Turn a Simple Placemat into a Fabulous Throw Pillow!

I love throw pillow! Tapestry throw pillows are just so “fancy.” I don’t however love the ridiculous price of those fabulous little pillows. I have seen little tapestry throw pillows from $20 and up?!?! That is SO out of my budget. But guess what? My house is filled with tapestry throw pillows and I am going to tell you how I make them for just a few dollars each!

You don’t have to spend a lot to have the finer things in life. Okay, well at least when it comes to throw pillows. LOL If you can sew a straight line (or sorta straight) you can whip these out by the dozens! The key is to use tapestry placemats to make them!

You can pick up tapestry placemats for just a few bucks at various stores. I like to get mine at Dollar General, but you can get them at Dollar Tree too. I find the ones from Dollar Tree are a little misshaped, which makes them harder to sew. The placemats from Dollar General usually run about $2 a piece or 2 for $4. And if you wait till after the holiday they were meant for you can usually pick them up for half price!

For the backs of the pillows I usually just use leftover materials from other sewing projects. The backs of these were done with black from the oldest country kid’s Grim Reaper Halloween costume. Simply lay the placemat on the fabric and cut it to size. Straight edges aren’t that important as the pillow, when turned right side out to stuff will hide any edge issues.

Place the placemat and the fabric with the “right” or good sides together and pin it. Pinning it will make it easier to quickly run it through your sewing machine.

Try to stay as close to the edge of the placemat as possible when sewing. This will give it a cleaner look when you turn it right side out. Sew three sides completely closed. On the fourth side, leave and opening big enough for you to get your hand in to turn it right side out and be able to put stuffing in.

Once you have the pillow sewn, take it off your machine and turn it right side out. Just stick your hand in the pillow and grab the far corner and pull it threw the opening. Once you have it right side out, it is time to stuff and close your pillow. I use polyfill to stuff my pillows. You can do a couple of pillows per bag. Once you have the pillow as full of stuffing as you want it, it is time to close your opening.

Fold your edges in and pin it. You could try to run a stitch on your machine to close the pillow, but I have found doing it by hand just makes it look a lot nicer. Just use a simple stitch will do. The length and straightness of your stitch don’t really matter either, as they blend in very nicely to the tapestry.

 These are SO easy to make, but look like a million bucks! I love to make them for our home, but they also make amazing gifts as well. Here is one I did for my mother for Thanksgiving.

18 thoughts on “Turn a Simple Placemat into a Fabulous Throw Pillow!

  1. Those are super cute. My mom gave me a pile of plain ones that she didn't use. They might be nice for the back side but I guess I need to look for some fronts or see if I have any matches to make plain pillows. Thanks for the idea 🙂

    1. You can be a very basic seamstress and pull these off. Just simple straight sewing on the machine and the hand stitched close area, when you use these tapestry mats is VERY forgiving on how you do it. Give it a try, you might be pleasantly surprised!

  2. I have been wanting to make these but I haven't found any place mats I like!!! You have inspired me to hunt some down to try this project. Happy Holidays!

  3. These are so sweet! I have done this with old upholstery samples, but not with place mats. Good idea!

  4. How very clever! Thanks for sharing this post at Tuesdays with a Twist! -Marci @ Stone Cottage Adventures

  5. I love this idea!! Definitely pinning! 🙂
    Thanks for sharing n the Homestead Blog Hop. I hope we see you there again today.

  6. What a great idea! Even I can sew a straight stitch. Thank you for the inspiration. Pinned!

  7. They do look like a million bucks and so easy and effective. I love the turkey! I think I could even make these. Thanks Mindie for sharing with us at #OvertheMoon and Happy New Year.

    1. I just picked up two more placemats at an after Christmas sale for 30 cents for BOTH! I am addicted to making these LOL

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