Rethink textiles: Use Napkins and Other Fabrics to Make Throw Pillows.

 Think Outside the Decor Box!

Recently I have been thinking of inexpensive ways to update my basement.  It is one of the places in my home that I am not totally excited about. And, because the walls are all paneled (well one side) I decided that it would be best if I went with a rustic look since I am a fan of rustic décor.

So, I began to look at my basement again through a different lens and planned on using my leather sofa and chair as a starting point.  While brainstorming ideas, I came across an adorable living-room in a design magazine, which had the cutest burlap pillows.  I searched the internet and almost purchased some for $16.00 each.  However, something told me to wait and I did. I continued to look at throw pillows in stores like Marshalls, Home Goods, & T.J. Maxx, but even those pillows were 16.99 and up.  Then one day, I decided to walk into my local A.C. Moore to scope out some large picture frames for a large art project I am working on using shims (will post about this later), and they had burlap sacks for 2.99. Instantly, I knew I hit the jackpot.

I decided to make my own throws using the burlap sacks and tools I had at home. While my brain was stewing up how I would accomplish this, I came across some napkins/place mats and decided to hack those too and make some throws for my bed. Besides they were dirt-cheap in the clearance section of Marshall’s home décor section at 3.99. What did I have to lose?

Tools for making pillows.

Here is what I did for the burlap throws:

• 1       Gathered my tools: scissors, seam ripper, Beacon’s Fabri-Tac permanent adhesive and two large Serta Pillows (I needed pillow stuffing).

• 2    I began to cut the burlap sack into three sections.

• 3      I glued the bottom section and left the top sections open. I left a section open so that I could stuff the filler in. 

*tip: If you want the seams on your pillows to be smooth you can turn the fabric inside out to glue and then reverse to stuff. I wanted the seams ragged to add to the rustic element.

4       Fill each pillow, close top seam, let dry and voila!

      My steps for the napkin/place mat throws were almost the same except the napkin throws had to be glued around all four edges where the burlap pillows only needed to be glued on two sides (since they were already in sack form).  For these I glued section by section, which is pretty quick.

The place mats were the quickest because they were double sided and I only ripped about half the way down on one end to stuff the pillows. I then used the Fabri-Tac to close them up.

·        The great thing about using napkins/ place-mats is that they have clean edges and once bonded they create a seamless look. No one would guess that they were ever tableware.

Side seam of place-mat.

Top of Napkin.

End result!

Cost:

1 Burlap sack: $3.21

4 Pack of Napkins $4.27

2 Place-mats $3.25 each

2 pillows (used for filler) $6.49 for both.

Seam ripper, Fabri-Tac, and scissor were free as I already owned them.

                Bottom line: $20.47 for a total of 7 throw pillows.