Primrose Design: Design Process

My pillows usually begin with a piece of embroidery —a table runner, set of napkins, or a vintage tablecoth. I find them at flea markets, yard and garage sales, auctions, antique shops, on ebay, and through on-line sellers. I pair them up with coordinating vintage fabrics, then finish up with buttons, ribbons, or scraps of lace. I have an extensive collection of materials, to which I'm continually adding. I don't always know how I'm going to use something, so I buy what I like, trusting that I'll find a use for it later. I always do.

While I like to make pillows that are totally vintage, that isn't always possible or practical. Vintage pieces are becoming harder to find and less affordable. Sometimes I just can't find anything that coordinates with a piece I'm working with. If I find that I must use new fabric to complete a piece, I'll look for vintage-inspired patterns and colors. And I'll always mention which parts are new in the item description.

All of my raw materials are cleaned and prepared for use using the most appropriate method for the material. These textiles have history and charm, but are old and sometimes damaged, so I carefully inspect them for wear, stains, holes, etc. Linens are soaked to remove any stains, hand washed, line dried, and pressed. All new fabrics are washed before use.

Each pillow includes a new polyfill pillow form inserted through an opening in the back, so you can remove the cover for cleaning. I can order feather and/or down inserts if you prefer but don't usually have them in stock because they're a bit more expensive. Some of the smaller hanky or sachet pillows are sewn closed—this will be mentioned in the item description. Each pillow comes with a hangtag that includes a description of the materials used in its creation.