I May Have A Scrap Problem... Pillows!

Hi, all!

This week I found a great pin on Pinterest and immediately put it in my Oh Scrap! page - but it got me started thinking about another great way to use your scraps!

Isn't that a great pillow?  It's even finished in my favorite way - with binding, just like a quilt.  This is a quick, easy way to refresh your house, even providing seasonal pops of color.  Here are some scrappy pillows I've made recently...

This pillow was made literally from the tiny scraps left over from a quilt I made...

...and this one was made with bonus HSTs and narrow strips left over from another project!

This pillow and the one below were also made with bonus HSTs.  FYI bonus HSTs are created by sewing a second line when you are putting corners on a block, such as a snowball block, and creating a small HST out of what would normally be thrown away.

Here's another example of pillows made from bonus HSTs - are you sensing a theme here?  Seriously, though, I just can't bear to throw away perfectly good fabric...

And this pillow is made from the simplest kind of scrap block - an easy two-fabric block done large.  If you have orphan blocks hanging around, this kind of pillow is even easier!  Just add strips around your orphan block until it reaches the size you want.

The next two are a little bit different, but are good examples of up-cycling...

My daughter made the embroidered piece that is the center of this scrappy pillow cover - originally, a wall hanging set in an embroidery hoop.  When she redecorated, she wanted to save her handiwork, and asked me make it into something useful.  I had a lot of scraps left over from Emmy's pennant quilt and created a postage stamp "frame" for the needlework piece.  Definitely a win-win!!

And this pillow was made using a long-treasured piece of needlepoint I found in my grandmother's stash, turning a piece stored for years into a useful and beautiful pillow that reminds me every day of the woman who taught me to love the fiber arts and do them well.

A simple envelope closure on the back means you don't even need to find a zipper!  It's also a great way to use up those random fat quarters hanging around your stash - I usually make my backs by folding two 22" pieces of fabric in half so that the back is actually a double layer of fabric.  And there's usually binding scraps in my box to finish off the pillow cover.

And when you want to switch your pillow covers out for a fresh seasonal take, they store easily either laid flat on a shelf or hung from pants hangers in your closet, ready to be brought out again when your mood or the season changes!

Feeling inspired yet?

*&*&*&*&*&*&*

And yes, I'm still working on my Gypsy Wife quilt!  This week I added Pershing to my Color Wheel block...

One more and it will be a party!  This week's block went pretty easily - I cut some of the pieces a little larger to allow for distortion and trimmed as needed to keep it square, and still used a very scant 1/4" seam, but other than that it's right by the pattern.  And I'm loving how the Latitude scraps are looking in these blocks!!

Take that, you little scrap monster, you!!!

Hugs!

Sarah

SaveSave