Before I show you how I made Rebecca’s cowhide pillow, let your eyes feast on this plate of Baklava, made by Karn’s mom back in Pennsylvania! If you think it looks good in those pictures, you should taste it. It is nothing short of divine!
When I gave my daughter, Rebecca, a piece of real cowhide, she was SO thrilled! She’s wanted a “real cow” pillow for a long time and I wanted to get it finished before they have to go back to Pennsylvania, so I’ve been busy. I decided I would show you how I did it and write it up as a post. I have sewn on lots of fabrics before, but never on a real piece of cowhide. It was a little over an 1/8″ thick and then there was the hair on top of that. I put in a size 18 needle that will work for thick denim and leather and never broke a needle, so I guess it was the right size.
Let me show you what I started with in case you missed seeing the piece before I did anything to it. My hubby informed me this piece is called a Brindle fur… it’s the brownish color of the fur that’s streaked with another color.
I had a couple of clean pillows I had found at the Goodwill that were filled with down-feathers upstairs up in the attic, and I was pretty sure there would be enough to fill the pillowcase and ultimately the cowhide pillow.
The first thing I did was straighten the ends of the cowhide and make it a nice rectangle. She wanted me to make it so the whole front side was the fur… why have it on the back when it wouldn’t show? So it’s kind of like a big body pillow… it’s about a yard long.
Then I found a pillow case that was almost the right size as the piece and knew it would be easier and less messy to put the down feathers in the pillow case rather than stuffing them into the cowhide itself. Rebecca and I went outside to do this… (I did it once before starting in my sewing room and ended up going outside!)
This is the pillow opened so you can see the down feathers inside…
Here is a shot of the feathers going in the pillowcase… (when I did it by myself once before, there were so many feathers in the yard, it looked like I had plucked a whole flock of chickens.)
Rebecca compacted the feathers down as far as she could in the pillowcase…
Then we brought the pillowcase into my sewing room and I pinned the end of the case closed with big safety pins, to keep most of the feathers from falling out. I laid it on my sewing table and proceeded to stitch across the end of it two times…
… then trimmed the lace off the end of the pillowcase.
Rebecca and I had found a piece of brown canvas fabric that was nice and sturdy and thought it would make a good backing for the pillow… I decided to make the back have an “envelope” closure, where one side overlaps the other a little bit. You just finish off the ends of the backing and overlap them, making them a little bit longer than the length of your pillow. I usually put the opening closer to one end rather than in the middle because it’s easier to get your insert in the pillow this way… This is one piece of the backing and how close I made it to the end…
I laid my backing pieces right side up on my table and my cowhide right side down, touching each other and began pinning the cowhide in place… it was tough to go through that cowhide with the fur and then through the canvas… especially in the areas where I had turned back the backing to make the opening for the insert…
I use the same technique when making a pillow backing as I do when making a collar… make the backing larger than the pillow size…
…if you try to make them the same size and fit them together you will drive yourself crazy trying to keep your edges lined up. Make the backing bigger and trim it off when the stitching is done…
I wasn’t sure if the cowhide would stretch as I sewed it, but you can see that it did… If I had cut the backing the same size as my cowhide, I would have been in trouble.
I stitched around the pillow 2 times and did the corners at an angle, taking about 3 stitches on the diagonal and then pivoting when I got to the other edge…
Then I trimmed the canvas off with a pair of pinking shears…
(It was too thick to do the corners at right angles…)
I was anxious to see how it was going to look when I turned it…
I pushed and tugged and got that pillowcase stuffed with down feathers in the new pillow…and the backside looked like this…
Here’s the front…
Of course we had to go see how it looked on a bed… I used the guest room bed to show off the colors a little better…
…and one more picture, just to make you smile!
Rebecca told me she’d send me a picture of it on her bed when she gets home… :o)
Thanks everyone!
Blessings, Jeanne
Good morning! (This is another bonus being over here…I get to be first even after a good night’s sleep! 😁 )
Jeanne, that baklava would have had me dancing. How thoughtful of Karn’s mom to send that along. We have a Turkish family here in Salida that opened up a coffee shop and his baklava is the best I have ever, ever had. I’m sure you and George were delighted.
