Smid ♡’s details: Jute String For Days

I scored these large coffee bean burlap sacks about six months ago from one of our local coffee shops and an all-time favorite family hangout; The Pannikin. I needed burlap for many pending projects. One them was to make pillows for the chalk board nook under the stairs. Now burlap is not necessarily something you would want to sleep on but it is great for this project because I wont care if chalk gets on them and they will be able to endure the abuse that are about to receive. I went and bought inexpensive king size pillows from HomeGoods and stuffed as many as I could get in the sacks. I bought a massive role of jute string from Michael’s. My plan then was to quickly sew them shut with the jute string. Big needle, big string…it’s much easier than regular sewing right? Yeah, right! I think if I had followed the lady’s advice from Michael’s and sewn a few loose loops spread apart, enough to hold the pillows in, that would have been quick! It also would have looked cheap, like I got seriously lazy and not very impressive. These sacks needed some love and they got lots of it. I was buried in burlap. I was sewing jute string for days. Dramatic? Not so much! I was very particular about keeping the stitching tight, neat and continuous. I used a long piece of jute so that I didnt have any separation or stoping points. I wanted each pillow to have a different finish. So, I did one with very masculine edging and one with tassels. The tassels… they took me forever. It became addicting actually. I kept thinking one more loop and then I will go eat. Or one more loop and then I can pee…Really? I was starving four hours into it and was starting to feel cramping in my bladder. I just needed to finish! I let my kids thread a few loops and pull the thread through. They got a “kick” out of it because they pulled the thread into the next room and out into the yard. After a few of those pulls, they were over it of’ course. Yeah! Me too! Then they started jumping on the pillow sacks. Abuse! I told you. I am glad however, that they are very excited about them. I am too. I got through it. My goal is to do three pillows total. I may end up with two happily. I think this is the detail that matters though. It will make the kids nook more special and look warmer. They are also great pieces to pull into the family room to lay on and watch tele. SMIDthat! -Smid