How to Make Awesome (and Easy!) Throw Pillows

Is your sofa lacking pizazz? Is your seating area boring? Is that armchair uncomfortably bare? Then this Instructable is for you!

Throw pillows are great addition to any piece of furniture. And they're so easy to make!

Materials:
Sewing machine
Needle and thread
Fabric (any size, any shape, any kind)
Trim (optional)
Fluff or stuffing or filling, whatever suits your fancy. (the pillows featured here were filled with beanbag Styrofoam, but you can use anything)
Dressmaker pins (any basic sewing pins)
Scissors

Step 1: Cut Fabric

You can use anything, and I mean ANYTHING. the body of a t-shirt, an old tablecloth, any scraps of fabric you have. I used some scraps I had left over from making some wall hangings.

Cut two squares of the same size. Any size you would like, just be sure you have enough material to make two pieces.

you could even cut a different shape than a square. star-shaped, triangle, cloud, ... blob? anything you'd like! use your imagination. I like to use shapes with straight edges because they're much easier to sew.

Step 2: Trim! (optional)

If you want your pillow to be fancy, or pretentious, or funky, or wild, you might want to add some trim.
(Don't worry, even if you skip this step, your pillow will still be awesome!)

You can find this stuff at craft stores. It comes with tassels, baubles, beads, strings, lace, etc. Pick up anything you like! Make sure it has a woven band on one side, this is to help with sewing it into the seams of the pillow. (If you're more advanced in sewing, feel free to use any kind of trim, just alter these instructions to what you need.)

1) Measure all the sides of one of your pieces. This is how much trim you will need. Its also good to purchase about 3 inches more than you'll need.

2) GET YOU SOME CRAZY TRIM! this is an exciting shopping trip, there are so many choices.

3) Pin the trim around the edges of your pillow (see next step)

Step 3: Pin Your Seams!

WITH Trim: ( LESS EASY)
this is going to take some patience and focus. Its all worth it in the end.

1) Decide which side is the back and which side is the front on both pieces.
2) Put the fronts together, front to front, matching up the edges.
3) Lay your fabric out on a flat surface.
4) Flip up the edge of the top piece of fabric, so you can see about an inch or two of the bottom piece.
5) Place your trim along the side of the bottom piece of fabric, the woven band along the edge. Leave about half an inch of trim sticking out from the fabric at the corner.
6) Replace the top piece of fabric, making sure to realign the edges.
7) Pin the corner with the extra trim. Make sure you go through all three layers.
8) Make sure everything is lined up, then pin about 2 inches in from the other corner. (this allows you wiggle room to do the next edge)
9) Pin along the edge. With trim, I recommend pinning at least every inch. We don't want this stuff to wiggle AT ALL when we start sewing.
10) When you get to the other corner, readjust your fabric, turn it so that the part you are about to pin is facing you.
11) Flip up the edge of the top piece of fabric, so you can see about an inch or two of the bottom piece.
12) Okay, corners can be tricky, you may want to glance at the pictures. I call this the Pinch & Pull technique: PINCH the trim at the corner. It will make a fold. then PULL the trim up to the edge of the woven band at the corner. the fold you just made should be at the outer edge of the woven band on the corner of the edge you just pinned.
NOTE: If your pillow is a square or rectangle, the whole strand of trim should be in a 90 degree angle right at the corner. If it is a different shape, adjust how far you pull the fold across, the trim should follow the edges of your shape.
13) PIN THAT DOWN. Pin the trim to the bottom layer of your fabric. Make sure the trim stays in your Pinch & Pull formation.
14) Place your trim along the side of the bottom piece of fabric, the woven band along the edge.
15) Replace the top piece of fabric, making sure to realign the edges.
16) Pin the corner. Make sure you go through all three layers.
17) Make sure everything is lined up, then pin about 2 inches in from the next corner.
18) Pin along the edge.
19) REPEAT STEPS 10- 18 until you get to the last edge
20) When you get to the last edge, leave about half of it unpinned. This is so you can stuff your pillow after you sew it.

WITHOUT Trim: (EASY AS PIE)
If you aren't using trim, this step will be quick and easy. I've even done this version with kids as young as 4. (depending on their age, I actually pin it, but they point to where they want the pins to go next, so its completely their project, you're just handling the sharp stuff.)

1) Decide which side is the back and which side is the front on both pieces.
2) Put the fronts together, front to front, matching up the edges.
3) Lay your fabric out on a flat surface.
4) Pin along the edges. I recommend putting a pin every 2 inches, but you can use more or less, depending on how comfortable you are sewing. If you don't have a lot of experience, the more pins, the better.
5) When you pin the last edge, Leave about half unpinned. This is so you can stuff your pillow after you sew it.

Step 4: SEW

Sew the edges of your pillow. Make sure to use a color of thread similar to the color of your fabric.
If you use a sewing machine, I recommend a zig zag stitch. but a straight stitch will be fine too.

sew along the inner edge of the woven band on your trim (if you didn't use trim, sew with a 1/2 inch seam allowance. A seam allowance is the measurement from the edge of the fabric to where you want the sewing machine to stitch the fabric.)

Just treat each straight edge as a straight line. and make sure to back stitch at the beginning and end.

Leave that half edge (that you didn't pin) open and un-sewn.

Step 5: Stuff Your Pillow!

Take all your pins out.

Then, flip your pillow inside out. (Or rather, outside out.) so that the fronts of your pillow are facing outside, and you can see the trim. Awesome.

Remember that half edge you left un-sewn? this is where it comes in handy.
Fill your pillow with fluffy stuff, foam, whatever you found that makes your pillow, well, a pillow. I don't recommend rocks or sharp objects. ;)

I got my Styrofoam at a warehouse that specializes in packing materials. Just look up "Regrind EPS beads" + your city and there should be some places you can call. I made a beanbag using
dan's instructable
and I had a bunch left over.

(If you're going to use Styrofoam or anything messy, I STRONGLY suggest you fill and finish sewing it outside. and then vacuum everything off before you bring it inside. Or do it in a very confined area, I'm not very Type A personality, so I don't mind mess and clean-up, but if you do, you may want to stick with craft stuffing.)

Step 6: Finish Sewing

Once your pillow is stuffed to your liking, the open edge must be hand-sewn.
(you can use a machine, but you'll have to stitch along the very edge, or it will leave a weird tab along that part.)

See my other Instructable: Basic Slip Stitch for help with hand-sewing.

Trim:
1) Fold the edges of the fabric inside as much as it takes to keep the edge of your pillow straight. make it even with the seam
2) Tuck in the woven band of the trim. Make sure that little extra inch you left at the beginning is tucked in as well.
3) Pin across the edge to the corner.
4) Sew.

No- Trim:
1) Fold the edges of the fabric inside as much as it takes to keep the edge of your pillow straight.
2) Pin across the edge to the corner.
3) Sew.

Then your Awesome Throw Pillow is finished!