Having grown up on a dairy farm on VT, I can’t say I like seeing natural cowhide anything, but you did a mighty fine job on that pillow; I bet Rebecca is thrilled and you’re a great mom, once again.
We lucked out on weather yesterday. Only a few sprinkles, and walked over 7 miles of this beautiful, clean, quiet city. Not many cars. Most people ride the amazingly efficient public system, walk or ride bikes. Bike bells don’t seem to be in vogue here like they are in Amsterdam. I walk behind my husband who is very hard of hearing, so I can hear joggers and bikers coming up from behind to warn him to move over. We have a system, but don’t we all?
So today started with sun, but supposed to get quite rainy, but we will be on the boat. Thanks for your kind words yesterday, dear sisters. Dorothy in PA, I doubt there will be any doll popping into a suitcase. There are some in the pipeline back home, though, rest assured.
Alina, being over here makes me think more about you and and your fellow countrymen taking in all those refugees. My heart full of gratitude and affection go out to you.
❤️
Hello, all the couch sisters. We already have 2.5 million Ukrainians in Poland. If the Russians press on, about 7 million people from Ukraine may escape. No wonder they run away. Where the Russians enter, they murder people. May the world come to its senses. Greetings to the sisters from the USA, you are our hope.
Oh, Jeanne, not fair!! I am drooling all over the keyboard, looking at that luscious baklava!! Somehow half an apple (even if it IS a Cosmic Crisp apple!) just isn’t the same!
I remember my mom telling about how, after she and daddy got married, they took one very fully stuffed feather pillow and put half the feathers into another ticking, so they would have two pillows–and what a mess it was! I thought about that while reading about your combining the feathers from two pillows into one! At least it didn’t look all that messy while you were doing it!
It was fun to see how you turned that piece of hide into a pillow cover. I am sure that leather is quite challenging to sew on; sounds like you made the right choice in needles, though. I would have done two things differently: I would have used clips (binder clips, clip clothespins, quilting clips) rather than pins in the leather, and I would have used my walking foot to keep the “growing” of the leather to a minimum. (Of course, not all machines have walking feet; I am fortunate in that I have them for two of my machines.) But allowing extra of the backing fabric all around was genius, and definitely a good thing that you did!!
I’m sure Rebecca was thrilled, and if she has their bedroom set up much as she did hers in your home, it should go beautifully with all her western-style furnishings and accessories.
Back in 1981 a year after David and I were married he bought me a lovely Pfaff sewing machine. At that time it was the only one you could get with a walking foot. I loved that walking foot. It was great for sewing on the fabric used for making costumes. Unfortunately that machine has become a piece of memorabilia right now because my repairman cannot get the parts he needs to fix it. Now you can get walking feet for several machines but I don’t have one for my Husqvarna Viking sewing/embroidery machine. I’m not even sure there is one. I need to check on that.
Hi Barbara
i have a Husquvarna Ruby sewing/embroidery machine and I have a walking foot for it.The foot was actually bought for a previous Husquvarna machine but it fits this one as well.
Barbara, I know which machine (Pfaff) you have, as I sewed on it often when I was teaching Stretch & Sew classes at our local S&S store! They were using Pfaff at the time. If I hadn’t already been in love with my Viking 6430, I would have gotten a Pfaff. Wonderful machine. (My main machine now is a 1999 Viking #1+. I also have four other machines, including that 6430! AND a serger!)
Oh Jeanne, what a beautiful job you did on that pillow! Rebecca is certainly lucky to have a mother who can do things like that! I’m sure it will look just perfect in her “Southwest” decorating scheme, which I am sure is not all that common in Pennsylvania! Now you have, in addition to a beautiful pillow for her, a very pretty piece of lace that you took off the pillowcase!
I have never had the pleasure of eating or even seeing baklava in person, so wonder what is inside? It must be really wonderful to hear everyone oohing and ahhing over it! What a sweet thing for Karn’s mother to do!
It is so interesting to hear about your travels, Sally, please do keep us up to date on your fun!
Dessert and a cow. Fun post. Some people have the talent to make special desserts, and I’m not one of those. I’m sure is was scrumptious. Can’t imagine sewing something that thick, but sounds like you are a pro. The pillow came out great. I’ve seen sheep skin draped over a chair, but never a cow pillow. What a unique piece. I’m sure Becca loves it.
