The Easiest Pillows Ever {Placemat Pillow Tutorial}

by 71 Comments

A few weeks ago I showed you my budget-friendly porch makeover with its bright and colorful pillows. The yellow pillows were from Kmart but the turquoise pillows I actually made out of placemats. It was my first time making placemat pillows, but with how easy they are to make you’ll be seeing a lot more during the holidays.

I remember seeing placemat pillows all over blogland last Summer and thinking I should make some. Well I finally got around to it and I’m in love with the simplicity of this project. What’s great about placemat pillows is that they’re fairly inexpensive to make. I bought my placemats for less than $3 each and the stuffing I already had on hand but you can find it at your local craft store.

To make your own you’ll need a seam ripper, placemats, stuffing, and a sewing machine or you could even hand stitch the seam close if you’d like.

Carefully open one seam and stuff the pillow. For this size of placemats I used half a package of stuffing for each one.

Insert pins and sew the seam close. If you need to, push the stuffing to the opposite side while you’re sewing then fluff the pillow when you’re done.

You can add flowers to embellish them or even a coordinating trim. I added fabric rosettes with a fabric button center. I’ve been on the lookout for the i-top button maker but can’t find it locally. But I did find this neat little device at Joann’s for a couple of bucks.

Fabric Rosettes Tutorial:

1. Iron interfacing to the back of your fabric.

2. Cut strips of fabric 1-2 inches wide depending on how big you want your flower to be.

3. Fold fabric strip accordion style and glue the ends together.

4. Press rosette down and hot glue the center together.

5. Add fabric button if desired.

I’m loving the porch makeover with its blue and yellow theme. I’ve received a lot of compliments from guests on how bright and cheery my porch looks.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  9. Katie

    I must have missed these too – but this is a fantastic idea! I love the embellishment and how quick and easy they are. Great job! Stopping by from “Not Just a Housewife”.

    Reply

  13. Brie

    What??!?!! I had no idea it was that easy! I’m definitely heading down to the store and picking up some place mats. Thank you so much!

    Reply

  18. Kristin C.

    I love the placemats. The colors, patterns, and cute covered button make this the cutest porch pillows I’ve ever seen ;)

    Visiting from Lil Luna and now a follower!

    Reply

  25. J. Young

    Love these pillows! I can’t wait to try them out, thanks so much for the great post! ( p.s., i do follow your blog but found this post on Delightful Order’s “Delightfully Inspiring Thursday Party” ! )

    Reply

  37. Susie @Bowdabra

    Oh my! These are fabulous! You take great pictures of your work, too! Very fun!

    We would LOVE for you to stop over and link up this awesome idea in our Crafty Saturday Showcase. The Showcase runs Saturday through Thursday. Then our Designers will pick their top linked up picks and feature them on Friday! Stop over and join in the fun! We have a linky for crafty bloggers and ETSY/Business Bloggers!

    Have a great weekend,
    Susie
    http://bowdabrablog.com/2012/05/26/saturday-showcase-craft-projects-3/

    Reply

  40. Seaweed & Raine

    I have had a placemat sitting in my stash for years that I was going to turn into a bag… I think it may have just found a new lease of life! :) Thanks for sharing your inspiration.

    Reply

  46. Tori

    Way way cute! I’m co-hosting The Cure for the Common Monday link party this week, so happy you linked up! These are just adorable and SO easy! Definitely pinning! And now following!

    Reply

  47. Amber

    That is excellent… I love the colours! I may have to scavenge my local dollarstore…. I could use some pillows for my patio and I think these would do the trick nicely :) Found you via Southern Institute’s linky! Cheers

    Reply

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