Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Dollar Store Dishtowel Becomes Pillow

It’s DIY day!
DIY Day @ ASPTL

Dollar Tree is in full-swing Christmas, and on a recent trip I found some really cute kitchen towels with pom-pom fringe. There were several different styles and colors. I thought it would be cute to make a little pillow out of one.

IMG_4487

I cut the strip of fringe off, leaving the stitching intact.IMG_4489

Then I cut the strip in half. I had considered buying more towels so I would have enough fringe to go all the way around the pillow, but decided that would kind of defeat the purpose of a dollar store craft. I wanted to use just one towel.IMG_4492

I laid everything out and fiddled with it a bit. My original thought was basically just fold the towel in half and put the fringe on either end, but realized that the scale would be off that way.IMG_4495

I ended up cutting it down to 10”x14”.IMG_4496

I pressed under about 1/4” on each long edge.IMG_4497

I cut it in half, and then stitched across the top and bottom, leaving the sides open. I was making this up as I went along, and in retrospect, it was probably unnecessary to cut it in half. I could have just folded it over and stitched one edge.IMG_4498

Next, I turned it right side out and sandwiched a strip of the fringe between the folded edges of one side. Pinning is very helpful here. Then I sewed straight down that edge, being sure to catch the strip of fringe in the seam. Just to be sure, I did a second seam about 1/8” over.IMG_4500

I repeated this on the other side, except this time I left a couple of inches open so I could stuff the pillow with polyfil. Once stuffed, I went back and sewed it closed, and again did a second seam.

For you non-sewers, I don’t see why you couldn’t make this with Fabri-tac and never sew a stitch!IMG_4501

Voila! A cute little decorative pillow! Total cost: $1, plus negligible cost for polyfil. I’ve had a big bag of it for over a year, used it for several different things, and I still have a ton left.IMG_4502

I did not wash/pre-shrink the towel ahead of time, so this is spot clean only. I’ve never had good luck with polyfil going through the washing machine.

You could whip up several of these to give as hostess gifts, or to tuck in a gift basket full of other goodies, or for unexpected drop-in visitors. (They always say that in magazines, but I’ve never been on either end of the drop-in visitor gift-giving, have you?)

22 comments:

Maryann @ Domestically-Speaking said...

love it!

Melissa said...

Adorable, as usual. Heart that Dollar Tree!

michelle@somedaycrafts said...

That is so cute! Love the little pompoms!!!

Destination Seaborn said...

What a great idea! Holidays bring the cutest dishtowels, but I never buy them because I don't want to use them as dishtowels...they're too cute! Thanks for sharing...

Lisa

Trish @TheOldPostRoad said...

Very cute! Thanks for the idea!

Jen said...

Very chic! I love it!~

Anna said...

the pillow is so cute, love dollar tree!

Lucy Marie said...

Very cute. I would never think to make something like that.

dixie said...

Love how it came out!!!

Delightful Dwelling said...

It's so cute, what a great dollar store find.

Kurtzhals said...

First off, that towel is totally cute. I was wondering...sometimes they got some cheeseball stuff there but that is a great find.
Second, totally awesome idea on how to repurpose the fringe.
Thirdly, have you ever seen when people put lavender or other herbs inside pillows and use them as little door hangers? I may try this with that and throw it on my guest bedroom door or bathroom door. Super cheap and awesome!

Vanessa said...

This may be the best idea I've seen all day! So creative and so CHEAP!! Kudos to you! I'm about to run out to my dollar tree now! : )

Charlene said...

Cute, cute, cute! This solidifies it...I'm asking for a sewing machine for Christmas.

Kate @ The Gaines Gang said...

I Soooooo love this. I saw those towels there and wondered what to do with them.

Thanks for sharing!

Kate

Amanda @ Serenity Now said...

You are brilliant! :) Such a cute little pillow. I want one now too!!

Nissa said...

Great idea! I bought one of those towels today, but now I may have to go back & get some more to try your idea :)

The Pleasures of Homemaking said...

That's so cute!

Manuela

Jennifer {Studio JRU} said...

What a great idea!! I love the pom-poms on the sides!

Melinda said...

A bright idea for the upcoming season!

Melinda

Amy {The Red Chair Blog} said...

This is darling! I've been eyeing those cute ball fringe dish towels at Dollar Tree lately!

Expressions by Heather said...

Simply adorable! I saw those towels myself, and was tempted to pick one up, but had no idea what to do with them! Great idea!

Heather
theherberfamily.blogspot.com
My Frugal Family

auntie said...

That is a fabulously cute little pillow!! I just found your blog so I'm working my way through your archives...love it!