So exciting to hear hear from Sally. Love hearing about the travel adventures. Rain or shine, sounds so inviting. 🙂
And on to the 90’s today. Ugh.
Baklava…oh there is nothing better. I Have never made it but it is such a treat! A Greek restaurant here has it and we always split a piece.
The pillow will be so perfect in a SW theme room. Tell Rebecca we must have a picture😉
Your sewing machine is a trooper…not a stitch missed anywhere….it does everything from leather to tulle. Glad you had a big ole strong needle.
We received two feather pillows as wedding gifts from one of Mike’s Aunts. She made them herself and they were wonderful. Used them for several years until allergy tests showed “feathers” were the reason I was waking with a headache every day🤔😵💫 It was a sad day when we had to give them away….poor Mike had to not use his anymore either. He was not a happy camper.
Wish I could have seen the hide on the cow. It must have been one beautiful cow. It’s one of the prettiest hides I’ve ever seen. Usually everything “cow” is black and white. Thanks for the step-by-step instructions. I’ve never tried sewing on anything like that so I appreciate the tips. I like the idea of cutting the backing bigger. Never thought of that. I’ve been lucky so far when I’ve made pillows but will keep that in mind for future reference. Rebecca has got herself one beautiful – large – cow pillow she will be able to enjoy for years to come.
The pillow looks great Jeanne, I am sure Rebecca will treasure it for a longtime. I kept an old feather duvet for a long time with the intention of making cushions from it. In the end I decided not to!. Mainly the mess I think lol.
I think your machine did a wonderful job without a walking foot! My Elna had an inbuilt walking foot but not my new Janome. The first thing I bought was the W/F As a quilter I couldn’t have managed without it but I use it for anything that has multiple or thick layers.
Talking of quilting, I finished another scrap quilt last night. This one has 3 rows of strip quilting each row divided by a white strip of flowers. It was going to be a charity quilt but I rather like it so might keep it as a lap quilt for the winter but also we have our Guild annual exhibition so might save it for that. After two quilts (this last one even had larger scraps as the backing), plus both Sam and I are making hexagon quilts both with a lot of scraps in, The scrap box(es) doesn’t seem to have emptied at all. I’m determined not to make anything else until at least the big box is empty. This could take a while, poor Sara will have to wait for a dress!
The Baklava looks fantastic. I have never tasted it either but it looks like my kind of cake/dessert? I was watching the new season of The Great British Bake off last week or maybe the week before and Baklava was the technical challenge. They had to make their own filo pastry which is pretty difficult anyway without everything else!
Well we had a taste of winter last night. I believe it went down to 4C. Some inland places actually had frost. From unseasonally warm weather we now have early cold weather. Who’d live on the East Coast here! When the wind is from the south it is coming directly from Antarctica with no land mass in between!
Almost everyone seems to be getting Omicrom here but so far we have escaped. Darren and Russell (my boys) plus their families/house mates have all had it. I’m getting very worried about the lady who does my garden. She is an antivaxer and was involved in the recent protests. Refused to ever wear a mask. I talked to her two weeks ago and she was feeling really ill then and hasn’t answered my texts. I might try ringing her.
Have a good day everyone
I actually did make baklava once, years ago, but didn’t make my own phyllo pastry, which is usually findable in the refrigerated or freezer section of the grocery. A Greek friend said that Greek food was time-consuming but not difficult. Baklava is made with many layers of phyllo, each buttered, with ground nuts, sugar, and cinnamon between every few layers. It’s taken from the oven and while it’s still hot, you pour honey syrup over the top. While it’s still warm, you give pieces to your family, and they like it so much, you run some over to your neighbor, who still reminds you of how good it was decades later. You don’t refrigerate it because that would solidify the butter — it doesn’t last except in memory.
When my mother wanted new pillow covers many years ago, she opened one end of the old case and carefully basted or pinned the new case to it, then hung it on the line with the feather-filled case clipped to the clothesline. This allowed most of the feathers to fall neatly into the new case. Still, all the very small, fine feathers stuck to the original case fabric. Because of the weight and construction of Rebecca’s pillow, the method wouldn’t have worked.