How to make Pottery Barn pillows for less
August 17, 2011
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If you love the look of Pottery Barn pillows, but don't love the high cost this placemat pillow tutorial is for you!
I may have mentioned a few times that I’m nutty for the Pottery Barn catalog. I’m pretty much counting the days till the fall version arrives.
It’s totally free inspiration, as is a trip through the store. ;) The store version is more dangerous though…cause you may or may not find a couple mercury votive holders you MUST. HAVE.
Or something.
Last week I took a trip though to see if they had fall stuff out check out the inspiration, and I ended up at the table linens area. I noticed a few things – first, they were on sale. SCORE. Secondly, they had so many fantastic napkins, in some fabulous colors and combos.
I put a few together to show how they could work together:
Why would you want to combine napkins in different colors in designs you ask?
To make them into pillows of course! I noticed a trend while there – many of their napkins are also versions of their pillows:
So my brain got to thinkin’. And you know that’s dangerous…for Pottery Barn anyway. ;)
I wanted some late summer/fallish pillows in our living room, and wanted to break away from the standard reds and browns I’ve always used. I’ve been pulling in blues over the past year and was determined to make the blues work for fall(ish. It’s not fall yet. I know. Ish.).
I have a love/hate relationship with our sofa in that room – it’s OH so comfy, and actually a great, sturdy couch. It’s just the fabric…oh my dear, it drives me NUTS. And the color, it’s as gold as gold can be. I want to recover it but that’s an entirely different post. Altogether. A long one.
I decided to just work with the gold instead of fighting it, and PB had some beautiful yellow and blue combos that I loved!
There was an awesome ikat pillow in the store that day and they had similar napkins so I grabbed a couple and made myself a pillow:
Their (embroidered) pillow cover, $59. Mine, I think $8?
I had some fabric for another (upcoming) project, and thought it worked great with the blues in the PB linens. So I made another pillow. LOVE. (I got that blue fabric at Joann’s a couple months ago.)
I found a blue and yellow placemat at PB that day as well, and I knew just what to do with it. I opened the side seam and stuffed it:
Like the tufted placemat pillow I've shared here. See the easy tutorial for these pillows here!
Two Pottery Barn pillows for less than $20 – gotta love it! And I could have made three if I used the ikat napkin on one side and a basic white fabric on the back.
Because I saved so much on those, I splurged on the big blue medallion pillow in the back. I have purchased PB pillow covers before and they hold up GREAT.
But like always, I used a pillow we had to fill it – but it was still a bit wimpy. I hate wimpy pillows. So I stuffed a bed pillow in there:
I do what it takes. :) It worked great!
I’ve been trying to be more adventurous with mixing patterns and colors – the colors in the pillows are in the drapes and I love how they all tie together!
And I love that ikat so darn much I think I’m going to make another one to put on another chair in the room. :)
I have to show you another find for this room! I have wanted to replace our chunky Goodwill coffee table that has been in and out of there:
(Old pic from the red and black days.)
While on a trip to Garden Ridge last week, I found pretty much EXACTLY what I’ve been looking for:
It opens up the space SO much! I LOVE it.
It was $60, but I figure if I sell a couple Craigslist coffee tables, I’ll make up for that easy. (I've got a couple.) ;)
I have a few more changes planned for this room, but for now, I’m so happy with how it’s changed over the past year:
You can make pillows out of just about anything -- linens, shower curtains, sheets, whatever! The possibilities are endless! Have you made any unconventional pillows? Link to them in the comments if so!
Umm...yet again YOU CONQUER! LOVE IT! YAY FOR YOU! Shhhhhh, dont let PB see your post! Love it.
ReplyDeleteI hate wimpy pillows, too! Must be thick and fluffy. Beautiful fabrics; I love the combinations.
ReplyDeleteYOU are SO smart!!!! ;) LOVE this idea, and now I WILL be on the lookout for napkins! DUH! and wonderful! ;)
ReplyDeleteLove your pillows Sarah! The living room does look more open with the new coffee table. And I'm loving how the pillows pull the colors from the curtains. They pop even more now!
