If you haven't noticed, cable knit pillows are pretty much everywhere this winter season. Pottery Barn, West Elm, even Walmart... they all have their version. But, as a starving student (not literally), I can't justify spending $30 or more for a pillow that I'll probably only have out for the winter season. So... being that I'm on a DIY binge, I decided to pick up a couple of cable knit sweaters and some other goodies when I was at Goodwill a couple of weeks back. I just love Goodwill! Don't you?
Last week, I finally busted out the sewing machine and scissors. Here's the sweater I started with.
I simply cut out a square a little larger than the pillow I was covering, which was pretty much the whole front of it.
I picked up the pillow at Ikea for $8 and some fleece from Joanne's, which is 50% off right now, for the back. I used about 2/3 yard for each pillow, but make sure to measure your pillow (and add for seam allowance) first.
I made the pillows so that the front has a layer of fleece underneath so that you aren't able to see through to the cheap pillow insert (the second sweater had much larger gaps in the knit). So I layered the fabric like so: fleece for the front, then sweater, then fleece backing.
I also wanted the cover to be removable so that I could easily change it in the future. To do this I made the back with two separate pieces of fleece with a folded edge on the outside piece for a finished look. Remember to pay attention to how you have your fabric laid out before you start sewing. You should have the "good sides" facing toward each other (you are sewing it inside out).
Hey look, a visitor!
Once you're done sewing, trim the excess fabric off and cut the corners close to your seam so that they will point nicely.
The flip inside-out and put it on your pillow insert. Ta da!
I also made a few others with the second sweater, which I bleached first (as you can see in the first photo, it was a bit more yellow before), and some pillows I already had. So with 2 sweaters at $6 each, 2 yards of fleece at $10, and a pillow at $8, I got 3 pillows for $30. Great deal right! You could save even more if you had old sweaters to use or recovered your own pillows. I'm loving how they turned out! I think they're the perfect addition to give your home that cozy winter feel. What do you think?
Cute and quite crafty!!
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