The Budget Casa

Pillows are a fabulous way to add color and texture to your rooms, but they can be so very expensive to buy. Conversely they are cheap and easy to make. Even if you don’t own a sewing machine and you’ve never lifted a needle in your life (and you don’t intend to) you can make your own pillow covers for less. All you need is some scissors, fabric, and ribbon.

Fabric and Ribbon
We recommend getting your ribbon from the Michael’s dollar bins. Right up near the registers at your local Michael’s craft store are wire bins full of beautiful ribbon for $1. Also check out your local Dollar Tree or Wal-Mart for cheap deals on ribbon.

For fabric, go fun and funky. Consider splurging a little on some designer fabric from J. Caroline Creative.

We love the Ice Casey Stroll fabric from Sis Boom Bell Bottoms. $8.50 a yard.


Or get ready for summer with the multi-pink floral in Summer Breeze from RJR. $8.50 a yard.


Etsy also has a fabulous collection of fabrics. We love Fabric Supplies’ store. It has a fabulous collection of some stunning designer fabrics. Check out these Amy Butler fat quarters for $7.75.

And you can never go wrong raiding your local thrift store for unique bed linens and table cloths that you can cut up and turn into pillows.

Also, try using table linens, cloth napkins and scarves for this project.



No-Sew Pillows

Materials

Fabric

Sharp scissors

Ribbon

Instructions

For a square pillow, cut two pieces of fabric 4-6 inches larger than the pillow.
Place the pillow in between the two pieces of fabric; make sure the pattern side of the fabric is facing outward.
Gather the fabric at the corners and tie them together with the ribbon. Make sure you bunch the fabric tightly. If you have enough fabric, try knotting the ends instead of using ribbon.
Note: For bolster (round pillow) cut one piece of fabric that will overlap in the middle of the pillow; leaving 4-7 inches of extra fabric on each end. Gather ends and tie with ribbon.

For the picture above we used linen place mats and tied them together with strips of white fabric. We had everything we needed in the house and the project cost $0.

Tips

Instead of tying off with ribbon, try folding in the edges of the fabric and sealing the seams together with hot glue.

Also, most fabric stores carry no-sew fusible tape, try using that on your seams.

Another great no-sew pillow project

Family Fun shows you how to make no-sew fleece pillows using knots.

Have you tried this project? Let us know how it goes in the comments or in the forums.