ReplyDeleteI've made pillows out of cloth napkins, shower curtains and twin pillow cases turned into cushion covers for the living room. My next pillow covers will be made out of a silk quilted throw blanket. Those will go on my bed. : ) I love repurposing things to make what I need.
Wow! You did good and I've never thought of using napkins but this is such a great idea! Love all the patterns and colors! Now I need to go napkin shopping.
ReplyDeleteBe a sweetie,
Shelia ;)
They look great! So I work at PB and walk around all day thinking, wow...I could totally do that myself. The other day I accidentally told a customer she could recreate that for less...OOPS. That's what happens when a blogger works at Pottery Barn! (: Loving the blues in the space. And those ikat napkins (I mean pillows) are amazinggg.
ReplyDeleteOh I love your pillows! A whole new world of throw pillows opens up with the use of napkins! My fave! I made some from some placemats I found at Ikea! Too fun!
ReplyDeleteJo-Anna
http://aprettylifeinthesuburbs.blogspot.com/2011/04/pillow-talk.html
Okay, LOVE IT! I have been drooling over the fabric on those PB pillows for months-never thought to take a trip to the store! Great score! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSooooo Awesome!!!! What a genius idea!! I just bought me some of the new pottery barn pillow covers and was hoping to buy more..( i love pillows!!!) and now i will be buying napkins! yay for saving money!!!! Thank you for such a great post!!!:-) Your pillows and your updated room looks great too!
ReplyDeleteSO smart! I'm so glad you pointed out the correlation between their pillows and napkins...I will definitely be stocking up on napkins the next time I'm there!
ReplyDeleteLove the mix of patterns in your pillows!
I actually liked the red and black look too. You have a great eye for design and color.
ReplyDeleteLove them! And, you did use PB napkins so maybe they'd consider a small advertisement on TDC. ;) I have a gold couch as well and am trying to get away from red. Glad to see how you've worked the blues in. It all looks lovely!
ReplyDeleteHeather
very clever, Sarah. very clever! I've made pillows using the Dwell Studio napkins from Target and Crate and Barrel. I've also made a pillow from my daughter's old skirt, which you can view here if you like.
ReplyDeletehttp://bet1975.blogspot.com/2010/12/old-skirt-new-pillow.html
PS. I'm so excited that the next blogger conference will be in Atlanta and I'll have the opportunity to meet you!
Yay! I love a sweet deal, especially from Pottery Barn! Those turned out so cute! I made a pillow out of a placemat using a glue gun to "sew" it together, it worked great... but like you said, don't look too close. :)
ReplyDelete:Gasp: You smarty pants! Very clever. PB is going to be running low on napkins fairly soon. . .
ReplyDeleteNot too unconventional, but I did make a pillow this past week.
ReplyDeletehttp://lovelylittlelaughter.blogspot.com/2011/08/it-felt-so-good.html
Love your home and the new living room vibe (although I'm a red kinds girl so it makes me a little sad o see you deviating toward cooler colors).
LOVE them! Goes great with each other and the curtain. I need to learn how to coordinate multiple prints :(
ReplyDeleteI love this! If only I could sew...
ReplyDeleteYou legend! I would have never thought of this!
ReplyDeletexxx
Your new pillows and coffee table make your sofa area look like a new space. Great idea to use PB napkins for pillows.
ReplyDeleteMy couch is almost the exact same color and I too have had a love hate relationship with it. I LOVE your napkin pillows though, and I've had my eye on those exact same napkins for a little while. The light blue/gold combo is fab!
ReplyDeleteYour pillows look great! Love the coffee table as well. I made a pillow out of napkins a few months ago. The next day I was relaxing at the beach, thumbing through BH&G and there was an article about Eddie Ross. Imagine my surprise when I saw my pillow in the picture! He had made pillows out of the exact napkins.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely love it! And the table...Garden Ridge is such a love of mine. I have been itching to get some pillows done myself and I must say I am soo impressed with your savvy to put together all of those patterns (I couldn't or wouldn't know how to do it myself;)
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad that someone other than me hates whimpy pillows! LOL!
ReplyDeleteYour pillows are beautiful and your livingroom looks like a PB room. So pretty.
hugs
Sissie
I saw that you pinned this on Pinterest!!! They look awesome! I especially love that ikat fabric. Mine never look great up close either, but you really can't tell!
