How to Make a Pillow

When I was little, my grandmother tried to teach me about crafts. Some of it I was good at, some I was not. One thing that was easy enough for me to do was to make a pillow. All it takes is a will and a few supplies to make this personal touch to your decor.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• two large handkerchiefs or pieces of cloth cut of the same size
• matching thread
• needle
• cotton or other stuffing of your choice
• safety pins
• scissors

1. Turn the two handkerchiefs back to back. What you want to show on the outside should be facing inside for now.

2. If you are using handkerchiefs, there should be a fairly easy line to follow as you sew. If you are using other pieces of cloth, use a pencil or felt pen to evenly mark where you will sew. You will need to use safety pins along these lines to hold the cloth in place as you go.

3. Thread your needle and knot the end. If you are not the greatest knot-maker (neither am I), one trick is to wrap the end around your finger several times. Then rub the loops together a few times. When you pull the mass off your finger, there should be at least one knot in there. Pull it tight. Keep in mind this is not the way the pros do it, but it works, and it will not be showing anyway.

4. Sew along your drawn or pinned lines until you are almost all the way around the square. Make sure your stitches are close together and seal the pillow. If you leave large gaps, your stuffing will come out and the pillow will not last very long. Leave a hole of about three inches in length. Pin the needle to the area where you have paused your sewing.

5. Flip the sewn squares inside out. Now what you wanted to be the outside of the pillow should be showing.

6. Stuff in either the cotton or other stuffing of your choice. You can even cut up old scraps of cloth to use as stuffing if you wish to recycle.

7. Now you must close the gap in the pillow. You can either knot the thread where you stopped before and start a new one or continue with the same thread here. These stitches will be showing on the outside so be careful to make them straight and tight.

8. Knot up the end of the thread and cut your pillow loose. If you have not done this before. Sew into the same loop over and over again until you are satisfied that it will stay closed. You can add some clear nail polish to it if you want to be absolutely sure it will stay. Enjoy your pillow!

Tips & Warnings

• You can use old but cherished T-shirts as your cloth for the pillow or even shirts with silk-screened pictures on them for a more personal touch.