DIY Decorator Pillows and Giveaway

This is an exciting week for fellow lovers of fabric and home decor.  Over the next four days, nineteen blogging friends are sharing DIY decorator pillows made with gorgeous fabrics from OnlineFabricStore.

DIY Decorator Pillow Tutorials

Pillows are one of the easiest ways to change the look of a sofa, chair or bed.  Making a DIY decorator pillow isn’t difficult and is something that anyone with basic sewing skills can accomplish.  Once you master the technique, it’s a snap to change the look of a room for not a lot of money.

Each participant in this challenge was invited to select one yard of fabric from OnlineFabricStore.  I love browsing through fabric selections and quickly decided that my DIY decorator pillow would be made using Braemore’s Ride Em Cowboy Chili fabric.  I loved the vintage look of this fabric, the color, and of course, the cowboys.

Yee-Haw!  After a short time at the sewing machine, I had two DIY decorator pillows with a fun cowboy theme to use in my home.

DIY Cowboy Pillow by virginiasweetpea.com

Do you like my vintage cowboy accessories?   The quiver, arrows, and game were my dad’s and date to the late 40’s or early 50’s.

Ride ‘em Cowboy!  This guy isn’t about to get bucked off his horse.

Vintage Cowboy Pillow by virginiasweetpea.com

Did you know that I am a former equestrian?  I don’t ride anymore but I’ve never lost my love for horses, thus the horses on this fabric immediately appealed to me.

DIY Decorator Pillow - Cowboy Theme

Now that you’ve seen the two pillows that I made with one yard of fabric, let me show you how I did it.

How to Make a DIY Designer Pillow

After my fabric arrived, I spread it out on my craft room floor to look for the repeat and to figure out what part of the fabric would be used for the two pillow fronts.

Braemore Ride Em Cowboy Chili Fabric

Since my pillow form was 16” x 16”, I cut each pillow front 17″ x 17” to allow for a 1/2” seam allowance on each side.  Two back pieces for each pillow were cut at 17” x  11.  I like to make envelope style pillow covers because they are simple to sew and are easily removed.

Pillow Pieces Cut Out

When sewing, your iron is just as important as your sewing machine.  Fold each inside edge on the two back pieces in 1/2” and iron into place.  Fold in again 1/2”, iron, and then sew.

How to Make a Pillow

Now the back pieces are ready to be pinned to the front pieces.

How to Make an Envelope Style Pillow

Right sides together, line up the edge of one back piece, then the other, and pin into place.

How to Make an Envelope Pillow

Sew around the perimeter of the pillow cover using a 1/2” seam allowance.

Seam allowance for a pillow

After sewing, trim the edges and clip the corners to remove bulk.

How to Make an Envelope Pillow

Turn the pillow cover right side out and press.  The pillow cover is ready to use at this point.  I added trim, so I had one more step.How to Make a Pillow

My trim came from a local estate store.  OnlineFabric offers this trim that would be a good match if you plan to make your own version of this pillow.

I sewed the trim to the edge of the pillow using a straight stitch.  Trim like this will unravel easily.  To prevent unraveling where I started and stopped applying the trim, I sewed over those areas a few times with a zig-zap stitch before I started the straight stitch.

How to Sew Trim to a Pillow

When I got to a corner, I clipped the temporary thread on the outer edge of the fringe.  After the fringe was sewn into place, the temporary thread was removed and the fringe was fluffed.

DIY Envelope pillow with fringe

OnlineFabricStore graciously provided me with a pillow insert.

Pillow Insert from OnlineFabricStore

I needed a second insert since I was able to make not one, but two pillows from my one yard of fabric.

I made a quick and easy insert with two pieces of drop cloth (any cotton fabric would work – the drop cloth was ironed and on top of my fabric stash) for my second pillow.DIY Pillow Insert

The inserts were added to the pillows and this project was done!

DIY Cowboy Themed Pillows by virginiasweetpea.com

If you don’t sew but want pillows for your home, OnlineFabricStore now offers ready-made decorative pillows at a very reasonable price.

Be sure to visit my friends who are also sharing DIY decorator pillow ideas and tutorials this week.  I can’t wait to see what fabric each selected and how they used their fabric to construct a pillow.

Fun With Fabric Pillow Tour

Monday

Girl in the Garage

Sweet Pea

Simply Fresh Vintage

Lilacs & Longhorns

Farm Fresh Vintage Finds

Tuesday

Inspiration for Moms

Curb Alert!

Postcards from the Ridge

Cupcakes and Crinoline

Wednesday

House on the Way

Fresh Idea Studio

Dio Home Improvements

What Meegan Makes

Restoration Redoux

Thursday

Country Design Style

Mrs. Hines’ Class

DIY180

Petticoat Junktion

Our Southern Home

38 Comments

  1. I love your pillows, Paula! I used a fabric very similar to that in my son’s room when he was a toddler — it brings back some good memories! How cool that you have your dad’s old bow and arrow set! It looks like it’s in perfect condition, too! 🙂
    Julie

  2. Thank you so much for sharing your instructions here for the pillow covers, very detailed and easy to follow! Love the vintage type fabric you chose too!!!

  3. Love your pillow – and that vintage collection is awesome!! I hope you have pictures of your Dad dressed as a cowboy when he was a kid!

  4. How fun are your pillows! They just the right touch for any vintage lover. I KNOW my hubby would LOVE your pillows. I like finding out more about you, too Paula,
    Make it a great day!

  5. Thank you for showing how to attach fringe in your tutorial! Love your pillows. I would choose the bird fabric. Thanks for the chance.

  6. I love your pillows and that fringe is to die for! If I were to pick a favorite pillow it would be the Hillstone Brown Paisley…it’s gorgeous!

  7. Your vintage cowboy pillow makes me smile. What fun! Thanks for the tutorial. I visited the Online Fabric Store, and I like the Artesia navy floral pillow!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.