Handmade Christmas Gifts

Wrote by Better Home

Warm and Cozy Pillows

 
 Fashion the best parts of well-worn sweaters and faded denim jeans into patchwork pillow chic.

What You Need:

Ruler
Tracing paper
Pencil
Scissors
Vintage or worn 100-percent wool sweater
Denim jeans
Sewing machine
Sewing thread
Iron
Ironing board
Sewing needle
Buttons in assorted sizes 
Polyester fiberfill or a ready-made pillow insert
Long needle for button-tufting (optional)


Instructions:
1. Determine pillow size and draw a tracing-paper pattern. Add a 1/2-inch seam allowance all around and cut out the pattern.
2. For added texture, felt the sweater or woven wool by immersing in a large Dutch oven filled halfway with water. Bring the water to boiling and boil for 30 minutes. Carefully remove the sweater. Wring out the excess water when the sweater is cool enough to handle. Dry the sweater in a dryer.
3. For the pillow front, cut pieces from the felted wool and denim. Sew the pieces together, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance, for a patchwork appearance.
4. Use the tracing-paper pattern to trim the pillow front to size.
5. For the pillow back, cut and piece two pieces of wool to the same size as the pillow front. Right sides facing, sew the front to the back, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance and leaving a long opening in one side for turning. Clip the corners, turn the pillow cover to the right side, and press.
6. Stuff the pillow with fiberfill or a ready-made pillow insert. Slip-stitch the opening closed.
7. To tuft the pillow, securely sew a button to the center front, using a long threaded needle. Push the needle through to the pillow back and return it to the front through the button hole, pulling the thread tight. Secure a button to the back of the pillow. Pull the thread tight, knot the end closest to the button, and cut the thread.

More Ideas:

Sew together alternating squares of felted wool and denim for a patchwork throw.
Sew together scraps of clothing, such as plaid flannel shirts or wool skirts, to make the pillows.

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