Old Sweater Project: Accent Pillow Cover

 This next sweater project is something that I'm really fond of and have now contributed probably too many more of to my collection :) ....accent pillow covers!

Making a pillow using a sweater is a great way to bring in more texture and warmth in your house for the upcoming seasons. Plus, it's a good way to transition your summery accent pillows into the fall and winter.

I found this great chevron graphic at Hobby Lobby just the other week and had to make pillows out of it pronto...but, I've only had them on the couch for about a week before it was time to change to fall decor. So, my solution? Pair that more 'summery' design with some wool sweater pillows. Doing this, it took the punch out of the summer decor and transitioned it perfectly into fall. I also think using the grey and white/cream will look beautiful for winter too :)

 To make these pillows, you will need the sweater, a pillow of course, and some fabric for the back. I usually just use plain muslin for the back of pillows like these. It's super cheap and usually matches with anything...a little see through though, so beware, especially if you are covering a pillow with a crazy graphic :)

Most of my pillows are all 18x18 or 16x16, so I usually cut the front fabric, this time being the sweater, an inch bigger. So 19x19 inches.

As for the back fabric, the muslin, cut it the same width, so 19", but about 8 inches longer, so 27".
Cut this in half to make 2 pieces that are approximately 13.5 inches. Now, fold over about an inch or two on one of the longest sides (the 19" side) of one piece. Now sew along this fold. Do this to the second piece also. 

You should have something that looks similar to the below picture. Now, you can do one of two things. You can line up your muslin with your pillow and see how much over lapping you need. There should be about an inch to an inch in half of fabric around the pillow for a good fit. This is a good way to do it if you don't know the size of your pillow. Then you can cut the sweater fabric to match the size of the muslin.

Or you can just use the sweater you just cut to 19x19", place the muslin on the sweater, even up the edges, and there you go!.

Secure the back and front pieces to each other, right sides facing in. You can either sew these together, or serge them for a good finished edge. If you are making a 18x18 pillow, then you'll want to sew in about half an inch along each edge.

Turn inside out, and there you go! Some pillows are more fluffy than others, so the fit may be different. You'll have to experiment with your pillows to get down the right size. It's always better making them larger at first, cuz then you can sew them in if they are too big. If they are too small at first....well, then you just have to start over :) unless you kept a ton of seam allowance, then you'll just be unpicking for the next hour.

The good thing with working with sweaters, is that they have a lot of stretch to them. So if you happen to have made the case to small, you can probably still get away with stuffing a pillow in it ;)

The best thing about this project? You can make two pillows out of one sweater. One from the back, and one from the front!

If the sweater has buttons, incorporate the buttons into the pillow. I did this with one of the grey wool pillows, but you can hardly see it. It's about an inch from the top of the back one.

And although my living room still reads 'summer' in a way, I think the grey wool pillows sure brought in a little of fall...even though it's definitely not a fall color :)...I guess it really brought in some good texture that is reminiscent of the cold days which are in fall. lol

If you missed the last two sweater projects, just click below to see each one!