Maybe you've seen them. Those awesome Pinterest pins of cozy winter rooms. A fireplace glowing and crackling. The mantle perfectly arranged with knick knacks. There is a plush white sofa and a chippy coffee table with a tray of steaming cocoa cups loaded with whip cream and sprinkles. A faux fur throw is draped artfully over one arm of the sofa and nestled in each corner is an awesome pillow that looks like your favorite sweater.
I admit it. Pinterest is a source of jealousy for me. I don't like to covet, but I just HAD to have those sweater pillows.
I don't know what they cost at the store. They're probably not all that much. But being a DIY-er means blood, sweat and tears, baby! We don't buy pillows at Pottery Barn. We MAKE them!
Or we die trying!
So, I was at a local thrift store, browsing the sweater section and WOW. They had LOTS of sweaters that fit the bill for a nice, cozy, wintery pillow. I grabbed two that I liked (size XL... I recommend larger if you want anything even remotely cuddle-sized). They were a nice, warm vanilla ice-cream color that is pretty much my favorite color for ANYTHING in decorating.
I also purchased two ugly, ruffly 80s pillows for less than three bucks. I needed a filler pillow, and these frilly guys were NEVER going to find a home unless I took them.
I brought my sweaters home and proceeded to chop them up with the enormous fabric scissors my hubby unearthed for me in the basement... or the "underhouse" as I like to call it. These primitive metal blades are like fine weaponry for a seamstress. They hacked through those thick, knitted sweaters like a hot knife through butter. You will want good scissors for this because bad ones will leave you with a pile of loose threads.
Once I got a roughly square-shaped couple of pieces, I took them to my sewing machine and made quick work of 3.25 sides. I left a gap on that fourth side big enough to stuff my dismantled pillow into. Then, many, many days later (because I'm a procrastinator), I hand-sewed that fourth side shut.
The results weren't quite as majestic as I had hoped. The pillows are a bit wonky, but they are certainly cuddly... and cute enough to pull out at Christmas-time and through the bleak January-February months. They will likely go away in the springtime and come back before the turkey is cold on Thanksgiving.
The biggest lesson I took away from this is that an XL sweater does not make a very large pillow. I think next time I'll look for a bigger filler pillow and maybe try to use the WHOLE sweater, sans arms.
But otherwise, I kinda love these cozy little guys. How 'bout you?
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