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.
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:
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 have also made a video tutorial on making pillows from placemats, if you want to see it in action.
So there you have it – you can make your own pillows out of placemats!
Total cost per pillow: About $6.00 each.
If you like this post, feel free to pin the image below!
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Mrs. Cox
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… 😀
Jennifer-admin
LOL total man!!! Thank you again for this idea – it worked out perfectly!
Melinda
seriously, how easy is that! pretty too 🙂
Jennifer-admin
Thanks! I was shocked too at how easy it was. I am not very talented, lol, so I was quite proud!
Wanda M
Wow, how nice! Thanks for the idea and how to!
Nicole B
What a great idea! I just pinned it – now I can’t wait to go shopping for placemats. Thanks for sharing.
Jennifer-admin
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!
Liz @ A Nut in a Nutshell
That is just the cutest idea and so simple!
ohkeeka [The Type A Housewife]
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!
Jennifer-admin
I do love IKEA – I wish there was one a little closer to me so I could browse in-store. These were so easy!
Kathleen
Love this!!! I need some cheap and easy pillows in my life. Great job!
Jennifer-admin
Thanks Kathleen!
Kathleen
Pinned it! Brilliant work…I’m going to pick up some placemats this weekend and do this too.
Jennifer-admin
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!
Mom Foodie
Great way to tie a design together on a budget, especially if the dining area & living area are adjacent 😀
Jennifer-admin
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!
courtney b
that is a gorgeous pillow! decorative pillows are soo expensive!
Tiff @ Babes and Kids
Can I tell you how much I love this idea? I often wish I were crafty but am totally not. I’ve been wanting new throw pillows for our couches but can’t swallow $15 a pillow. Such a good, good idea. Pinned this, going to make it next week.
Shar Donoho
Love this idea. I love to have a lot of pillows on our bed (…even though it drives my husband nuts). I love the design on your placemat/pillows!
Beth
What a great budget friendly idea!! Just pinned this for when we finally get a new couch! 🙂
Kenda
I never realized how easy this could be – thank you!
Jennifer-admin
You’re welcome! I had no idea either, and since I don’t sew, this really WAS easy!
amy v
what an incredibly frugal, adorable way to make nice decorative throw pillows! i’ve never heard of that but wow do they ever come out nicely. not sure mine would look like that if i tried but hey, for $6 i’d give it a try! 🙂
annae07 at aol dot com
Brandy
So neat! Thanks for sharing this creative idea, I certainly should try it with my daughter!
Stefani
What a great idea!
Shasta
LOVE these! What an awesome idea!
Lauren @ The Well Crafted Home
This is so clever! Thanks for sharing! I’m going to pin this!
Jennifer-admin
Thank you so much!
Meg Tucker
This is just the most clever idea! I love it! This is also such a great way to add a change and some personality into our home. I’m thinking that this is actually something that I can pull off even though I’m not great at sewing. Thank you for this faboo idea 🙂
Heather {Woods of Bell Trees}
This is such a good idea. I see so many pretty placemats and napkins about!
Sarah Barker
I am just so in love with this idea! The doors that have been opened, the window sashes thrown open…. Thanks so much for providing both inspiration and information – quite a duo!
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Claire @ A Little Claireification
These are so fun!! Love this idea. Thanks so much for sharing at our Best Of The Weekend party! Pinning this to our party board. Have a great weekend! xo
Elizabeth (Rock-A-Bye Parents)
What a neat idea, and such a great idea for saving money. Decorative pillows are crazy expensive. It’s awful how people nickle and dime you for things.
Debra @ MsMoozys Open House
I love this idea, I made these myself and really liked how they turned out and it was so easy! I am featuring your post tomorrow on Tuesdays with a Twist Link party, please stop over and take a look. Thanks again and have a great day.
Lauren @ Mom Home Guide
Your pillows turned out great! I just bought a couch for my living room and refuse to spend $25 on a throw pillow! I will have to try out your placemat technique! Great idea.
Jennifer-admin
I agree! I started making these as the ones in the stores are just too expensive! Have fun!
Dana Rodriguez
These turned out really cute. What a clever idea!