Placemat Pillow

Ever made a pillow from a placemat? I've made several pillows for my house and a few as gifts doing this because it's cheap and really simple. 

If you thought that making a regular pillow (sewing two squares together) was easy, this is even better! Super easy to sew, extremely cost-effective, pretty, and hardly deserving of a tutorial. 

But just in case it never occurred to you to do this, here you are. It took me about 15 minutes to make.

You'll need:

A place mat. Make sure it's made of two pieces of fabric sewn together. This won't work if it's one-sided, for obvious reasons. Mine was from World Market a few years ago, but Target always has cute ones!

A seam ripper

Fiber-fill

Sewing machine or needle and thread

You'll begin by ripping about two inches out of the seam. I usually do this somewhere toward the middle, just because it's easier to sew it back up later, but do whatever you want. My placemat's two pieces had been held together with interfacing, so I had to rip the seam enough to stick my whole hand in there and unstick my pieces. Other pillows I've made this way haven't had that problem. 

Next, stuff fiber-fill into the opening. If you think it's fluffy enough, stuff a little more. I've accidentally made a few pillows too limp and they're no fun. 

Pin it shut

Sew away! It was a bit difficult to squeeze the stuffed pillow under the needle, but it worked out. I've used a needle and thread to do this many times, and the only difference is that this is much quicker. 

Admire your finished pillow!