If you can't get what you want, make it yourself

I love most things about living in this country. I am very lucky. In the grand scheme of things this is a very minor, slight annoyance, and hardly a blip on the radar. I'm talking about Canadian shipping and the many, many places that just don't do it. A while ago a certain store with sometimes very cute home decor and accessories pulled Canadian shipping from that section of their website. Around the same time the same store stopped selling any home stuff in Canadian locations. This happened just after the cutest pintucked pillows debuted, and just before I decided to order a couple.. of course. I thrifted a cute little red corduroy version a year or so back, but the velvety versions in lovely colours were just too much. I took to Etsy, sure that a talented artisan or two would have an even better version, but surprisingly I didn't find much. Ebay? Nothing. Google search? Again, nothing but the same store and many, many blog posts about how adorable these pillows are. There was also this.

I've never smocked before, but with instructions that straight forward this was totally doable. I could have my pillows, and even better, I could make them myself!

Then came the challenges. Oh, the challenges! I couldn't find my pink velvelty fabric. After some searching online I found a close match on Etsy, but it wasn't exactly cheap. Round pillow forms don't seem to exist in any store near me, so again I had to order online. The forms were under $4 a piece, but shipping for those babies cost a pretty penny. A doll making needle to pass through the pillow for tufting? Nope! Every craft store, fabric store, specialty store, and craft section of a big box store failed me, which I'm sad to say is not an uncommon occurance. I'm beginning to wonder if these shops are useful for more than cute scrapbooking supplies, cake pop kits, and a limited selection of novelty fabrics. Most online shops who carried the needles didn't ship to Canada. Etsy saved me again, and my pack of 5 to 7 inch doll making needles were on their way. The only part of this project I actually found in person were the button making parts.

It's not perfect, and I can't even claim to have saved some cash by making it myself after all of those shipping fees (I will save on the second since I just need the fabric!), but I have my pretty pink round "pintucked" pillow and plans to make a plum version to go with it.

It's just a pillow, and a silly thing to get worked up about, but I'm glad to have been able to make it, and I do love the way it looks on my chair (I really did need a pillow for this chair since it stops halfway up my back and it's where I sit to breastfeed the baby bird..it's the comfiest chair otherwise). I'm so glad for crafty bloggers who are willing to share tutorials with the rest of us.