I recently had the privilege to review the Craftsy class Custom Bedding: Decorative Shams & Bolsters with Jann Newton. I was so hopeful I would get new bedding for me. The class is fabulous, but The Peanut got the new bedding!
Let me stop here and inform you that I was given free enrollment in this class for review, but anything I say here is my own opinion, of course. Keep reading for a 50% discount of your own!
I've confessed this before, I have decorating block whenever it comes to my home. I know! A graphic design background! A love of sewing! What the what? My husband agrees with you. I’m paralyzed by taupe walls, by indecision, and by some wishy-washy ideas with a lack of follow-through. Drives Mr. Wren crazy. So I jumped at the opportunity to review Custom Bedding: Decorative Shams & Bolsters. Perfect. A reason to decorate with a built-in deadline and public accountability. What could go wrong?
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| This Craftsy class walks you through creating each of the cheerful pieces you see here -- with great tips and tricks you can apply to other sewing projects along the way. |
Apparently, I can still be endlessly indecisive even with a looming deadline. This is not helped by the fact that I still prefer to purchase fabric in person -- to see the color and feel the hand. So into the stores I headed to find lovely fabrics that would work in my milk-chocolate brown bedroom. Have you noticed that the hot neutral of the day is gray? Yeah. I struggled to find in-store affordable fabrics that would work in my chocolaty room. At one point I stumbled across the blue & green geometric fabric Jann uses in her examples. It's so bright and cheery, I almost went with that.
But then I had the brilliant idea to skip the home-dec section and work in a bottom-weight. That's where I found the perfect twill combination...for The Peanut. So instead of two Flanged Shams and a Bolster on my bed, I've whipped up two 18"x18" Euro Shams custom sewn for her bed.
The Craftsy class with Jann Newton taught me some new tricks and reinforced some old knowledge, including:
But then I had the brilliant idea to skip the home-dec section and work in a bottom-weight. That's where I found the perfect twill combination...for The Peanut. So instead of two Flanged Shams and a Bolster on my bed, I've whipped up two 18"x18" Euro Shams custom sewn for her bed.
The Craftsy class with Jann Newton taught me some new tricks and reinforced some old knowledge, including:
- Decorating tips on combining pattern, color, and motif, including number combinations and mixing scale.
- The difference between down- and fiber-filled inserts.
- Explicit instructions on finding and measuring the repeat on a fabric.
- How to cut your preferred motif so it is centered, and how to easily duplicate the cut for multiple pillows.
- How to join bias bound piping without the obvious overlap!
- How to avoid dog ears on straight cut pillows, like so...
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| No dog ears (left) versus dog ears (right) -- screen grab from "Custom Bedding: Decorative Shams & Bolsters with Jann Newton" on Craftsy.com |
Long time readers will know I tend to avoid twee ruffles. This class taught me how to create Knife-Pleat Ruffles. That's a tailored look I can embrace. Expect to see more of these now that I'm practiced at creating them.
There is more fabric, including a dark navy twill to match her bedspread, already set aside to create a bolster that will tie all three colors together. And I may even create a Pelmet Box for The Peanut's window to call back to the bed. But then again, my To Sew list is always longer than my Sewn list...so we shall see.
Are you ready to give your own bedroom a face lift? Jann has generously offered a 50% discount to The Inspired Wren readers! Update your room, your kid's room, and the guest bedroom, too. Simply CLICK HERE to sign up for Custom Bedding: Decorative Shams & Bolsters with Jann Newton. What are you waiting for? Go! Learn! Create!
Are you ready to give your own bedroom a face lift? Jann has generously offered a 50% discount to The Inspired Wren readers! Update your room, your kid's room, and the guest bedroom, too. Simply CLICK HERE to sign up for Custom Bedding: Decorative Shams & Bolsters with Jann Newton. What are you waiting for? Go! Learn! Create!
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| What? Doesn't every six year old girl sleep with a stuffed spider named Dider?! He clearly loves the new flowers. |
Ren Murphy writes for The Inspired Wren.
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You should really see all that goes into each project!
From my marathon sewing sessions, to all that I do when I #shouldhavebeensewing catch daily updates on Instagram (and Flickr) of works-in-progress. Get that behind the scenes view you’re looking for, and sneak peeks of upcoming tutorials, too.
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