26 Pillow Projects That are Perfectly Cozy and Comfortable

January 16, 2011
Credit: Alpha Smoot
Why settle for the fabrics and patterns offered at your local stores? You can create custom accent pillows (for much less) that suit your decor and lifestyle perfectly.
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Embroidered Throw Pillows

Credit: Alpha Smoot
Get the Embroidered Throw Pillows How-To

There are three easy ways to customize a throw pillow, and all you need is a tapestry needle and yarn. Buy a few affordable wide-weave cushions and trick them out simply by working yarn right into the weave with a tapestry needle, making bows, stripes, or tassels. 

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Knotted Seat Cushions

Credit: Kate Sears
Get the Knotted Seat Cushions How-To

A simple tweak to the quilter's knot can personalize any assemblage of cushions—indoors or outdoors—whether you embellish a dimple or create an entirely new design.

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Striped Rug Pillows

Credit: Ditte Isager
Pillow How-To

Nautical stripes in faded blues combine with neutrals and naturals for a room that's modern and inviting. We used the same rugs to make two kinds of pillows: a large one (bigger than a bed pillow) and a smaller one with an envelope-style opening.

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Pillows with Dyed Bands

Credit: Dana Gallagher

Pillows with perfectly imperfect bands of color invite you to relax. Sew your own covers (learn how to make them) or dye store-bought ones.

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Sequin Pillows

With a pretty pile of gold and silver sequin pillows, this sofa is dressed to celebrate. Circles shine inside the square parameters of some of the pillows, while sets of stripes and sequined corners make more subtle adornments. 

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Gingham Batik Pillows

Credit: Lisa Hubbard

Create batik prints using icing tips, blocks, and dowels to add geometric designs to bedroom pillows.

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Napkin-Folded Pillowcase

Pillow How-To

Brighten outdoor spaces with decorative pillows made from cloth napkins. Use spares when their matches have been tossed or lost, or buy single napkins that catch your eye.

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Denim Pillows

Pillow How-To

These ruff hewn pillows were created from denim cloth or a denim shirt that had seen better days.

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Quilted Pillow Cover

Pillow How-To

Hawaiian-inspired prints add a tropical feel to quilted pillows that can be thrown on a bed or couch during the warmer months.

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Pillows with Twisted-Cord Tassels

Credit: Joseph De Leo

Tassels in a palette of red, gold, and orange give a charcoal pillow and throw a custom look while adding texture and bursts of color to an otherwise monochromatic scheme.

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Map Textile Pillows

Credit: Dana Gallagher

Reimagined as a pillow, these vintage map textiles create a school's out mode in the summer months. For pillows, handkerchiefs were backed with linen to reinforce thin fabric and show off the borders and scalloped edges.

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Reversible Pillows

Mix -- don't match -- fabrics to create reversible pillows that you won't find on anyone else's sofa. A quick flip is all it takes to change your look, and you can do it as often as you change your mind.

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Two-Tone Pillow

These covers pair lustrous lining fabric (sold by the yard) with wool or other matte yardage. For a colorful seam, the lining's selvage edge is on display.

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Doily Pillow

An classic antique motif gets the contemporary treatment with these graphic pillow covers.

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