Variations On A Basic Pillow

There are endless possibilities when it comes to adding a bit of interest to pillows. Here are a couple ideas I tried this past Friday.


To make each of these pillows, I followed the steps shown in the "Really, it's not that hard to make pillows" tutorial, but then got a little creative.


This chunky vintage looking trim was found on clearance a few months back at Joann Fabrics. I wish there had been several rolls available! Two lengths of trim were cut for each of the two 12x16 inch pillows being made from the Slubby Basket fabric in Parrot from Calico Corners.


The cut lengths of trim were attached to the pillow fronts by stitching the trim ends to the fabric at the pillow side seams. Afterwards the pillows were sewn together using the tutorial seen here.


Seeing I still had enough of the Parrot fabric, along with a bit of the same fabric in the Linen color (leftover after adding trim to the drapes) I decided to make another pillow. First two 19-inch squares were cut from the Parrot fabric. Then, taking one of the 19-inch pillow pieces, six-inch squares were cut from each of the four corners.


Next four seven-inch squares were cut from the Slubby Basket in Linen. These squares will be sewn onto the four corners that have been cut away.


See what I had in mind? A pillow I once had my eye on from Jonathan Adler gave me this idea.


The cut squares were sewn to the corners of the pillow front by stitching one side of the cut square to one side of the cutout, sewing with a 1/2-inch seam allowance. The stitching ends 1/2-inch before the corner of the cut square.


Next the Parrot fabric was clipped from the corner to the end of the stitch line. This allowed the Linen square to be shifted around to the remaining side of the cutout on the pillow front. Then the second side of the square was sewn together, starting at the square corner and stitching out to the pillow edge.


After pressing the seams of the patched pillow front, the front side of the pillow was sewn to the back, with an opening left on one side to insert the pillow. Then the opening was stitched closed. I'm going to have to make more pillows using this technique! It is very easy and what a great look. There are endless possibilities when you think of making pillows with remnants of fabric. Just think of all the variations possible with a creative mix of fabrics, using this pattern, stripes or a collection of squares sewn together.




It would be very nice to have a dark blue gray pillow added to the mix, perhaps replacing the chocolate one. It would tie in beautifully with the canvas above, as well as the adjoining Master Bathroom.




I really want to wrap up this Master Bedroom Redesign project soon! What is left? An art wall, bedskirt, bedding and perhaps a few final accessories. It's getting close!