With China's rich history and diverse traditions, it's easy to overlook aspects of Chinese culture because there's just so much of it. I am always looking for ways to broaden my horizons and celebrate more cultures than only my native Western culture.One of my favorite icons from other belief systems and lifestyles is Yin and Yang, which symbolizes the balance between contradictory opposites. It is a fundamental concept of Chinese Philosophy and culture. The two opposites complement each other, and each side has an element of its opposite at its core.
In Chinese mythology, both yin and yang were born of chaos at the beginning of the universe, but are believed to live in harmony at the center of the earth. While this may or may not align with your religious or spiritual ideologies, I believe that everyone can learn from yin and yang, whether that's a balance between your inner masculine/feminine, light and dark, or even structure and spirit to life. Life is not complete with both of these elements, and sometimes people forget these things.
If you're looking for a fun visual element to add to any space, this is a pretty simple project that can be either hand sewed or machine sewn. If you know me personally, you know that I absolutely loathe hand sewing, so I do as much as I can with a machine. You'll see how I do that below.
The size of the pillow is also adaptable, it just depends on how big you want to print your "pattern". I made mine somewhat small, as I made this first one as a visual component to a research project about Taoism, the Chinese belief system that really focuses on Yin and Yang, among other things.
To learn more about the relationship between yin and yang, check out this article from the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
If you're looking for a fun visual element to add to any space, this is a pretty simple project that can be either hand sewed or machine sewn. If you know me personally, you know that I absolutely loathe hand sewing, so I do as much as I can with a machine. You'll see how I do that below.
The size of the pillow is also adaptable, it just depends on how big you want to print your "pattern". I made mine somewhat small, as I made this first one as a visual component to a research project about Taoism, the Chinese belief system that really focuses on Yin and Yang, among other things.
To learn more about the relationship between yin and yang, check out this article from the Ancient History Encyclopedia.
What You'll Need:
- Black and White Fabric of your choice
- I used white felt and black cotton because that's what I had leftover from other projects. That being said, I highly recommend using the same type of fabric for both, because you'll have fewer issues with selvage
- Black or White thread
- Sewing machine, if you prefer to machine sew
- Pillow stuffing material
- Hand sewing needle
- Sewing scissors, or any scissors that haven't cut paper
- a pair of normal scissors, so you don't ruin your sewing scissors
- a computer print out of yin and yang, preferably simple clip-art
First, cut out the yin yang symbol. This will serve as your pattern for the front and back side of the pillow. Only cut the circle first, so you can make sure that the front design is the same size as the back.
I decided to make the back of the pillow white because that fabric is what I had more of at the time. You're welcome to make it black, or even a patterned fabric, if that's your preference. When cutting the back, be sure to cut 5/8th" seam allowance, or whatever seam allowance you prefer. I've found that 5/8" works well because it's big enough to keep track of but not so big that it gets in the way.
Next, separate the yin and yang halves by cutting with paper scissors. Be sure to cut closely along the edges, so your seam allowance is evenly shaped.
Pin and cut to the appropriate colors to the appropriate fabric and cut with a 5/8" (or the same as your previous) seam allowance on all sides.
Pin on the curve of the fabric. If you have two different types of fabric like I did, this might be a bit challenging because of the selvage. Keep at it, and do your best. If it doesn't come out super smooth, it'll just look a little pleated at the end.
Sew the curve, either by hand or machine. It should look something like this:
Next, cut into the shape of the yin or yang, to get the right shape size of the circle.
Cut out one black circle and one white circle, both with a 5/8" seam allowance all the way around.
Then, cut out a hole inside the size of the original paper. I found it easier to trace with a water-soluble pencil on both.
Pin the fabric circle into the hole and hand sew them together. You could try to machine sew this really slowly but I found that hand sewing was most effective.
Upon reflection after making this project, I feel it would have been a good time to iron open the seams to really flatten out the front of this pillow. You can do that at this point if you wish. After this, pin the front to the back sewing the 5/8" seam all the way around, leaving an approximate 1-inch space open to stuff the pillow with.
Stuff the pillow with as much stuffing as you feel makes it effective. Some people like more firm pillows than others. I put about as much as I could in this little friend. Hand sew up the opening so the stuffing doesn't fall out.
Enjoy it! It makes an awesome addition anywhere!
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