How to Embellish Pillows

Create an heirloom-to-be with this craft project. An embellished pillow makes a beautiful handmade gift. You will want to make one for each room of your own home, as well. The options are limitless and fitting for any decor style. Recycled supplies for adorning the pillows can come from your remnant fabrics, trims and even broken jewelry. There are sew and no-sew options suggested below to suit every level of crafter.

Things You'll Need

• Pillow Decorative trim Miscellaneous embellishments Thread (matching pillow and/or trims) Needle Straight pins Spray adhesive (optional)

Instructions

1. Select a base pillow. Any shape is fine, but smaller, accent-style pillows work best for embellishing. Consider fabric texture, sheen and color to match the room's décor, the season or the holiday. Select trims such as ribbon, lace, doilies, vintage hankies, beads, sequins, vintage jewelry remnants, charms or an old skeleton key.

2. Lay out selected trims atop the pillow loosely and freely to create a pleasing design. Start with a doily, hanky or lace remnants in the center of the pillow. Using straight pins, hold the fabric in place. Thread a needle and whipstitch along the edge to secure in place.

3. Choose a trim or edging, if desired, and attach it to the edge of the pillow using straight pins. Stitch the trim in place.

4. Arrange the next layer of the design atop the doily, hanky or lace. This would include the embellishments. Again, work out the pattern first, then secure in place either with hand stitching or hot glue. In the sample picture, an iridescent red ribbon is tied to a skeleton key and looped into the crocheted doily openings.

5. Add a vintage pin, clip earring or pendant to the center of the pillow for a super simple, no-sew alternative that still adds much elegance.

Tips & Warnings

• If you prefer not to hand stitch the trim fabrics atop of the pillow, use spray adhesive instead. Cut an inverted "V" shape in the bottom of decorative ribbon to create a polished look and prevent fraying. For a wedding or bridal shower gift, consider using a remnant of a family wedding dress, veil, or even a glove. For a baby shower gift, add a baby bootie and adorn with a rattle or baby bracelet.

• Avoid heavily patterned fabrics for the pillow, as they may clash with trims or make it difficult to coordinate.