Home Decor

Skill 2: Sew and Reupholster

This skill is really for all things textiles.

As I mentioned in the introduction post, textiles are a great way to bring in color and pattern (and are easy to change when you get sick of something).

Recommended: 5 Skills for a DIY Designer Home

This post will cover

  1. Sewing
    1. Pillows
    2. Window Treatments
  2. Reupholstery
  3. A Note on Fabric

Sewing

The easiest way to do this is to get a sewing machine. There are plenty of affordable options out there, and you can always browse Facebook Marketplace.

Personally, I also wanted to do embroidery so I bought a combo machine from Brother called the SE600.

Recommended: Brother SE600: Sewing and Embroidery Machine Combo

Pillows

Pillows are so easy to make, yet if you buy them from a store or online they can be so expensive.

My favorite way to add patterns to my room is through unique fabrics. To make a pillow, all you need is a pillow form and a piece of fabric. The tutorial below is my favorite and I have done this five times.

Window Treatments

Whether you want to create the entire treatment yourself, or you just want to add decorative accents, sewing can help bring your room to life.

Curtains are another easy project to make yourself, finding the right fabric is the hardest part.

If you are just looking to modify existing curtains, you can get away with not sewing by using iron on adhesive tape (sometimes also called stitch witchery).

This is how I hemmed and added pleating tape to my bedroom curtains and how I plan to add trim to other curtains.

This is a great way to add things to your curtains without any seams (or a sewing machine)

Adding trim to curtains is a great way to make them look more expensive, like the example below

Reupholster

Give furniture a new life with new fabric.

I am in the process of updating my bedroom, and instead of getting rid of this upholster bench, I decided to recover it.

This project took a combination of sewing and hot glue.

There are so many ways you can reupholster something that you can find a way to do it with what you have at home if you don’t want to go out and get a sewing machine.

A Note on Fabric

Often the hardest part of this is finding the fabric.

I love to go to Joann’s and Hobby Lobby for in person options (both have sales each week and coupons to use at all times).

Below are some online sites to look through:

I also like to get vintage fabric from Etsy or eBay.

The possibilities for textiles are endless

Once you realize you can use fabric to decorate your space you can customize your home to fit your unique style.

You can find fabric in a store, or even source vintage fabric to use.

There are so many possibilities to fit your specific aesthetic or color palette.

What sewing/fabric projects are you working on?

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