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Life On Virginia Street

Life On Virginia Street

DIY . Home Decor . Travel . Style . Life

DIY Napkin Pillows

Decorating Ideas, Tips and Trends, DIY Projects

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Welcome back to this week’s DIY Summer School! I’m teaming up once again with my amazing DIY Summer School friends to bring you eight amazing DIY projects. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out round one and round two of our DIY Summer School projects, as well! This week our challenge was wide-open: we could DIY a project using any item at all! I opted to make some DIY napkin pillows.

DIY Summer School

At the end of May, I talked about my summer throw pillows and how a few were made from cloth napkins I picked up at HomeGoods (if you’re not a seamstress, be sure to check out my round-up of affordable summer throw pillows I shared earlier this week). Today I’m going to give a closer look at just how easy it is to make your very own DIY napkin pillows.

For me, the worst part of sewing is the fabric cutting. I don’t know why, but it always seems to take me forever and I still can’t manage to cut straight lines and square shapes. So, when I found some cute napkins (and even a tablecloth) at HomeGoods earlier this summer, I figured the “pre-cut” fabric my be just what I was looking for.

DIY Napkin Throw Pillow Tutorial - Life On Virginia Street

I prefer to make my pillows no smaller than 18″ square (and I would really prefer them at least 20″ square if possible).

So, this biggest two issues with using cloth napkins. 1) They tend to be pressed very well in their packages and those seams are strong! Be sure to put the prep work in and iron/steam the seams/wrinkles out as much as possible before sewing. You’ll be glad you did! 2) I have found that most napkins aren’t packages with similar cuts of fabric. By this I mean that when you line up two napkins together, they rarely, if ever, match from a pattern standpoint. Not a huge deal as long as you aren’t expecting perfect pattern matches (this could be resolved if you backed the pillows with a solid fabric).

Other than that, napkins and/or tablecloths are some of the most affordable ways to make pillows. Case in point: the below image from my Instagram of items I picked up at HomeGoods. Napkins: $5.99 for four (makes two pillows front and back or four pillows with plain fabric on back); Tablecloth: $12.99 (lots of pillows); and napkins: $9.99 for four (again, two to four pillows but these were 20″ squares so I jumped on them). Basically anywhere from $2-$5 a pillow in a print you love. Hard to beat, right?!

Napkins for Pillow Covers - Life On Virginia Street

I followed my DIY Throw Pillow with a Zipper Tutorial to a tee. I love getting comments and emails from those that have tried the tutorial and also claim it is really easy to follow and works even for beginners 🙂

You saw in my summer home tour that I had finished pillows in the Calvin Klein print above, so last night, I also made a pillow with the fabric you see on the left in the photo above. It feels very Serena & Lily-ish to me!

This time around, I added a blue zipper for this particular pillow to make it a little more fun (I typically use these natural zippers on every pillow I make).

DIY Napkin Pillow - Life On Virginia Street

Since there is no cutting involved, it makes the process really quick. I think I finished this one in under ten minutes!

You can see below, I used the seam on the napkin as a guide for my new seam on the pillows. I simply had the footer follow the existing seam (clearly I’m a technical seamstress and now how to describe this – the picture is probably more clear).

DIY Napkin Pillows - Seam Allowance - Life On Virginia Street

I love how it looks with my other pillows in our entry hallway. The pillow on the left is HomeGoods and then the other two are both made from napkins found at HomeGoods. Not bad, right?

DIY Napkin Pillows - Life On Virginia Street

DIY Napkin Pillows - Life On Virginia Street

I also still swear by down or down alternative inserts. They make such a difference in providing that designer/more high-end look. I like these from Crate & Barrel or the selection at Robey’s. Both have worked well for me in the past!

I think this will be a really fun project to do when the holidays roll around because it seems like there are always cute plaid napkins and tablecloths, but never enough throw pillows available at the store 🙂

Here are a few cloth napkin options that I think would making amazing throw pillows!

Don’t forget to check out all the other amazing wildcard projects!