ReplyDeleteI love it! I'm glad I'm not the only one behind the curve sometimes on what's trendy. I've made some placemat pillows, but never napkin ones. Great thoughts!
ReplyDeleteThat room looks absolutely beautiful! I love seeing all of your amazing transformations! Fantastic! :-)
ReplyDeleteThey look fantastic...up close too! ;) I have not made any unconventional pillows, but I do have a huge thing of drop cloth that I want to play with. Maybe, just maybe...would be fun to do a different look for each pillow. I'm not normally a huge fan of ikat, but I like yours a lot!
ReplyDeleteI've been watching Craigslist for a great coffee table too. Not there yet, but I'm not giving up.
ReplyDeleteLove the blue pillows; they make the room come alive! Great job as always by your inventive brain!
You aren't kidding when you say to make pillows from anything! I was doing the chunky cable knit sweater pillows way before they became a hit in the blog world. Ladies, go to your thrift stores and find the ugliest rust/orange sweater you can find. Whack off the top under the arm pits, sew across the bottom, insert an old pillow and sew across the top. Viola...you have a fab Halloween/fall pillow! I've also patchworked logos from my kid's old t shirts together to make fun pillows for their rooms. A 99 cent twin bed sheet (black and aqua zebra stripes no less) yeilded a sundress for me and 2 full size pillow cases for my son. What Sarah says it totally true. Don't overlook ANY fabric just because it isn't already a pillow!
ReplyDeleteHey girl! I first made pillows from Pottery Barn napkins in 2005. . . long before I had a blog! I loved the fact that the napkins were such a good size for pillows AND the edges were nice and straight and finished--made it easy for me to sew good seams!
ReplyDeleteLast year I fell in love with a Pottery Barn pillow and made a DIY version from a dropcloth and some cool wood buttons I found in my mom's button box. I still love that pillow!
Pottery Barn occasionally gets some of my money. Mostly it serves as inspiration for me. I do appreciate the way they make their catalogs and their stores so attractive. And they DO have wonderful, wonderful clearance sales.
They look gorgeous! You have opened my eyes to the versatility of napkins.
ReplyDeleteVery, very clever idea! They look beautiful. I would love to try some with the piping around the edges!
ReplyDeleteWhat an awesome idea! I need to learn how to think outside the box! Don't worry about your sewing being "rough." Have you ever looked at the sewing that is done on ready-made items that have a big price tag on them??? I, too, am "sneaking" fall decorations out and am ready to cook some comfort food.
ReplyDeleteLove the pillows smarty-pants! I'm still not sold on ikat either but it wouldn't be the first time I came to a trend late :)
ReplyDeleteThat being said, have you thought of painting that gorgeous new coffee table gold/brass? I think it would be beautiful considering your draperies and new fab pillows! So french...ooh la la
Yet again you are so inspiring! Great idea, I uae the PB catalog for free inspiration also. I get al all them in the mail, kids, bath, bedroom, etc.
ReplyDeleteI recenlty made a few pillows out of clearance placematsfor my family room makeover. http://billiemitchellphotography.blogspot.com/2011/07/family-room-makeover-part-ii-sunbury.html
ReplyDeleteThe pillows look fantastic! Great idea! I've used place mats for pillows but haven't tried napkins. dah!! I must do this!! You cracked me up w/ the bed pillow being stuffed in! Love it
ReplyDelete-heather
Love the pillows .. and I totoally know what you mean about liking something at the end of a trend .. haha ... I can totoally imagine your living room painted cream though ..
ReplyDeleteThe pillows look great. I got my fall catalog yesterday and I've already got a few pages marked.
ReplyDeleteI love making pillows out of odds and ends! So liberating! :) Here are some of my favs:
ReplyDeletehttp://wearealreadythere.blogspot.com/2010/03/where-are-you-from.html
yaknow, as often as I flip through PB catalogs, I have never noticed that the napkins and pillow covers are sometimes the same fabric.
ReplyDeleteYou, my friend, are a genius!!
I love how changing out the pillows on your couch gives it a whole new look! And using placemats as pillow cases, genius! Thanks for another great tip!!
