Don't be afraid!

Of this. I used to sweat a little at the thought of actually sewing something. Then I realized there were things I just had to sew if I wanted to make them myself -- like pillows. Hemming tape doesn't quite do the job on these. DANG IT.

So years ago I bought that little Shark sewing machine and it is AMAZING. At the time, it was only $20, now it's about $30. It is tiny but does a BIG job. It's still tickin' after years of use.

Since I moved our son's toys upstairs to our loft, I've been trying to make that space even more cozy for him. I wanted a bean bag for him to lounge on but the cheapest I found was $35 and it was not cute.

So it hit me -- I'll make my own! The beads for bean bags are extraordinarily expensive, so I decided on a huge floor pillow instead:
I bought a yard of flannel and a yard of broadcloth for a total of $8, sewed up three and a half sides, stuffed in a large pillow form we already had, then stuffed about six bags of stuffing inside to fill it up.

I channeled the eighth grade sewing student in me and sewed up the last section using the loop-hook-latch stitch:
Ummm...I made up that stitch. I'm sure you real sewers (sowers? seuers? huh?) out there are recoiling in horror. But no one will ever notice it but me, so I decided to let go -- serenity now and all.

It is EXACTLY what I wanted in there. My son LOOOOVES it. It's so stinkin' comfy. I never thought in a million years I would think Thomas the Train was cute, but there they are...all caute: That project was sew easy, (Oh, I HAD to!), I decided to keep going, and made a couple pillows for our recliners in this space: Finding fabric to go with the wall color and purpley/maroonish/burgundyish recliners (WHAT were we thinking?) was a feat, but I finally found one I looove that goes with the whole "library" theme I started in here years ago:
Make that "library meets Thomas the Train" theme now. :)

To recap -- it really is easy. (I don't say that unless it's true!) Take your fabric, good sides touching each other:
Then sew around all three sides, and some of the fourth side. Then turn it right side out, stuff it and sew up the rest by hand.

I am not kidding when I say it took about three minutes to sew the smaller pillows -- it takes WAY longer just to stuff them!

All in all, the big floor pillow was $24 including the stuffing and fabric. The smaller pillows were $12 for the fabric, and the stuffing I had. Don't be sceeered ladies! It's really not hard to do -- and you can make any pillow you want out of just about any fabric. Awwww yeah....

P.S. I found a Shark machine here you can purchase at the store. Try Target as well -- that's where I got mine years ago.