DENIM RAG PILLOWS II

This is my second project to use the ragging technique on denim.  I had seen the ragging technique on items at local stores and I thought it created an interesting and unique texture.  The toss pillow I tried first worked out pretty well. (See that post here).

The previous post on this Denim Rag Pillow.  My first try using this technique

I had considered trying something more elaborate using this same technique. When I came across some old jeans in my fabric bin I had forgotten about - it seemed like a good time to try another project.

In looking for denim pillows using this type of ragging technique - you will find examples of pillows with a lot of denim squares sewn together in a type of grid pattern.  I decided on a striped design (which actually works pretty well when your source of fabric is the legs of old jeans).  I was going for a sort of "grain-sack-inspired-stripe".

I knew I wanted various shades of denim.  I figured I needed dark, medium & light to accommodate my design.  I had a good "light" and "medium" options, and with a quick trip to one of the local thrift store, and $6 later - I had a pair of dark jeans for the wide dark stripes.

STEP 1:  DECIDE ON SIZE OF PILLOW AND WIDTH OF STRIPES

My pillows were 20" square - so I created a couple different designs with this scale in mind.  I decided the smallest stripe would be 1" (at the very least).  I was concerned any smaller of a stripe and the denim stripe would get lost behind the ragged edges.  As for the larger stripes, I knew the largest limit was going to be restricted by the widest width of a leg of a pair of jeans.  I drew the designs on graph paper and determined the size of fabric pieces I needed.  Example: a 4" stripe would require a  5" x 21" piece of fabric for the 20" square pillow (allowing for 1/2" seems on each side.)

Denim Ragged Pillow Plan

STEP 2: AQUIRE THE DENIM & OTHER FABRIC

As I mentioned above, I had a couple pair of old jeans on hand.  All I had to do was purchase a pair of darker jeans to accommodate my design.  The fabric for the back of the pillow was from my existing fabric stash - the blue ticking stripe.  Option 2 for the back of the pillows would have been purchasing some creamy-white canvas I saw at Hobby Lobby.

STEP 3: CREATE PAPER PATTERNS

I cut out pattern pieces from graph paper.  I buy the giant pads of graph paper from office supply stores to make all my patterns (the kind that will fit on an easel in a conference room).  It's so easy to cut out what you need because of the 1" grid patterns on the paper and the size of the pieces of paper are very large.

Pattern pieces for denim stripes (cut from large graph paper)

STEP 4: CUT OUT DENIM PIECES & PILLOW FABRIC BACK

Cut out pieces of denim using the paper patterns, and lay them out in the pattern you are creating.  Also cut a 21" square for the back of the pillow (from whatever fabric you chose).

Strips of denim fabric cut to size of pattern pieces

Fabric pieces laid out for pillow pattern plan

STEP 5: SEWING

Start by pinning two pieces together.  Note that you will be pinning WRONG sides together because you want the seams to be exposed in the finished product.  This is counter-intuitive if you are someone that sews regularly as typically seems are hidden and you are pinning and sewing RIGHT sides together.  I found this to be a challenge and I ended up having to take apart pieces and re-pin when I realized I did it wrong!

Next sew the pieces together with 1/2" seams.  Then pin on the next stripe, and sew those pieces together, and so on until all the stripes are attached in a single piece to create one side for the pillow.  Pay attention to pinning WRONG sides together throughout this process!

Sew denim strips together with WRONG sides facing so that the seems will be exposed.

Here are the front pieces of both pillows after sewing all pieces together...

STEP 6: IRON SEAMS

Iron the seems open and flat.  This will make the next steps easier.

Seems ironed flat

STEP 7: TRIM SEAMS TO LENTGH DESIRED

I decided the 1/2" seam was wider than what I wanted.  I trimmed them all back slightly.  The larger the seam - the "bushier" the ragged look in the end product -  it's really just about your preference.  In the end I'm glad I did this step and made the seam slightly smaller.

You can see in the photo below, when I started clipping I had not ironed the seems flat yet.  I quit clipping, ironed them flat, and then proceeded.  I found trimming the seams much easier with the seems ironed out flat.

 Clipping the seams to make the ragged edge a little shorter

STEP 8: CLIP SEAMS

You will need a sharp pair of scissors for this.  If your scissors are dull - sharpen the ones you have (if you have the means to do this) or go out and buy a new pair (really, it will be worth it).  I find it easiest to use smaller scissors to do this step and the tips of the scissors need to be particularly sharp.

Clip all the exposed seams from the outside edge towards the stitched seam.  Do this with cuts about 1/4" apart.  This process takes a little while, especially with a lot of seams to clip.  I found it a good idea to do this in stages so my fingers wouldn't cramp up!

Leave about 1" unclipped on the edges of the fabric.  I did this because at least 1/2' on all sides do not need to be clipped because this part will be hidden in the seams of the finished pillow.  You can complete trimming to the edge of the pillow after the pillow pieces are sewn together.

