    poemrehowidoitr
    thowidoit

    ReplyDelete
  14. Excellent .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find so many useful info here in the post, we need work out more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing.
    European Mattress

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is highly informatics, crisp and clear. I think that everything has been described in systematic manner so that reader could get maximum information and learn many things.
    Latex Mattress by Natural Mattress Matters

    ReplyDelete
  16. This project is awesome! Such a cute idea, and such a cute girl!!
    It would be super cool if would come by today to enter my giveaway for
    $50 Lowe's gift card and to link up to my very first party
    Treasure Box

    ReplyDelete