I'm certainly open to having a pool party, once the pandemic is over. In the meantime, I will be making more pillows. I am also going to make some swim jackets for my brother and me, lined with terrycloth. I hope to be able to shop at F&S Fabrics when we go back to L.A. to find fabrics for these.

BTW, I just noticed that we have matching turquoise and orange pool noodles!

No help, but love that electric orange. Gorgeous colors .

I bought a whole bolt of awning fabric at a church sale in the 90s for $10. I used it at my last house to make slipcovers for my outdoor chairs, wind blocks for the winter for two porches and replaced two awnings. I still have a large piece left and use it to protect the carpet when we use the fireplace to protect it from any sparks and smores. For the smaller projects I washed and dried the fabric first. It made the fabric less stiff to sew. For the larger pieces it was a PIA to sew.

It’s the perils of purchasing fabric online. There are always some surprises no matter what the description entails. Outdoor fabric is stiff—I can only imagine the ”feel” of awning fabric. Your pillows look great!

No help with anything sewing related. Sadly, that skill died off in my family. But the turquoise and orange pillows are gorgeous, so cheerful.

Yes, I purchased very heavy duty fabric, on purpose. I had to make a sling for my stationary swing, for the cushions to sit on.

I'll bet your pillows in the grand scheme of things are beautiful! Taking photos of the setting they're in......from a distance, then looking at the photos may give you the perspective to see how BEAUTIFUL they are.

What is also nice is that they make a very nice reflection in the pool. I'll post a photo of that later, but in the meantime, I will be making the 19" pillows. I'm kind of getting the hang of sewing the stiff fabric.

I thought about washing it first, but I was afraid that that would make the fabric less durable, and that is more important to me.

Beautiful colors, very cheerful and inviting. The awning fabric will probably stay vibrant much longer than regular fabric would. Now you need an orange/turquoise striped umbrella to go with the pillows and pool noodles.

An orange/turquoise umbrella would be nice❤️, but instead we have a blue and chartreuse umbrella that came with the house!

Blue and chartreuse is cheerful too. I bet you could make a custom umbrella canopy if you wanted. I, on the other hand, can't even sew a straight line. :)

Sewing straight lines on awning fabric at the zipper is not easy either!

I love the colors of those pillows. I've made outdoor pillows from Sunbrella fabric, but never awning fabric. However, wish I could sew well enough to use awning fabric--I love awnings and have always wanted one for the front of our lake cabin. We found an old painting of the cabin and there was one there in the 1940s.

The pillows look great....so glad the awning fabric worked for you.

Here are all the finished pillows, and you can see some reflection of the orange ones in the pool. I was leaning over to take this photo, but when I'm in the pool, especially in the late afternoon, the reflections are more noticeable. I'll try to take a photo from in the pool next..

Aok is right that sewing multiple layers of awning fabric is like trying to sew plywood, and I'm so relieved to be finished with the awning fabric that I have. I made the last pillow today out of turquoise upholstery Sunbrella fabric, and it is the small one in the center. I didn't have enough leftover turquoise fabric to make another 17" square pillow, and I noticed that I had a 14" square pillow form, and so I used that instead. My brother thought it would be better to have a contrasting size in the middle, and I'm happy with out it came out, although it does look a bit harlequin/carnival to me. But I can always mix the pillows up a bit more, and I want to look at more Sunbrella fabric at F&S when we go back to L.A. in a week.

Gorgeous combination of colors, and the reflection is very cool!

Lars, not only are your sewing skills remarkable, but so is your sense of color. Beautiful!

I like how the color of the turquoise cushions echo the blue of the pool.

I'm really impressed with your coordination of color! I get hung up on tribal ...... or Greek key...and then I don't get out of the proverbial box. You have broken out! lol Lovely! Just lovely Lars!

Love it!!

Here's a photo I took today while in the pool, and later in the day so that I would not get the shadows from the pergola.

I am planning to buy some black and white leopard/cheetah print Sunbrella fabric and make some 16" square accent pillows plus some larger pillows for the chaises, not shown in this photo.

I do like tribal prints, but I like to start with a backdrop of solid colors - then it is easier to add a print.

I wish you and your pool were next door, I would be right over. So inviting.

You are a braver sewer than I. I would never wrestle with awning fabric. I would have turned it into a table runner or an outdoor roman shade.

