Pages

Friday, December 30, 2011

From Discount to Decor!

I have about 43 decorative pillows in my home. Well, maybe not THAT many! But lately, I haven't felt too fond of the ones I DO have. They need a refreshing - new shapes, new colours, new prints. I think little changes like this will be perfect for the New Year.

So today I began with the pillows on the master bedroom bed. I wanted something cozy ( and cheap!), so after perusing Pinterest, I hit the second hand store and bought these:A couple of woolly Irish Knit sweaters from the ladies department. I had come on the right day, too, because everything was an additional 50% off!
So I actually only paid half of this:
Not bad, eh? And because I was covering pillows I already had, this was my only cost!
Shopping done, ( I got some other really great second hand bargains - but I'll share those in another post!) now the pinning, cutting and stitching part of the project.
First I turned the sweater inside out and placed my pillow form inside. This allows me to find out exactly how much sweater to cut-off.
I then pinned the sweater snuggly around the pillow form. I made sure the cable designs were straight and balanced equally on the pillow shape. My pillow form fit perfectly into the sweater, right up to the turtleneck. I pinned across the lower-neckline of the sweater.
I am glad I had some sharp scissors for the next part. After removing the pillow form, I cut a 1/2 inch seam allowance around the pinned circumference.
Immediately my sweater began unravelling, so headed to the sewing machine and quickly zig-zag stitched around the whole edge. After, using the pins as a guide, I switched to a straight stitch and sewed around 3 of the 4 sides of the pillow cover. I left the bottom open so that I could slip my pillow form back into the cover. Then with matching thread, I hand-stitched the bottom of the pillow closed.
Ta-da!! Don't they look great? And I managed to sew 2 sweater pillows in less than an hour for a grand total of $6.00!!Ah the cozi-ness of it all - sweater pillows, the handmade cream-coloured quilt we received as a wedding -present from my aunt and the patchwork quilt I made for university dorm-room 16 years ago. Oooh -I could snuggle into that bed right now!
Our bedroom is slowly coming together - new wallpaper, new headboard, new pillows, and the new hot-water bottle and cover my hubby gave me for Christmas. Picture perfect!
Thanks for visiting! Please leave a comment - I love reading them all! And please- BECOME a FOLLOWER!

14 comments:

  1. Great idea! I love how your pillows turned out! They look so comfy!

    Thanks for stopping by to link up for Functional Friday!

    ~Angela

    ReplyDelete
  2. These look so cozy! I really like the cables on the creamy white pillow. Great job! I'm your newest follower from My 1929 Charmer

    http://chickenscratchny.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have always like this idea. But have just imagined it would unravel badly. Thanks for the tips. Thank you so much for sharing. I will follow on my way out so I can revisit. I hope you can find the time to come visit me and do the same. HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Cheers SpecialK XoXo

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh what a cute idea! Thanks for sharing. Also, thanks for stopping by and leaving a sweet a comment:) A new follower too! Happy New Year!

    ReplyDelete
  5. So great! I love the coziness of the sweater pillows, and a shopper after my own heart, love it. thanks. Little Bit from DecorateWithaLittleBit.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Such a great idea! I love the sweaters and they look great on your bed:)

    ReplyDelete
  7. They look fantastic!
    Wish you the best for the new year :)

    ReplyDelete
  8. I love your ideas........in fact I just picked up 2 sweaters from Goodwill this AM. Did you also make the hot water bottle cover? I will continue to follow your creative ideas.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I love the look of the sweaters, it's a great winter look. I've used sweaters for the holidays, but not otherwise. Now I will. Love the combination of sweaters that you used. Thanks for sharing over at Sunday's Best, love seeing what your up to!

    ReplyDelete
  10. omg.... those are so cute! I love the cable knit.

    ReplyDelete
  11. You were featured for Functional Friday!

    ~Angela

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hi Bronwyn;
    I love your blog - so crafty. I made similiar pillows to yours but used cardigans so that I could take the pillow form out and wash the sweater and then just button them back in again.
    I love the color of yours!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Those are great! I've been seeing these lately and really want to try it. Thanks for the tutorial!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your sweater pillows turned out wonderful! I have some that I paid a fortune for! I also really liked your little Christmas shelf with the bowls containing different bulbs. It was so well put together. Thank you for visiting my blog and for your kind words!

      Delete

Thanks so much for popping by my little world. I'd love to hear from you. Comments make my day!!