ReplyDeleteSoooo creative! Love the pillows. Aqua is my favourite colour. I plan (my daughter plans...lol) to re-do do the spare bedroom this fall. We most certainly will come to your amazing site for ideas!
ReplyDeleteThe decor above the sofa is fabulous btw!
Thanks for the inspirations.
Lois
I made a copy cat pottery barn sweater pillow out of one of my Mom's sweaters. She passed away in 2007 and I treasure being able to hold that pillow while we're watching TV and feeling close to her. Better than folding it up and putting in a box in my basement!! I love transforming things into pillows!!
ReplyDeleteGREAT IDEA! I will definitely be doing this! Thanks for sharing. I just started blogging and I love it. Follow me at domesticable.blogspot.com
ReplyDeleteThis is so funny! I actually made pillows out of those ikat napkins as well! (Because I fell in love with the giant pillow covers on my last trip to PB).
ReplyDeleteHere's a link to my version:
http://reisfeltadventure.blogspot.com/2011/08/more-pillows.html
I'm on my way to Pottery Barn at Keystone in a few minutes to check for some dining room chairs. Now I'm going to have to check out the table linens.
ReplyDeleteThese are so gorgeous! What a fun, inexpensive change! You have great style!
ReplyDeleteI would love to have you link this up to my first link party--
http://southernlovely.blogspot.com/2011/08/show-share-1.html
I love this idea and have tried this myself but am still working on the final touches. Very professional looking and I love the color and pattern mix!
ReplyDeleteI love this post! I am going to march down to PB and make me some napkin pillows! Thanks for the inspiration! I recently made a pillow out of a coffee bag. Not too comfy but it looks unique! Love your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteThe pillows look great, and that's sewing even *I* could do. I'm curious, though, what drives you nuts about the fabric on your sofa? I am going to be in the market for a new sofa (because I have a love/hate relationship with my current one...mostly hate) so I need all the info I can get. The fabric looks similar to what's on one of my mom's sofas, and she's never had a complaint and it seems nice enough to me. I could buy something like that unless you can enlighten me as to what I might not end up liking about it! Thanks! lisaheaton @ gmail.com
ReplyDeleteYour pillows are awesome! What a great (and frugal) idea to make them using napkins. I love PB, too and am looking forward to seeing the fall catalog.
ReplyDeleteJane
frugalfineliving.com
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Love your blues and greens; we use those colors, too, in most of our place-but I have added some red in our bedroom, and I ♥ it.
ReplyDeleteI made some strip-piece pillows for our bed recently-easy and quick!
http://sharingourpath.blogspot.com/2011/08/strip-quilt-pillows.html
Ive done the VERY same thing to napkins for my little girl's room...actually, did it YEARS ago when she WAS a little girl, but still...I think I'll do it again for my 4th child...she could use some fun pillows in her room too! Thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteAwesome pillows. I totally get you on starting to like things when they've already been trendy for a while and will probably go out of style soon. Oh well, it's about what makes you happy, right? ;)
ReplyDeleteGreat idea! I think this might be the next thing on my "to do" list! :)
ReplyDeleteLooks gorgeous!
ReplyDeletexo
Please give a tutorial on your wall painting/frame thing above your couch! I want to do that!
ReplyDeleteKrista
Sarah, your pillows look awesome! I'll have to watch for their napkins to go on sale...love this idea. My sofa in my family room needs pillows badly!
ReplyDeleteYou had to give away my secret didn't you? :) Seriously, you don't have to be able to sew to do this (I don't). A few safety pins, a little double-sided tape, or maybe knot on the four corners, and you've got a pillow!
ReplyDelete(I also used to wear napkins from MOMA as scarves - tons of compliments.)
Great idea -- love the Ikat fabric, but never thought to get it from PB!
ReplyDeletehttp://willowhousewelcome.blogspot.com/2011/07/refined-organic-tablesetting.html
I think what they charge for pillows is highway robbery. I can't bring myself to buy fancy pillows. I love what you did, it's so resourceful. A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea and you did great. I have a lot of material to make covers for pillows, but for some reason, I'm just too scared to do it but now I might have to go back to PB or HG and take a look. I have a new sofa coming in two weeks with NO PILLOWS!
