Scavenger Chic

GPS Coordinates Pillow diy

• By Joan
• October 30, 2014
• 5 Comments

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GPS Coordinates Pillow DIY

Lately  I’ve been seeing a lot of  GPS coordinates pillows…in gift shops, in home furnishing stores, on etsy…The idea didn’t seem hard to replicate and when my daughter-in-law expressed an interest, a gift idea and a project idea was born.

 A GPS coordinate is a precise location on earth expressed in latitude and longitude.  And when I say precise, I mean within feet.  

While the numbers could reflect your home, they could also be the coordinates of your honeymoon, your first house, your first kiss, favorite city, Elvis Presley’s home….the sky is the limit.  But what if you don’t know the coordinates of  the house you lived in 30 years ago?  Of course there is a solution for that…a quick trip to the internet.  On my first search I came up with  GPS visualizer.   If you know the address, you’ll have your gps coordinates in hand within seconds.

Before working on the coordinates, you have to get your fabric ready.  I cut a backing piece 17″ x 17″.  (this is for a 16″ square pillow form) For the front  1 piece of fabric 9″ by 17″ and 1 piece of fabric 12 1/2″ x 17″.

Along the long side on each of the smaller pieces of fabric  (not the backing) fold over 1/2″ and sew a hem.

On the larger front piece (13″ x 17″), on the edge with the hem,  mark and set three grommets.  You can find these at craft or fabric stores.  If you have never set a grommet before, you’ll have to buy the full kit.  The kit comes with a tool for setting the grommet, it’s what you pound on.  If you have used grommets before then you’ll only need the 3 grommets.  Don’t worry, the directions are on the package.

First thing I did was lay out  my design on my computer.  I like using the program Publisher, because it allows for banner sizes.  The closest banner size they had to my pillow size of 16 inches was  the size A3 Landscape (16.535 x 11.693 inches).  I then chose the BERNARD MT CONDENSED font at a Font size of 165!!  Because this was so large it prints out on 2 pieces of paper.

Transfer the GPS Coordinates

Taped the pages together.  Now ready to transfer on to my pillow.

If you follow my posts, you’ll see I use this method of transferring letters quite often and maybe someday I’ll even buy some transfer paper.  Anyway, for my method, you only need a sharp pencil.  Wherever there is lettering or numbers, scribble on the back of the banner.

Turn over, place over top of your material, tape in place just below the grommets, and just trace around your coordinates.  For the degree sign, I traced around a dime.

Hopefully, when you are finished, you’ll be able to see your numbers clearly.

 At the fabric store I purchased these two fabric markers.  One has a fine point, the other a broad tip.  Having used them, I probably could have gotten away with just buying one or the other.  The broad tip has a pointy enough tip to fit into fairly tight spaces.

You can also find a set of  Fabric Markers 5 Pack Variety Pack – Brush Tip, Bullet Tip, Chisel Tip, Extra Fine Tip, at Amazon.

Now it’s just a matter of filling in the lines.

Create Your GPS Pillow

Time to make your pillow.   Overlap your 2 fabric pieces you are using for your front until they make a 17″ square.  With right sides together , sew 1/2 inch seam around the entire edge of your pillow.  Where the grommets are, is where you’ll be inserting your pillow form.  Clip corners and turn right side out.

All ready for Christmas gift giving.  Hopefully my daughter-in-law won’t read this post over the next  2 months.  If she does, she’ll just have to wait for her present.

It’s time to create you own DIY GPS coordinates pillow.  Stay inspired.

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