Sew Warm and Cozy Pillows For The Holidays!

Pillows made from woolen mats are
easy and quick crafts that just about
 anybody can produce.

       Here are my three ideas for warm and cozy throw pillows to add a bit of style and flavor to your home decor during the holidays.

       A woven mat, from south of the boarder, (right) sewn into a simple pillow, adds plenty of character to my old mission furniture.

       To make this pillow you will need: one woven mat, embroidery floss, cotton stuffing, a woolen piece of fabric for the backing of the pillow and scissors.

       Cut the woolen fabric to the exact same size of the woven mat. Pin the two fabric pieces together. Blanket stitch around three sides. Stuff the pillow with cotton filler and then sew the remaining side shut with the same blanket stitch.

       Ever wonder what you could possible do with old 80s sweaters? Yes, I understand that some things should never be resurrected but, this one (below, left) had never even been worn. Hard to believe, isn't it?

       Once you have dug inside of your vintage stash, collect embroidery floss, needles, and stuffing for the inside of a pillow. Or use an old cushion and cover it with the sweater without going to the trouble of making a new pillow for this recycled version, I won't tell anyone!

My hand knit sweater looks much
better as a pillow!

       Cut the sweater approximately 1/8 inch larger than the measurement of your pillow. You will need two identical sides and these may be sewn together to either hide the seam or not, depending on the look that is most appropriate for the sweater's surface.
       The pictured knit pillow was sewn with the right sides facing out. I sewed the seams twice with a heavy blanket stitch. I find this necessary when working with something that was formerly knit. 
       Attempt to catch every loop of the knitting with the embroidery floss, otherwise your pillow will unravel.
       Stuff the pillow with the pillow form, not loose cotton batting. Loose batting will eventually get pulled out from in between the knitting!

       A heavily textured knit looks best when sewn together with a similar seam.  For a finer seam, it would be best to stitch the knitted pieces on a sewing machine in order to prevent unraveling.

       I appliquéd the heart and star wool pillows from old woolen trousers. I hate to toss expensive wool out when I can recycle it in a quilt, table runner etc... Wool is very durable and keeps it's shape longer than any other fabric. For this  reason, I prefer to use it in decorative pillows that I know my family will be using roughly for many years.

Applique woolen pillows that
I created for my family room.

       To make your own versions you will need: wool scraps, if you purchase these, I would suggest no less than 14 inches of five different patterns/solids, embroidery floss in a variety of contrasting colors, scissors, the templates below, printed and cut out, embroidery needles and soft cotton filler of your own choosing.

       Cut out the templates as directed.
      Cut out six hearts for the pillow depicted at the front of the photograph. The hearts are hand-sewn with a blanket stitch on top of 6 inch by 5 1/2 inch rectangles. There are three rectangles across and two rectangles from top to bottom. 
      Reserve approximately 16 1/2 inches by 13 inches of one woolen swatch for the back of this pillow. 
       Stitch these pieces together and stuff.
      For the folk star pillow, cut four stars, four lager penny circles and four small penny circles. Applique these pieces together as they appear in the photo. 
      You will need four, 8 inch by 8 inch squares for each star pattern and four additional squares for the back side of the pillow.

Wooley Ornament Crafts for The Christmas Tree Too:

• Lollipops made with wool yarn
• Peppermint pennies made with felt wool scraps
• Penny rugs for little folks to make here and here.

     

Click to download the largest available pattern. Would you like to try sewing
 some for yourself? Here are my free templates for the pillows pictured. This
template may be downloaded and sized in a word
document to fit the above measurements.