• Home
  • Shop
  • Illustration Portfolio
  • My Books
  • About

Sanae Ishida

A crafty little atelier in a grey city

Cloud Pillows

November 19, 2012

It started with this.

Several years ago, I wanted to try fabric paint to make my own design. I took some grey linen and white fabric paint and voila, I had little rain drops because when you live in the Pacific Northwest, you are always thinking about rain.

And then I made this little number…

But it turned out that K did not like grey at the age of three (how can she be my daughter??). She has strong opinions, that one. She only wore it once. And it sat in the deepest, darkest corner of her closet, completely forgotten.

Until yesterday.

I have been ooh-ing and aah-ing over the many cloud pillows on the great interweb, and remembered the grey linen with white rain drops. How perfect!

So I drew a cloud shape freehand, but realized that the stuffing will spill out from the button back. A duplicate was traced onto a white linen/cotton blend and the grey became a pillow cover. Since I had the white fabric out anyway, I made a bigger cloud.

And got this.

They’re a bit puckered, I know, and the grey pillow could be shaped a little more cloud-like. But they are very sweet and K approves. There will be more cumulus nimbus pillows in the horizon…

Filed in: crafts, sewing • by sanae • 7 Comments

Comments

  1. straightgrain

    November 19, 2012 at 7:10 am

    Oh, so pretty! I love both the drops pattern, and the clouds.

    Reply
  2. Lucinda

    November 20, 2012 at 9:38 am

    not sure which is cuter – the top or the pillows! Either way, a win for sure:) What method did you use for printing? Freezer paper or silk screen? Or perhaps something different all together! Love that handprinted fabric!!

    Reply
    • sanae

      November 20, 2012 at 4:08 pm

      Thanks Lucinda! I just took a small brush and fabric paint and literally painted the drops onto the fabric. Fun, but time-consuming.

      Reply
      • Lucinda

        November 20, 2012 at 7:15 pm

        I can imagine! Double the pain then when it gets discarded by the little one . . . glad it got a second life!

        Reply
  3. kristin

    November 20, 2012 at 8:03 pm

    oh i love these! but i’m a fellow pacific northwesterner, so i would. fun seeing you’re in seattle!

    Reply
    • sanae

      November 20, 2012 at 8:49 pm

      Yay! Another PNW person! The grey pillow is very appropriate for this week – it’s been raining furiously!

      Reply
  4. Asmita

    July 18, 2013 at 10:51 pm

    so adorable!

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Asmita Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe via Email

Enter your email address below to get blog posts delivered to your in-box. I'll occasionally include fun digital goodies!

Order My New Book of Illustrated Essays!

Order My Newest Kids’ Book!!

Order My Latest Sewing Book!!

Archives

Categories

The holidays are upon us!! 🎄🎁 I’ve posted The holidays are upon us!! 🎄🎁 I’ve posted this year’s free printable holiday tags on my blog - link in bio! Can you believe I’ve been creating these printable tags for over 10 years?? This year I included outtake illustrations from my book SHIBUI so these tags and bookmarks could be used for gifts all year round. I also painted a few holiday-ish ones too! Enjoy, and have a lovely and celebratory season! I’m taking my usual winter social media break, and I’ll see you back here in 2026 🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡🧡
Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2026 · Theme by Blog Pixie

© 2026 Sanae Ishida