Thrifty Gifty #1—Repurpose Clothing as Pillows

Joining Frugal Friday at the Shabby Nest and Holiday Linky Friday at The Inspired Room. and Sat. Night Special at Funky Junk Interiors.I’m going to be doing a series through Christmas on really inexpensive gifts you can make with thrift store finds. Also, linky parties for you to show your thrifty gifts Dec. 4, 11, and 18. Grab my button (code on sidebar) and spread the word!

It all started with this faux suede pillow. I got it at Goodwill several weeks ago for $2 for my son’s room. But then I decided I liked it on my white couch for fall/winter, and I needed more.

A few days later, I found a pair of genuine suede pants at my consignment store outlet for $1. I already had a couple of pillows that had seen better days. I cut off the legs at the knees. These particular pillows fit perfectly inside the legs. I created ruffles from a strip cut from the very bottom of each pant leg and sewed it to what would become the front of each pillow. Sewed up one end of the pant leg tube, stuffed the pillow in, and used Fabri-tac to close up the other end.

What remained of the pants, the waist to the knees, I cut apart at the seams, removing waistband and zipper. I wanted another pillow similar to the original, with the sherpa edging. I got this adorable fuzzy baby suit at Goodwill for $1.

I kinda hated to do it, but I cut it into strips. I sewed the strips together end to end so I had one super long strip. I folded that in half length-wise, right sides out, and sewed down one side. Now I had one long tube.

I had cut the suede into squares to fit my pillow form (another old pillow I wasn’t using). With the suede right sides together, I sandwiched the sherpa tube between them and sewed around 3 sides of the square, being sure just to catch the edges.Then I turned that right side out, put the pillow form in, and glued the other edge shut. That was a little tricky with the three layers; normally I would hand-sew a pillow closed, but it was too hard with the suede.

Also at Goodwill, I got this cable-knit lambswool sweater in the kids’ section, $1. Again, I had the pillow.

Another perfect fit. I cut the sweater straight across under the armpits, and sewed across that end (wrong side out). Turned it right side out, stuffed the pillow in, and hand sewed the open edge. I'll save the top of the sweater and the toggles for something else.

Four luxurious pillows for $3! An acrylic cable knit pillow at Target is $17.99. Faux suede pillows at Cabela’s (the closest thing I could find) are $24.99.

So, let’s break this down. I had all the other supplies I needed, such as thread and pillow forms, so all I had to buy were the 3 articles of clothing. If you don’t have any old pillows at home that you can use, you have a couple of options.

1) Buy throw pillows at the thrift store to recover. There are ones that aren’t gross! This could cost between $1-$3. If you can find down-filled, that’s even better!

2) Use fiberfill (I use Poly-fil). A big bag costs about$3-4, and should be enough to do several pillows.

You may not be lucky enough to find suede pants for $1, but how about corduroy, linen, or tweed? Find a texture or pattern you like, and use your own creative embellishments, such as buttons.

Sweaters, of course, are abundant. Tip: often, childrens’ clothing costs less than adult. Also look at the household linens section for possible fabrics. How many pillows could be made from a knit throw or a chenille bedspread?

Including the one I didn’t make, this whole couch-full of throw pillows cost me $5!