Exploding Dog Pillow

[thecynthesizer]

As a testament to my love of everything Sam Brown, I decided to make a bunch of mini pillows featuring Exploding Dog pictures.  This is my first one (actually the first pillow I've ever made at all)  Oh, and a question for all the other pillow makers out there: how do you finish sewing up your pillows after you've stuffed them?  I whipstitched mine (not very well) and was wondering if there is a less visible alternative.  Thanks!

http://members.aol.com/thecynthesizer9/edpillow

[amelia bedelia]

thats really cute, nice work for your first pillow

[ookpik]

how "mini" are these pillows? i don't know if i can stand the cuteness

there's a stitch called blind stitch that i use to finish up pillows. basically, you fold your edges to the inside and catch a few threads from one side then the other side, instead of going around and around the seam with whipstitch.

[thecynthesizer]

That one up there is aout 5 or 6 inches square, but that's about the smallest one..  I'm using iron-on transfer printer paper to put the images from explodingdog.com onto the fabric, so none of them will be bigger than 8.5x11.   Thanks for the tip on the blind stitch!!  I didn't quite understand how to do it from your post so I looked it up elsewhere online and it's just what I wanted.  Thanks for the kind words and the help

[mamabunnycat]

ahh i kept thinking what i could do with those explodingdog.com images (i have an entire folder on my computer of my favorite ones) and i thought maybe I could paint them as a border on my bedroom walls but I really really love the mini pillows idea!
I just have one question.. i used iron on transfer paper once and when i washed the shirt, the image got all crappy looking.. is there a way to keep it nice?

[thecynthesizer]

If you transfer onto a shirt and want to wash it, turning it inside out should be all you need to do to protect it.  If you need more than that, you could try pinning a washcloth against the image, then turning it inside out and washing it like that.  I heard that method somewhere, don't remember where.  The directions just say turn it inside out.  Also, I used the iron-on transfer paper maybe 5 years ago, and it seems to really have improved.  You can't even see the edge of the image on the fabric.

As far as the pillows go, if anything happens to them, I'll just spot clean them.  I think the transfer side might actually resist stains.

Now what should I do with all the black and white images I get once all the ink is exhausted from the transfer paper?

[supah]

i don't mean to be a wet blanket here but, isn't that kind of stealing his artwork?

[thecynthesizer]

Nope!



can i make my own t-shirts?
sure. if you want to make some t-shirts of drawings feel free. as long as you are not trying to sell them or use them to advertise for your company, i don't mind. make as many as you want.

can i use you art on my site?
if it is a noncommercial or personal site, i probably will not mind. but please give me credit.

do i need permission to print out, email, or download your drawings?
you do not need my permission. i encourage you to use my drawings however you like.
print them out and hang them up.
email them to friends.
paint your own copies of them on your walls.
use them in your powerpoint presentations.



from http://explodingdog.com/answers.html


I use his pictures for a lot of things, and whenever anyone asks about them, I always point them to the website, never try to pass the drawings off as my own.

[supah]

a-ha! ok! Sorry to be a pest!

p.s. how very generous of him!

[justjenn]

I LOVE explodingdog.com - and I love how he lets his artwork be used! I used one on the top of my blog.

Great pillow.