Beth, designPOST Interiors | Jennifer, Dimples & Tangles | Kevin, Thou Swell | Mallory, Charming in Charlotte | ME!, Life on Virginia Street |
Lindsey, Lindsey Brooke Design | Claire, Claire Brody Designs | Laura, Avery Street Design

If you want to follow along with our upcoming schedules, following is what remains this summer:

July 23rd: Craft Store
August 6th: Tool Store
August 20th: Found in Nature

If you would like to follow along on more of my home decor, DIY, lifestyle and other posts, I’d love to have you follow me on any of the following:

Pinterest / Instagram / Facebook / Twitter / Google+

disclosure: affiliate links used

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July 9, 2015 · 19 Comments

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Comments

  1. Anni says

    July 9, 2015 at 6:50 am

    I have a really bad case of sewing machine phobia. This would be an easy project to try to get over it, right? Cutting fabric is not my strong suit either. 🙂

    Reply
    • Claire Brody says

      July 9, 2015 at 8:51 am

      ha I’m in the same boat, Anni 😉

      Reply
  2. Jennifer @ Dimples and Tangles says

    July 9, 2015 at 7:12 am

    I totally agree, I dread cutting out fabric for a project! Why is that?? Your pillows look great, Sarah!

    Reply
  3. Ariean Krieger says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:30 am

    Love these colors…Your home is so beautiful!

    Reply
  4. Marty@A Stroll Thru Life says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:35 am

    I am always on the hunt for great fabric, never think to look at the napkins or tablecloths. Fabulous idea.

    Reply
  5. Claire Brody says

    July 9, 2015 at 8:51 am

    I love your love for pillows and fabric, Sarah!! These are too good, and you make it look so easy! xo

    Reply
  6. Stephanie C. says

    July 9, 2015 at 1:37 pm

    Those prints are gorgeous, what great finds! I can’t cut a straight line either, so I am always on the lookout for easy alternatives, I made a couple of pillows from placemats earlier this spring that were super easy too!
    Steph

    Reply
  7. Laura Irion // Avery Street Design says

    July 9, 2015 at 5:05 pm

    These are darling! I love the prints you chose. And what a great idea- I’m always so blah about the choices at the fabric store but Home Goods has a great selection of napkins. Love it!

    Reply
  8. Beth of designPOST interiors says

    July 9, 2015 at 9:19 pm

    Ok, I’m feeling like maybe I will give sewing another try after seeing who easy this looks. Plus I always linger on that napkin aisle at HomeGoods bc of all the pretty patterns! Love your picks and want to see what you do with the tablecloth!

    Reply
  9. Mary says

    July 10, 2015 at 6:23 am

    The pillows look great. Now I want to go to homegoods! I totally agree that cutting the fabric is the hardest part. It doesn’t matter what I do to ensure straight lines and square corners, it never works out for me. Maybe that’s how it is for everyone and we are just being perfectionists?

    Reply
  10. Courtney Crews says

    July 12, 2015 at 9:36 am

    This is the neatest idea! As a beginner sewer this is something I actually feel like I can do! How fun that it incorporates napkins because they have such different patterns and feels than normal fabric at fabric stores!

    Xx, Courtney
    sproutedfresh.co

    Reply
  11. Christy @ 11 Magnolia Lane says

    July 13, 2015 at 10:25 am

    Such a great way to get chic fabric inexpensively–and the sewing couldn’t be easier. Great job!

    Reply
  12. Dezignable says

    July 14, 2015 at 10:12 am

    Using cloth napkins and tablecloths is such a great idea! And adding the zipper means you can change them out when you want to switch things up! Great ideas, and can’t wait for your next post!

    Reply
  13. Rachel @ TrailerTrashTreasureTrove says

    July 16, 2015 at 8:32 pm

    You make it look so easy! Love the throw pillows, and the idea of making them out of inexpensive napkins. And I LOVE that wall art…one of my favorite hymns. Thanks for hosting!

    Reply
  14. Georgia @ Silver Spiral Studio says

    July 19, 2015 at 3:16 am

    Such a fun idea and a great project. Thanks for sharing 🙂

    Reply
  15. snow says

    September 6, 2015 at 11:35 pm

    this really saves time! I’m also interested on the poster/religious art you got on the background. Did you buy it? or another DIY? I really love what it says…

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      September 7, 2015 at 6:53 am

      Thank you! And yes – I bought the canvas from Lindsay Letters (www.lindsayletters.com). She has a lot of beautiful pieces!

      Reply
  16. Beth says

    October 4, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    Love the pillows, but would really like to know where you found the Doxology print? Thank you!

    Reply
    • Sarah says

      October 4, 2015 at 3:46 pm

      Thank you! The canvas is from Lindsay Letters’ online shop. She has so many beautiful pieces!

      Reply

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