Clip seams with sharp scissors

STEP 9: INSTALL ZIPPERS & THEN SEW PILLOW TOGETHER

This is only the second time I have installed zippers all by myself.  I don't think I can provide a good tutorial on this, so I didn't try (sorry).  I'm sure there are good tutorials/videos on installing zippers out there on the web, so I will let the experts provide that part.  You could skip the zipper and simply hand stitch your final pillow together after inserting the pillow form.  I wanted a zipper so I could easily remove these covers and wash them when necessary.

Assuming the zipper is installed on one side of your pillow, pin the wrong sides together of the front and back of the pillow.    Check out below what the wrong sides of the denim look like at this point.  It's an interesting look (with the subtle color of the back side of the denim fabric pieces) so I thought I would take photos and post them...

Wrong sides of pillows

Before you start sewing, make sure the zipper is open about an inch or two, or when you sew it together it's difficult to get the zipper open.  It's not impossible to open again, but it takes some maneuvering to grab the zipper pull on the inside of the pillow after it's sewn.  Now you are ready to sew the pillow together with 1/2" seams.

STEP 10: FINISH CLIPPING DENIM SEAMS

After sewing the pillow together, turn it right-side-out.  There will still be some seems along the edges that needed to be clipped.  Do this now.  Take the time to review all the exposed seams to make sure everything has been clipped.

Sewn pillows prior to washing

STEP 11: WASH PILLOWS

This is where the magic happens - your clipped seams will become cool fuzzy seams.  I zipped the pillows shut before washing, and then I dried them.  You will find lots of lint in the washer and the dryer.  The result is a unique ragged edge that creates a fun texture.

BEFORE and AFTER washing...

Finished Pillows

FINISHED PRODUCT

Here are the pillows finished and ready to be a part of our future family room.  I'm delighted with how they turned out!  I think the stripes work well with the coastal design of our beach cottage.

Finished Pillows

For more beach cottage posts see my Beach Cottage page.

DESK CHAIR - DISTRESSED PAINT

This desk chair was a great find at the local Goodwill store.  We needed a new desk chair and I was delighted to find this one.  It's old, very heavy and it's a very sturdy wooden chair.  When I found it at the store, you could see it had already been painted it a couple times.

Chair found at Goodwill Store

I figured I would paint it again in a color to accommodate the style of our beach cottage.  I considered trying to strip the paint and stain it, but we already had a lot of stained oak furniture going in the study (desk, file cabinet, dresser) and I didn't want to make the chair look like it was a part of a complete set.  Fortunately, the style of the chair at least related to our mission/craftsman style office furniture with the vertical slats on the back of the chair, so overall,  I thought the chair would work well with the desk furniture.

We decided I would do a similar finish as I had done on the bar stools in our beach cottage.  The color of the stools was Quietude by Sherwin Williams, and instead of putting this color over a dark stained wood base (as with the stools), I would create this same effect with dark brown paint.

Link to original post on bar stools here.

The first thing I did was verify I wasn't dealing with lead paint.  I used this test that you can pick up at any hardware store or big box store.  The result - no lead paint.

The result was no lead paint.  If the paint were lead based - the color of the test spot would have turned red.  This was clearly yellow.

Then I proceeded to clean up the chair using a bucket of water with some dish soap and a toothbrush.  After going over the whole chair - I wiped it down with a wet rag.

Cleaning the Chair

When I cleaned up the underside of the chair - it gave me pause.  I exposed the beautiful original stained finish of the chair, seen now only on the bottom of the seat.

Beautiful stained wood seen on the underside of the chair.

Should I go through the process of stripping off the multiple coats of paint and re-staining the chair? . . . . . A fleeting thought since I knew that this was not the look I wanted in the room.  I forgave myself since it wasn't me who originally painted over this beautiful stained wood.  To honor the chair's past - I took the time to preserve the stained bottom of the chair by covering it tape/paper so that I wouldn't cover it up with any new primer or paint.  Maybe someday I will decide to take it down to it's original finish?...

STEP 1: PREPPING FOR PAINT
I tried something new this time - instead of sanding the chair to prep it for painting I used a De-Glosser.  I had come across a post on this type of product recently, and I thought I would try it out.  It seemed like a good project to try it on - a chair is a small project and there were a lot of nooks and crannies that would make the process of sanding to prepare it for painting would be very time consuming.  The De-Glosser was easy - I just brushed it on and let it dry - no rubbing like the instructions said, I simply followed the advise of what a blogger had posted. (POST ON DEGLOSSER)

STEP 2: PRIMING
I decided to prime the surface of the chair first before putting on the dark brown base coat. I went with a gray spray primer.  I felt this step was necessary to provide for a good base coat for the brown paint to adhere to.  The reason why this was important to me -  is because I was going to distress the piece.  I didn't want to inadvertently distress it down past the brown to the original white and blue layers of paint.  In other words, I wanted the brown color of paint to be the base of the distressing.  The frustrating part is I only bought one can of primer and had to run to the store at the last minute when I realized the one can wasn't going to coat the entire chair. Uggghh - lesson learned.

