POTTERY BARN JINGLE PILLOW KNOCK OFF

I started a few projects back in November and I'm happy to say I can finally show you one of them completed.  The project completed is my Jingle Lumbar Pillow.  I  loved this pillow when I first saw it some time ago in the Pottery Barn catalog, however this pillow comes with a price tag of $39.50.  That price is just a bit much for me, and I knew I could make one for a lot less.

Here's my version....

You can view the inspiration for this Pottery Barn pillow here.

ADDING SOFT AND COZY WINTER ITEMS

The cold winter weather has hit us the past few days. Our temperatures have dipped into the teens and we woke up to snow falling this morning.  I decided it was time to add some soft and cozy winter items to the living room.  I'm not moving out my fall decor just yet, but just adding a few winter touches.

I love the chunky cable knit pillows that Pottery Barn has.  The drawback to the Pottery Barn pillows is the price tag they come with  - $59.50, on sale for $45.   As you may know, a few DIY's have come up with their own version of these pillows using recycled sweaters. You can find many of the tutorials on Pinterest. Since I had an old sweater that would work perfect for this project, I decided to plunge in and make my own too.

GIVE THANKS PILLOW ~ DIY

Fall is a wonderful time of the year and with the weather cooling it is a great time to work on a few projects indoors. I recently worked on a fall diy pillow. I showed it to you in my fall home tour .

 I love the Pottery Barn gather pillow, so decided to make my own pillow and change it just a bit using the words give thanks.  Today I'll  show you how I made it and then you can make one for yourself if you'd like.

The first thing you will need is fabric.  I used left over drop cloth fabric for this project, but duck canvas or cotton fabric would work also.

SNOWFLAKE PILLOWS (tutorial)

We awoke to record cold temperatures today in Minnesota. It was -17 degrees on the thermometer, with wind chills of minus 40 to minus 55 degree Fahrenheit.  Now I'd say that is COLD!  It's a great day to stay inside where it's warm and cozy, and share a winter craft.

You may remember seeing my snowflake pillow in my Christmas Home Tour.  I've had several people ask about them.  Today I'll give you a tutorial on how I made them.

I was inspired to make snowflake pillows when I saw the cute pillows Anna at Noodlehead made.  She gives a free template for the snowflake.

POTTERY BARN WREATH PILLOW KNOCKOFF

It's been almost two years ago since I first saw a beautiful wreath pillow at Pottery Barn.   The beautiful tone on tone pillow is still on my mind almost two years later.

You can imagine my disappoint to find out that it's no longer available, but then I thought to myself: "I can make that"!   We woke up to snow last week and four degree temperatures this week; and because of the cold outside, I started to think about Christmas and winter projects.  It was the perfect time for me to try making a pillow.  While browsing  on Pinterest, I saw a few knockoffs for this pillow, one of them from The Decorated House.

Here's what I did to create my own version of the pillow.

I gathered supplies that I had around the house.

POCKET PILLOWS FOR FALL

My house has been in disarray because of the office makeover. Because of this, I've only put out a few of my fall decorations in the dinning room.  I'm anxious to put more of them out in the living room and family room.  

While shopping at Jo Ann's recently, I came across some lovely fabric.   The only problem was that it came with the price tag of $39.99 a yard.  Sometimes I splurge a little, but it still has to fit in our budget.  This fabric would make very pretty drapes but that isn't in our budget.  Instead of a large expensive project, I decided to indulge and bought a small amount of this fabric using a 50 % off coupon. The coupon made the price of the fabric more affordable for this thrifty girl, making the total cost seven dollars.

I love the blue in the fabric and the browns and tans making it perfect for a fall.   I took a little break from my office project, and whipped up a set of pocket pillows.  If you'd like to make a  pocket pillow yourself, you can see the tutorial in my post Simple Pillows Anyone Can Make.  ( If you don't sew you could make these pillows using iron on fabric tape.)

Pocket pillows fit into a limited budget because you can just slip them over a pillow you already have in your home.   That's exactly what I did slipping the covers over some pillows I had from spring and summer.  Now my living room will have fall accents for a fraction of the cost of buying store bought pillows.  If you've priced pillows at department stores, you'd know these pillows would cost you anywhere from $14 to $30 each whereas my pillows only cost seven dollars for both pillows.

I love the fact that they're not your traditional brown, orange and red colors for fall, but the colors I have and love in my home.  That is also a big plus if you make your own.  You can pick what ever fabric you'd like.

Simple Pillows Anyone Can Make

I created some pillows last evening that are so simple

even the beginner sewer can make one.  

While shopping at a thrifty store recently,

I found a Laura Ashely English Country Print fabric remnant
for .50 cents.
  I've been making pillows for my living room; and when I saw this remnant, I knew immediately that it would work great to make a pocket slipcover.

Here's how I made them ... using what I had and my .50 cent remnant. 

I started out with an old down pillow from my storage room...

...and removed the old pillow covering.


1) Measured the pillow to determine how much fabric I'd need.


Pillow dimensions:

Width = 16 inches 
Length = 16 inches

Fabric dimensions:
Width: 16 inches
Length: 16 X 2 = 32 + 4 inches = 36 inches



I then cut the fabric to the needed measurements.

2. Took the fabric and folded it over each end 1/2 inch...

...and ironed it.

3. Sewed the ironed piece down using a straight stitch.


4. Removed the fabric from sewing machine and
folded the fabric right sides together...

making sure to overlap 
what will be the backside of my pillow by 3 1/2 inches.
(This will make your pocket.)

5. I then pinned it together.  Using a 1/2 inch seam 
allowance, I sewed the sides together
trimming the seam corners with a scissors.


6. Turned the pillow right side out.
( Use your scissors as a tool to get the fabric stuffed into the corners well.)
Pressed it well with a steam iron.

7. And finally, stuffed my pillow into my newly form pocket.

Easy Peasy... I created a Pocket Pillow Cover!
This took me only 10 minutes to create!


I was having so much fun, I decided to recover another old pillow 
using fabric leftover from my drop cloth curtains and Pottery Barn Inspired Pillow.

( I got my inspiration for this pillow form a blog I'd seen some months ago....sorry to say I can't remember which blog.)

Here it is before adding the covered buttons.

In this close up shot you can see the drop cloth fabric on the left. I left the raw edged on the ruffle to add a little texture.

Covered buttons up close.

Before...

After

Joy

I'm linking this post to... 

My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia - Tuesday Treasures 
Just a Girl