Place Mat Pillows

I was doing one of my "clearance runs" at Target last week, and I came across some beautiful place mats, on clearance for $2.78. I didn't have a use for place mats, but I loved the fabric, so here is how I turned a couple of place mats into beautiful throw pillows.


This project only works if your placement is double-sided, with stitching attaching the two panels together.


 Here's all you need for this project that you might not already have (I'm assuming you already have a needle and thread):


 I got this bag of Polyester Fiberfill for $4.50 at JoAnn (using a 50% off coupon). I already had the seam ripper. First, you'll use the seam ripper to put an opening in the bottom seam of the place mat. Make your opening wide enough to fit your hand inside.


 At each end of the opening, pull the original seam strings until you have long enough pieces to tie. Tie the ends together into a knot, to prevent this seam from opening any further while you are stuffing the place mat.


 Then, simply stuff the place mat until it reaches your desired level of firmness.


Next, hold the seam together while you stitch it closed, and Voila! You have a completed pillow. I used white thread because it's what I had on hand, and it actually didn't show too badly. This picture shows my seam on the left and the original seam on the right. I don't think anyone will notice, especially since it's on the bottom of the pillow.


Here is the pillow all finished!


I actually made two pillows in about 45 minutes total. The most time consuming part of this is re-stitching the opening, but I'm out of practice with my hand sewing and was pretty slow.


There you have it! Now, when you see a place mat or a dinner napkin that you love, you can turn it into a pillow that you love even more! Both pillows cost me just a little over $10, which is a bargain considering I was walking through the patio section of Target and saw these little gems for $30!

What unconventional things have you made into something else, simply because you loved it the look of it?

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