What a great project Lars - they look perfect and inviting.

I think it's uncommon for someone to have 'an eye' *and* the ability and perseverance to craft what's envisioned. You've made a nice, but forgettable, seating area into something that lifts the spirit.

Lars, love your pool area. Especially all the beautiful colors. Makes me want to step out of the box with our pool area. I seem to use , blue umbrella, blue chairs, blue pillows. You have inspired me to bring in more color around pool. Oh even my noodles are blue. I just looked out and said, how boring is our area. I do have some bright colored pillows in our pool storage that I will bring out. In today’s time , colors lift my spirits. As I always say, you have an amazing eye for color, I am nowhere close to your talents, but you inspire me to make changes.

I just made a cover for my outdoor wicker sofa. I used a fabric shower curtain. No cost at all except for the paracord I used. Your pillows look great.

Lars...Was meaning to ask.... Is the wicker furniture new?

Nicole, the wicker furniture came with the house, and so it is not new but it does not appear to be very old either. Anyway, it is in very good shape, and the green cushions are also in good shape.

Here's how it looked before. I recovered the small pinstripe pillows in the orange fabric. We also replaced the plastic chaises with teak ones. I plan to make some black and white print pillows for these chaises, once I can go to F&S Fabric Store.

I found the fabric I want at Mood, which is up the street from F&S, and so I can go to both stores, I think. It's more expensive than I expected, and so I will have to calculate carefully how much I will need. I ordered some 22" square pillow forms for the chaises plus four 16" square pillow forms, so that I can make contrasting print pillows. I won't have to use them all at the same time.

This is my alternate choice for fabric, which is significantly less expensive. I'm not going to order the fabric on line, since I can go to the stores that have it.

Teak chaises are totally cool! Great choice to rev it up! Make it look posh, expensive! The wicker set looks to be in GREAT condition! Nice! I can tell you this....I've come back several times to revisit your BEAUTIFUL setting. You REALLY did a good job!

I ended up ordering this fabric for the additional pillows, since the fabric stores here are closed😞. I like the colors in this one better, since it is black and white instead of indigo and white, and it is reversible, although I plan to use only the white side, I think. If I ordered enough, I'll make two small pillows white and two black. I can use the white pillows in the summer and the black in the winter. I'll see how it looks when I get the fabric next week.

I went to Outdoor Fabrics web site to check the status of my order, only to learn that it is on back order, and there is no information as to when it will be back in inventory. I wish they had told me that it was not in inventory before I placed the order, and then I would have ordered it from somewhere else.

I will not be placing any more orders from this company.

I've had that happen before, Lars, and it really tics me off! I too wouldn't use a company that does that. Can you cancel the order or ask your cc to do it?

That's what I was wondering.....Can U cancel and reorder somewhere else?

I'm stuck in a similar situation. I ordered a sink from Kohler in tan/black, a color they don't stock. It will be September before I get it. ☺

I'm going to call them tomorrow and see what they say. Their policy says that there is a 3% charge for any canceled orders, even if it is their fault, and so I will try to find out if they want to enforce that. That policy alone is reason enough for me never to order from them again.

If they can deliver in a reasonable amount of time, I will be okay, but only if the delay is brief.

That pillow should be durable.

Outdoor Fabric sent me an email saying that the fabric is on back order until July 10, and so I sent a return email to Outdoor Fabrics (AKA Patio Lane), and then called them today to cancel the order, which they said they would do and give me a full refund. I then ordered the fabric from Houzz, and they seem to indicate that it is in inventory. Evidently this fabric is very popular because Patio Lane could not keep it in stock.

I should be receiving the fabric from Houzz by July 1 in Los Angeles, and so I will have to stay in L.A. to receive it. Originally, I was going to have it sent to me here in Cathedral City (where my sewing machine are now), but my brother is in L.A., and I was planning to go back on Wednesday or Thursday anyway.

I am currently working on Cabana Jackets, and so at least I have something to do. I could start of bedspreads as well, but that does not seem urgent to me. The Cabana Jackets will be nice to have so that we do not have a wear a full-length robe when we go in the pool.

I did a check on my order at Houzz, and they have revised the deliver date to from August 30 to September 5, and so I requested a cancellation. I hope they will give me a full refund since they originally quoted a June 26 to July 1 delivery. I'm pretty much done with trying to order this fabric on line and will try to find it in a store. F&S has their upholstery fabric department open and so I will go there when I go back to L.A. I am extremely disappointed with Houzz for quoting me a false delivery date.

