Thanks for the curtain advice the other day! I made the curtains and will post pics once I finish hemming the sides.
Now that I have these awesome mustard and blue curtains and my sunflower desk, I realized I had to ditch my red pillows. They were in perfectly good shape, so I took out the inserts and decided I was going to use the leftover fabric from the curtains to make pillows.
I didn’t have a pattern; I sort of just glanced at this tutorial from Cottage Magpie and went to town.
Materials:
- pillow form for 20″ pillow: free, but you could get polyester stuffing for around $3.50/bag
- stuffing for bed pillow (2 bags): $7
- thread: $1.50
- mustard yellow linen (~2 yards @ 2.99/yard): $6
- blue tablecloth (Marshalls): $7
- total: $21.50 for 2 20″ pillows and 1 bed body pillow/bolster
my pillows!
Other pillows:
Essential Home Tea Leaves Decorative Pillow from KMart: $12.99
Lambert Linen 20" Pillow from Crate and Barrel: $20 (regularly $40)
Starburst Yellow Pillow from Target: $49.99
This is why you should learn how to sew!
Update: Here is a list of places that offer sewing lessons in Boston.
{ 36 comments… read them below or add one }
I love these !
I will make some for you.
That’s fantastically cost effective!
convenient, because I am fantastically poor
thanks for commenting!
Gosh…throw pillows are bloody expensive… I need to take your advice, dust of my sewing machine and get to work on re-doing some stuff in my house!
good luck! let me know how your projects turn out.
Excellent! I’ve made a few pillows such as these and it’s a great feeling to know that you accomplished something that looks stylish.
Thanks for sharing this and giving others the confidence to follow in your footsteps.
Thank you! I’m definitely not a decorator or a fantastic sewer, but I think we can all manage something as simple as this.
love these ..
thanks! can’t wait to see your dresses! I have a 4 month old niece and she looks ridiculous in pants. I want to sew some small pieces for her when I visit in the next few months.
DEFINITELY wish I could make these!
you can! start here: http://quarterlifestyle.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/how-to-set-up-a-sewing-machine/
Your pillows are gorgeous, by the way!
I love the print/color.
It is a nice way to show how you live an exciting life with limited means. Please share more with us!
Thanks, Theresa. Truth is, if I don’t get my dissertation in order I will truly be living with limited means, but I’ll try to post more useful tips in the coming months.
Yes, you are right of course! But I HATE sewing!!
Each small pillow only needed about 8 stitches total! 4 for each edge, 2 because I used two patterns on the front, and 2 to hem the edges of the back envelopes. I think you can manage that!
I have been wanting to learn how to sew so when I saw your blog entry on the Wordpress home page I was so excited! Thanks – I will be subscribing and can’t wait to implement all that I learn.
Hi Rebecca! I’m definitely glad that I learned how to sew and am grateful to my big sister who bought me my first machine. I want to make a bunch of sundresses for summer, so hopefully, there will be more sewing projects here soon.
they’re beautiful! Nice job, thanks for the inspiration,
Cheers
Really beautiful pillows. I’d really love to make more stuff like that. I’ve been doing screen printing so I guess I could put anything on the fabric. That’d be cool. Whats your top tip for getting started?
Thanks!
I’ve been wanting to take a screen printing class @ RISD for ages. I’d be interested in seeing what you’ve done! Originally, I was going to get white linen and screen print a yellow design on them, but it got cold and I didn’t have the indoor workspace I needed for some paint action.
The best thing you can do is to get your hands on a machine, grab some cheap muslin (practice fabric) and practice! Never ever buy fabric at full price. Just grab some from the clearance section until you get the hang of things. (And always use the 40-50% off coupons at craft stores.)
There are lots of classes through places like the Boston/Cambridge/Brookline Centers for Adult Education that offer sewing classes. I imagine that every major city has a program like that. Places like Jo-Ann’s and Hancock Fabric may offer intro classes as well. My mom taught me the basics when I was 10 or 11, but I really didn’t pick up sewing again until 2 years ago.
Here’s a link on how to thread a machine, which tends to mystify a lot of people.
http://quarterlifestyle.wordpress.com/2009/10/04/how-to-set-up-a-sewing-machine/ Once you’ve threaded the bobbin, you’re good to go.
Good luck, good luck! -A
Thanks a lot for the tips!
I’m going to try printing something unexpected and then make a pillow out of it…hmmm…what would you least expect to see a picture of on a pillow?
Yeah screen printing is really straight forward. I did a little bit in school years and years ago so I’m basically teaching myself now. Great book on screen printing is this one from Print Liberation http://printliberation.com/book It goes through all the step by steps of what to do and is very DIY.
Cheers
I can think of a lot of unexpected things for a pillow, but they’re all inappropriate.
I would actually like to see a skyline broken up across multiple pillows so that when you line them all up you can see the full panoramic skyline…
Thanks for the book rec!
Brilliant idea!
Do you ever use a zipper? I used to make all my pillows (a while ago) & I always used zippers so I could wash the pillow covers.
The back of my small pillows are envelope-style because I just didn’t want to invest in zippers. The larger pillow I made for the bed does have a zipper on one of the short sides for easy access.
I think doing an envelope style in the back is better than a zipper. I saw the pictures, but where can I get actual directions?
Instructions here: http://cottagemagpie.com/projects/accessories/pillows/how-to-sew-pillow-cover/
The skyline idea is FABULOUS!!!!! I’m answering here because I couldn’t find a ‘reply’ button on that post!
I think I would enjoy sewing, but first I would have to prise myself away from my laptop.
Awwww I love them! I don’t know if I can make anything like that one day, though!
I promise you you can. Start off making a pillow without a removable cover (just sew three and a half sides of a square inside out, turn it right side out, stuff and stitch close) and you’ll see the removable cover style is not that difficult. Here’s a simple video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wnLqtCHQ_EA
Hmmm…I’m a grad student and blogger too! And, I’m happy to report that I got a sewing machine for Christmas and have been having fun with it in my spare time (which is minimal these days!). For my first project I used IKEA fabric to make a bag. So pretty!
Jordana (www.whitecabana.wordpress.com)
Love, love, love your pillows! That navy fabric is super cute! I’m just learning how to sew as well (at The Sewing Studio in Toronto) and you’ve inspired me to go look for similar fabric to make new throw pillows.
Thanks! I got a bunch of fabric at ikea the other day for 99 cents-$2.99/yard, which was a great deal. I’m also a fan of some of the Amy Butler and Legacy Studio fabrics sold at Joann’s. Let me know how yours turn out!
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