DIY Throw Pillows: Sewing my way to New Home Decor, Come Join the Fun!

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I’ve been a throw pillow slacker these past few years. A recent move to a “transitional” house has gotten me out of that funk…way way way out of that funk. We are currently building our “forever home” and I’m just itching to put my mark on it, in the mean time, these pieces will help me stage our current flip house.

It all started with that little tiny tooth tooth fairy pillow in the front and in true “Abbey-Style” it morphed into every pillow in the house, plus some inserts that I bought on Amazon, then some more inserts that I bought during prime day. What is that saying? Go big or go home? Well I went big…at home.

First things first, I started shopping. I went to a couple high-end home furnishing stores in my town and discovered that the pillows I liked ranged in price from $100-$300, were handmade, and were typically made out of fabric that I couldn’t buy without a “trade account.” I am here for spending more money for higher quality (hand-made) items, but I knew my husband would have a heart attack if I spent that much on the many, many pillows I wanted to update.

Annnnnd I know a thing or two about sewing, so why not just make them myself?! After looking into getting a “trade account” I decided that I would find some alternative options to that, but honestly may continue down that rabbit hole on another day….if I decide throw-pillow making is “my thing.”

Before undertaking all of the fabric purchasing for this endeavor, I did some research on exactly how to go about sewing these pillows, what types of pillows I liked, and if it would even be worth my time to sew these pillows. In the past, I’ve been known to make mistakes and correct them as I sew projects, I was determined to do a little research (in an attempt to avoid the mistake portion of my creative process) before I started my throw-pillow extravaganza. I’ll walk you through the process.

After I decided I’d be sewing these pillows myself, I needed to figure out how to get fabric or embellish fabric in such a way that it fit in with my envisioned design scheme. I based my colors off the colors on the (thrifted) vase in this picture. I scoured my local JoAnns for good deals on fabrics in the right colors. The only fabric that matched my plan was this gorgeous bamboo print by Sarah Richardson for Kravet. I managed to snag mine in the clearance section. I have found a couple of yards for sale here. If I find more, I’ll link it too. I used this embroidery design by Herrington Designs to pull in the pink and green colors. Having an embroidery machine enabled me to basically “make” the trade fabric look using less expensive fabrics.

During this project I ran across THE most helpful YouTube channel EVER for pillow sewing. A Square Pillow Isn’t Square taught me how to add “welting” to a pillow, that a square pillow is actually rounded a bit (mind blowing!) and how to add a zipper to a pillow. I have since found this cool template on Etsy that has the exact shape of the throw pillow cover drawn out already.

After choosing a color scheme and finding some inexpensive fabric, I learned that the trims in home dec sewing are diverse, have their own language, their own types of applications, and vary DRAMATICALLY in price. I opted to make a lot of my own “welting” (glorified piping) but did find some reasonably priced trims here. If you’re looking for pillow/trim inspiration, I found quite a bit of it by shopping sites like this, and by looking at Wheaton Whaley’s incredibly inspiring instagram feed/website.

I then landed on the motherload of home dec fabrics that I absolutely love. Danika Herrick designs fabrics for Spoonflower and her prints are exactly my style. I chose the “performance linen” fabric for these pillows. I reached out to her on Instagram and she graciously gave me a promotion code to share with you. If you use code “Danika20” during checkout you will receive 20% off your order. Her designs are classic “grandmillienial” and because she’s got them on Spoonflower, you can buy them in any type of fabric. Its basically a goldmine.

During all this pillow sewing frenzy, Instagram did what it does best and popped something glorious in my feed. Y’all, how cute is this inspiration below??

After seeing it, I needed it to by mine, just in my color scheme. My boys’ needed new bedding and this pillow would be my inspiration. I used these sheets from Walmart (60% cotton/40% poly and a whole lot of fabric for your buck!) and this giant ric rac (dyed to match) to make my dreams come true. And of course, added a giant monogram because…why not? The coverlets and the comforter are also form Walmart.

So, some of my giant take-aways from the past month or so of home dec sewing are:

• Mix and match expensive and inexpensive trims and fabrics to get a high-end “curated” look.
• Add embroidery for a custom look and to help achieve a color scheme you want.
• Mix inexpensive bedding pieces with custom throw pillows and it all looks expensive.

I think I’m done with home-dec sewing for a bit. My fingers are itching to smock! Fortunately, I think the sewing I have done will be the icing on our flip-house and should help to draw buyers when we are ready to sell. I also kept my color pallet in each of the rooms pretty similar, so all of this decor should transfer nicely into our next home. I hope you enjoyed reading about the process, if you want to see it play out in real time, follow me on Instagram @AbbeyDWilkinson.