ReplyDeleteYour pillows look great! I just finished a couple of my own for our master bedroom. They have braided trim (which I had never done before)... Hence the bedroom placement; where all imperfections can be easily hidden! I also love your napkin idea and hope to use it in some of my next pillow making ventures.
ReplyDeleteMaking pillows out of Men's sweaters make really cozy and textural pillows
ReplyDeleteWow... you did a great job! The pillows look awesome. Nice fabric chosen.
ReplyDeleteSeriously! You are genius!! I just love this blog to bits! Thanks for sharing. Take that Pottery Barn with your crazy prices!
ReplyDeleteBTW, will you take on any of PBK's super duper expensive but ever so cute Halloween ideas?
I've actually been planning to put a similar tutorial on my blog - in my married-family-college housing, we often have "stuff swaps," where we all bring in stuff we were going to take to the thrift store and instead, we all just pick through each other's stuff and take what we need for free. Then what's left gets taken to the thrift store.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, one time I found this really cute printed handkerchief and a pink suede jacket with all kinds of stains on the arms, and I ended up using a seam ripper to take the lining out of the jacket, cut the back off of the jacket, and made a big giant pillow with the handkerchief as the front, the jacket fabric as the back, and the lining fabric as a ruffle around the edges. I stuffed it with stuffing from an old bed pillow and embellished it with one of the buttons from the jacket. It turned out really really cute.
I had intended it to be a pillow for the car - you know, for road trips and emergencies. But my husband insisted that it stay inside, and so now it's on the bed and we don't have any pillows in the car yet. Alas!
Love your blog - I've gotten many great ideas here. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love the idea of using the napkins. That is perfect and your new pillows look fabulous. Pretty colors. Hugs, Marty
ReplyDeleteI too made pillows using cloth napkins:) The most genius and affordable way to give your room a different look. I honestly will never buy another pillow again now that I know how easy it is to make my own. Thank you for such a wonderful blog. I love eveything you post and your home is so beautiful.
ReplyDeletehttp://oneproductivemom.blogspot.com/2011/07/i-will-never-buy-another-accent-pillow.html
LOVE. IT. I think I hear Pottery Barn calling me too...
ReplyDeleteThe room transformation is really coming together. The new colors work great together, and the gold couch is really popping with the new pillows. What about painting the framed spaces above with a paint the same color as your couch/pillows (gold or blue)? And if you felt really crazy, you could use a piece of patterned craft paper (or a PB napkin!) in the middle block behind your medallion. I like a graduated color system - maybe the same basic paint shade, just in two different intensities - a little lighter on the outside, moving to darker toward the middle. Just a thought. The whole place looks great though, and I love your blog - great inspiration!!!
LOVE them! Some friends and I took a tour at a local coffee roaster here in Kansas City last year...well, they let you take as many burlap bags as you want (for free!), so I grabbed one with a really cool print on it. After nearly a year, I decided I could use my favorite part of the bag by turning it into a pillow. I LOVE it! Such a fun reminder of both my memory with friends and my love of coffee. Check it out here: http://myellowumbrella.blogspot.com/2011/05/repurposed-burlap-coffee-bag.html
ReplyDeleteOk. So I love this idea! Turning napkins and placemats into pillows is genius! Perhaps I could use the Pottery Barn gift card I won here a little while back! (Is it on its way yet?) I am so anxious to do some Pottery Barn browsing! I love Fallish too! Keep up the great job!Dawn
ReplyDeletedccrader(at)hotmail(dot)com
What a great idea! I found 4 packs of cloth napkins at JcPenney on sale for $7.49 today...NICE!
ReplyDeleteGuess I am gonna have to go on the hunt for beautiful napkins! I love accent pillows, but refuse to pay what all the stores are asking! So...napkins, look out!
ReplyDeleteLove! Love! Love! this - You just gave ma an idea for my next project - napkin pillow covers. Love your blog by the way.
ReplyDeleteOk... You gave me hope that I can turn those pottery barn napkins into pillows for my bed!! Wohoo!! And I have heard about Garden Ridge and can't wait to visit it soon with a friend!
ReplyDelete