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The Easiest Way to Make Your Own Decorative Pillows

February 27, 2014

Making pillows is one of the easiest sewing projects a beginner can do, and this post shows you how to make designer style throw pillows on a budget.


CREATE   |   Published February 27, 2014



Three decorative throw pillows



Who doesn't love an easy and inexpensive way to make some decorative throw pillows for you home?



A few months ago, my local Jo Ann Fabrics was selling all of their home decor fabric samples in order to bring in the new season's selection.  There were hundreds of fabric options....some plain, some patterned.....all different colors and textures.



Even better, there were some really expensive fabrics available for the same price as the others (The day that I was there they just so happened to be having a half price sale on their remnants, making each sample square just a dollar apiece!)



DIY Throw Pillows Tutorial



I'm not sure how long I sorted through the fabrics, but I'm sure that the employees were happy to finally see me ready to check out.  I came home with a stack of plain and pattered samples that I could mix and match for some decorative throw pillows.



Since these were samples I knew that I wouldn't be able to find two matching pieces of fabric.  To make the pillows I searched for a coordinating plain fabric of the same texture as the pattern for the front.


Here is a small sample of the fabrics I bought.....



Fabric sample squares



I love mixing patterns and textures and think that it is totally fine to do as long as all the fabrics have something in common.  In the case of these three fabrics, they are all shades of cream, gray, and black.  Wouldn't these look great mixed on your sofa?



CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT HOW TO SUCCESSFULLY MIX AND MATCH THROW PILLOWS




WHAT IF I CAN'T FIND SAMPLE DECORATOR FABRIC SQUARES?





If you don't have the option of finding the affordable decorator fabric samples, you can still make pillows following this tutorial  buying decorator fabric by the yard at the craft store.  You just have the extra step of cutting the fabric into equal sized squares before beginning!

And you can make your front and backs out of the same fabric or buy two different fabrics for the double sided pillow like I've made.


So here is what I did to make them...




HOW TO MAKE INEXPENSIVE DECORATIVE THROW PILLOWS USING SAMPLE FABRIC





I began by pinning the two coordinating squares together.  Make sure that the sides you want to show when the pillow is done are pinned facing each other on the inside.




Pinning fabric for pillow



The samples all measured close to 18 inches square, so I sewed an inch seam around the entire pillow ending up with a 16 inch sewn square to hold my pillow form.


Be sure to leave an opening on one side that is large enough to fit your pillow form into when you are done.



Stitiching pillow



When the pillow is sewn, cut each of the four corners of the fabric at a diagonal.  This will help your corners to be nice and crisp when the pillow is turned.  I actually turned the pillow and inserted my pillow form before I did this to ensure that the pillow would fit.  If you are comfortable with your sewing skills this is not necessary!



Cutting fabric for throw pillow



Once your corners are cut, turn the fabric right side out and carefully use a pointed object to push out the corners of your pillow.


Then insert your pillow form.  I purchased 16 inch square pillow forms (available at any craft store and online).


I like to add a bit more stuffing inside the pillow form before putting it inside the fabric case because I feel the pillows are never filled enough in the corners.



Stuffing pillow inside black and white pillow cover.



Pin the hole closed and do a blind stitch along the edges of the fabric to close your pillow shut.



Stitching black and white pillow closed



And you're done!  Didn't they turn out great?



Three pillows and green blanket



Using fabric samples to make pillows is easy even if you don't have great sewing skills because the samples are already similar sized and square.  But even if you can't find the samples, making a square throw pillow is still one of the easiest sewing projects you can do.


WANT TO TAKE YOUR PILLOW MAKING SKILLS TO THE NEXT LEVEL?


Learn how to make a simple envelope style pillow cover that you can remove!



Black and white floral pillow



Sorting through samples also forces you to be creative with mixing and matching patterns that you might not normally consider.



Three patterned pillows




And best of all, you can end up with some expensive fabric for your throw pillows at a super cheap price.  For the two fabrics and pillow form (purchased at 50% off), I spent less than $10 for each pillow!  What a bargain!



Stack of three pillows

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anderson+grant is a lifestyle blog dedicated to helping you to create a slower, simpler home with contemporary style.

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