STEP 3: BROWN BASE COAT
Brown Paint - I painted the chair the brown color I had on hand.  I had purchased this paint sample for another project and had not used it.  After painting the first coat - I decided to implement an additional step into the plan.  I wanted the brown paint to look more like weathered wood, rather than just brown paint.  I wasn't sure exactly how this was going to work, but I knew I was going to play around and try a few things...

STEP 4: WEATHERING TECHNIQUES FOR BROWN BASE COAT
Ultimately - I don't think this step was worth it, but here is what I did . . . My plan was to only weather the areas I planned to expose - mostly corners and edges.  Here is what I did. First I wiped on black paint with a rag.  Then I dry brushed a lighter tone of beige/brown.  I have to admit - in the end I'm not sure this step made any difference.  I don't see much color variation in the brown exposed base on the final piece. Did the acrylic paint I used simply get scraped off when I did the distressing?  (maybe).

Black acrylic paint & rag for distressing

Black paint applied with rag for distressing

Light paint & brush for distressing

Light paint applied for distressing

STEP 5: APPLY CANDLEWAX
This step is the key to creating the distressed finish.  I have an old candle stick I use for this.  The color is a creamy white.  I avoid using any colored candles so I don't inadvertently end up seeing candlewax on the finished piece.  I rubbed the candle over mostly corners and edges, focusing on the areas of the chair that would likely get worn over time (the arms, the vertical slats on the back of the chair, the edge of the seat, the horizontal brace under the chair seat your feet might rest on).

STEP 6: PAINT
I used a Sherwin Williams color of paint - Quietude.  It's a pale aqua with tones that lean more green than blue.  It's a beautiful beachy color.  I painted this color over the brown base coat with the candlewax applied.  I enjoy painting with my big soft bristle artist brush.  Painting with this is so therapeutic to me.  I love how the second coat glides right non over the first.  Many people ask why I don't just use spray paint on pieces like this.  Yes - it would be faster, but I love the character a brush strokes bring and I'm in love with the process of painting with a brush.  Sure - I use spray paint occasionally, but painting with a brush just makes me smile.

Top coat of aqua colored paint (Quietude by Sherwin Williams)

Chair after top coat applied (before distressing)

STEP 7: DISTRESSING
It is important to note that you don't want to wait too long to do this step.  Right at the point where the paint seems pretty much dry to the touch - carefully start distressing.  I did this by going over the chair with a plastic scraper.  Plastic is important - metal might scrape past the base coat.  I focused on the corners and other areas where I had applied the candlewax.  If the paint is gumming up while you try to distress, it's too early.  If you let it dry too much - it's harder to remove the paint over the candle wax with the plastic scraper (you waited too long) and it may require something more abrasive like sandpaper.  Using sandpaper is an option, but it's not always ideal for me for distressing.  This is because I didn't want all the scratches all over the chair.  I did end up using sandpaper on some choice areas to vary the look of the distressing a bit, but I didn't want to do this over the whole piece.

Distressing the painted chair with plastic scraper on areas where candlewax applied

STEP 8: CLEANING
You will want to wipe down the piece after distressing.  There will be pieces of scraped up paint and candlewax that need to be removed.  This is especially important considering the next step of polyurethane.  You want to poly' over a clean surface.

STEP 9: POLYURETHANE
I applied two coats of polyurethane with the same artist brush as I used for applying the paint.  A couple things - #1 you could make this step easier by using spray polyurethane, but again - I really enjoy painting with a brush and I like the imperfect look (brush strokes) it brings to this distressed piece.  #2 You might be OK skipping this step altogether. After all - what am I worried about? Getting another scratch on it?

STEP 10: PLASTIC CASTERS
I'm not sure how much difference this makes on how the chair moves around on the carpet in the bedroom/study where it has a home right now, but it may help when we have the chair on tile in the study in our new home.  They were easy to install.  I drilled small pilot holes on the bottom of the legs and lightly tapped them into place with a rubber mallet (exactly how the instructions described).

Plastic furniture sliders.  These are similar to what I found at Lowe's.  You can find them here at Amazon.

The chair fits nicely in the bedroom/study where it sits right now.  The aqua blue works well with the quilts on the beds.  I also like how this color looks against stained wood of the desk - they compliment each other nicely.   Ultimately the chair will sit in the study in our new home, which will also have a color scheme that includes aqua.

Finished chair

Finished Chair

Finished chair in front of desk

Close up of distressing of chair

For more beach cottage posts see my Beach Cottage page.

For more tips and information on distressing techniques see this post.

LIST OF BASIC SUPPLIES

• Lead Paint Test Kit (if necessary for older painted pieces)
• Primer & Paint - Base Coat (if necessary)
• Paint - Top Coat
• Paint Brush (appropriate for type of piece you are painting) (can also use spray paint or paint roller)
• Old Candle (preferably white or cream)
• Plastic Scraper
• Sandpaper (optional)
• Polyurethane (optional)