Aren’t these cloth napkins I bought at Target so stinkin’ pretty?!
They were on clearance for $2.08 each, which honestly wasn’t that much off of the original price, but I just LOVE the fabric!
So of course I had to have them. But us Hepworths and cloth napkins don’t mix. We are a casual group of eaters that prefer cheap-o napkins from IKEA or even just a paper towel.
But the fabric! It’s so pretty. And I just had to have it anyway. So I concocted a plan for these beautiful napkins. Why not make some pillows for my piano room?
I already had the pillow forms…
I stole them from my Christmas pillows. When I made the pillows 10 years ago I added invisible zippers so that I could use the pillows elsewhere the rest of the year. Except the one pillow pictured. I made it using leftover scraps and didn’t put in a zipper, so I’m just going to cut the pillow out of that one.
I’ve never made pillows out of napkins before, so I just kind of winged it. I’ll try to give a decent play-by-play, but I fear I’m not great at explaining how to sew stuff.
I wanted to add zippers to these new pillows, so I purchased two of these invisible zippers.
The napkins were already finished around all the edges, so I just went with it and sewed the zipper right onto the finished seam of the edge of two napkins. (Each pillow takes 2 napkins).
It doesn’t look “store bought” or “professional” but I think it still turned out pretty good. There are 3 stitch seams there; one is the already finished seam the napkin came with. The other two are the two new rows of stitching I did to attach the zipper.
The next step is to remove the excess fabric on the end of each napkin. I want square pillows, so I just cut the excess away to create a square (I added an inch for hemming).
Then I folded the edge twice and ironed it.
And finally I hemmed it so it would match the other 3 sides of the napkin. I did this to both napkins (already attached by the zipper).
And finally, I laid the two pieces of fabric together, right sides facing out, and I stitched along the very edge around the whole pillow.
The very outer stitch is my stitch that is holding the two napkins together. The inner stitch is the finished seam that came on each napkin.
I am seriously in LURVE with these two pillows. I love love LOVE them.
OBVIOUSLY these two chairs have got to go. And you can tell from the sideways artwork that this room is still a work in progress.
But I’m a step closer to being done with the room now that I have these fun pillows.
Have I mentioned that I love these pillows?
I love these pillows.
Total cost:
4 napkins ~ $8
2 zippers ~ $6
2 pillow forms FREE!
Grand Total: $14 for two new pillows.
{sew} easy!!!
Have you sewed anything fun lately?
Those are so cute! They will look great with that art piece! Thanks for the tutorial as well. I have sewn tons of pillows before, but have always been too intimidated to try a zipper.
Love them!!! I love the pattern on the napkins!
I just made new pillows for pretty much everywhere in the house! 🙂
Staci
These are really fun…good job.
These are really nice. Thanks for sharing, I learned something new with this post, believe it or not I had never heard of invisible zipper!
Love Love Love those pillows….so cute!
Very swanky! But P-L-E-A-S-E don’t get rid of the chairs. They need to be chic-cycled.
I vote for new fabric and frame painy and they will do those pillows sweet justice.
Hi, I just found your blog and wanted to let you know that I am a new follower! 🙂 love your blog!Erin
http://www.purplebookbloggingmommy.blogspot.com
I love your pillows too!! Bright and cheery and so modern….chic!!!
Hugs
SueAnn
I have a ton of linen cloth napkins from my wedding that I have never used and lately I’ve been stock-piling them to do this very thing!
OMG! I just bought the matching lamp at Target for $14! And i love that pattern! Did you see them?
The pillows look fabulous Allison! I love them! I made pillows for Christmas, and more after the new year with placemats I bought at Target on clearance! Love how easy stuff like that is!
Those pillows are darling.
ooo I love them they are so cute and add a fun splash of color to your chairs! I recently (last week) sewed up a Huge stuffed pig and some piglets! Fun.
Love these! What a great job you did!
xo,
Sena
These are fab! I love this line of napkins and plates they have right now at Target. I made a 2 tier serving stand out of a couple of the melamine plates from this grouping.
http://itysbitsypaper.blogspot.com
Really cute pillows!
I love the fabric!! I would’ve done the same thing!!! Which makes me want to change the fabric placemats that I NEVER use to pillow forms!! Thanks for the tute! Love your blog!
So bright and crisp — great job!