Following. I need to recover all my patio cushions and I can easily make them. Lots cheaper than buying cushions! I appreciate ideas of vendors from which to purchase outdoor fabric.

Outdoor Fabric (AKA Patio Lane) has refunded my money in full, and the Houzz company never charged me for the order and confirmed that it was cancelled.

If you are looking for a place to order fabric, I think Outdoor Fabric would be okay, but only if you order by phone and confirm that the fabric you want is in inventory and is being held for you. The popular fabrics may be difficult to get, and the one I want seems to be impossible at this time, and so I will just wait until the factory can produce more. I was told that Sunbrella is working with a reduced staff, and so everything is taking longer than usual now.

I called F&S in Los Angeles regarding the fabric that I want, and they told me that they do not have it in stock and neither does Sunbrella. It looks like I will have to wait until August to order this fabric. I really do not want to make a different selection. I plan to have the pillows for a long time and can wait.

I’d call that a happy accident. They’re gorgeous

Lovely!

I have the same machine as you, Lars, and though I've always felt it was a workhorse, didn't realize it could handle awning fabric. What needles did you use?

I only used a #14 needle, and it worked fine.

I received the Sunbrella fabric I wanted from Trivantage last week, but I have to take it to Cathedral City to make the additional pillows. I called Trivantage to confirm that they had inventory before I placed the order - no one else that I contacted that this particular pattern, and I did not want a substitution.

Today I received custom fabric from Spoonflower fabrics, which I ordered in a pattern that they already offered, so that I could see how their quality is. I was very impressed with it but haven't washed it yet. If I like it after washing it, then I will submit my own fabric designs to them for future orders. It is the same price for me to use my own design as it is to order one that they already offer. Now I just have to get my designs into digital format. This is easy for me to do in Los Angeles, as I have the necessary computer programs, but I do not have these in Cathedral City. The fabric from Spoonflower is not cheap, but it will be worth it to get a design that I create myself.

I've been looking at Spoonflower fabrics recently as well, Lars, so I'll be very interested in your experience washing it. I'm hoping to reproduce some 1930s fabric patterns but in miniature scale. Can't wait to see your new pillows!

I can't wait to make the new pillows! I have to wait for some more deliveries to be made here in L.A. before I can go back and resume my sewing projects, however. My brother already wants to go back, but after spending a week in Los Angeles, I have gotten re-attached to my back yard and all the bromeliad and orchid flowers I have blooming at this time. I need to spend a lot of time here gardening to clean things up a big, as a lot of the yard has grown out of control.

I washed the Spoonflower fabric today and cold water, and when I took it out of the dryer, I noticed some printing flaws

which are more noticeable on the reverse side than on the face. I sent Spoonflower an email requesting a partial refund for the 15% of the fabric that I cannot use and will report back what I hear from them. If they do not give me a satisfactory response, I will not order from them again and will not recommend them to anyone. The quality of the fabric is very good - it is only the printing that is a problem at this point. I will have to wait to see what their explanation for this is.

Yeah, that's not good. But I love the pattern!

I had to order more than I needed, as I only needed 2-1/2 yards, but they only sell in one yard increments, and so I had to order three yards. Only the last 16" of the fabric is damaged. At $26 a yard, I felt that I should receive better quality. I'm still waiting to hear back from them, but I have proceeded with working on my own designs anyway.

I hope they will be able to guarantee better quality in the future so that I can submit my own designs. The web site says specifically that refunds/returns are not allowed, but if they are going to send damaged goods, then I will not feel good about ordering from them and will have to find a different way to get my designs printed. Here is another company that I am considering. I am fairly sure that there are local companies in Los Angeles that can provide this service for me, and eventually I would prefer to go to the company in person and pick the fabric up in person.

I may, however, decide that $26 is a reasonable price, even with flaws, as other companies seem to charge quite a bit more. I might be okay with paying a lower price and expecting a certain percentage of flaws. As I indicated, the first 85% of the fabric I received was very good quality - just the last 16" was flawed. That might have to be acceptable - for the price.

I hope they give you at least a discount, though it sounds like you have a good plan. It's hard to have projects delayed by things like this.