Make your own throw pillows!
When I first started buying decor for our new home, I was astounded (and not in a good way) at how incredibly expensive throw/decorative pillows are! I need quite a few for the bedrooms, couches, etc. and just cannot fathom spending anywhere from $25 to $65 for a pillow to match my decor. I have been looking in stores, and online, trying to find just the right pillows. Even if I find the perfect pillows to match a bedding set, or colors of a certain room, the cost made my stomach turn, and I quickly “X’d” out of the website.
I was mentioning this to my good buddy, Erin (here is her placemat pillows post), and she said “make your own!”. Yeah right – apparently she has never seen me sew! She assured me that it is really easy – you simply buy placemats (the kind with two pieces of fabric sewn together front and back), fill them with fiberfill and voila! Well it did sound pretty easy, and I just had to give it a try.
I looked at Pier 1 Imports and Cost Plus and found some placemats that were solid on one side and had a pattern on the other side. Perfect! Oh, and they were only $2.99 each. I then went to the craft store, and bought 2 bags of fiberfill for $2.99 each. It takes a a bag or less for each pillow.
Since our bedroom will be blue and green (I bought a gorgeous duvet cover from Eddie Bauer), these will match perfectly. One side is patterned and one side is plain. The other placemat I bought is patterned on one side and is light blue on the back!
To begin, I unstitched the two layers of the placemat about 3 inches on one end. I stuffed fiberfill inside like this:
It’s important to make sure that you also stuff the corners of the placemat – just shove fiberfill in the corners as well.
Since I am not big on sewing, I purchased fabric glue at the craft store too. When my placemat was sufficiently stuffed, I placed a narrow bead of blue along one side of the placemat (I did it on the green hem), and carefully squeezed the two sides of the placemat together until it held. I attached small paper clips on the area I glued, just to be sure that it had a good seal.
I was really surprised how incredibly simple it was to make your own pillows. I ventured out again (this time to Target) to see if I could find placemats for our family room. I bought two placemats that will be just right for the look I want to achieve.
I have to admit, it is kind of addicting to make these pillows. I bought two MORE placemats that will go in the guest room, and I will make those next time I am at the house. I wanted to include photos of the other pillows I made, but apparently I didn’t take pictures of them!
So there you have it – you can make your own pillows out of placemats!
Total cost per pillow: About $6.00 each.
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Seriously so happy you gave them a try. We still use ours. And I mentioned to the mister you made your own after I told you how easy it was and he looked puzzled. Apparently he had no idea that our throw pillows that magically matched our old couch were placemat pillows that I MADE. Such a man…
LOL total man!!! Thank you again for this idea – it worked out perfectly!
seriously, how easy is that! pretty too
Thanks! I was shocked too at how easy it was. I am not very talented, lol, so I was quite proud!
Wow, how nice! Thanks for the idea and how to!
What a great idea! I just pinned it – now I can’t wait to go shopping for placemats. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for pinning it! I was so excited to shop for placemats too
Now I can’t seem to stop – I think I will freshen up every room with new pillows!
That is just the cutest idea and so simple!
I can never believe how expensive pillows are either! The only place I buy them from is IKEA because they’re cheaper there. I love this idea–so cute!
I do love IKEA – I wish there was one a little closer to me so I could browse in-store. These were so easy!
Love this!!! I need some cheap and easy pillows in my life. Great job!
Thanks Kathleen!
Pinned it! Brilliant work…I’m going to pick up some placemats this weekend and do this too.
Yay thank you! It’s such a great (and inexpensive) way to spruce up every room in the house! I’d love to see pics of yours when you’re done!
Great way to tie a design together on a budget, especially if the dining area & living area are adjacent
Exactly! My next project is one of the guest rooms – I found some placemats with fun colors – I’m going to use them to base the whole room design!
that is a gorgeous pillow! decorative pillows are soo expensive!