Christmas Ornament Pillow

I love making Anthropologie-inspired crafts. I used a heart pillow as my inspiration and made a Christmas pillow with ornaments instead. 

One of my favorite things to do is find something in a store (that’s usually out of my price range) and figure out how to make one myself. This is one of those projects. I love the way my finished project turned out. Want to make one for yourself?

I saw this heart pillow by Anthropologie (which was priced at almost $200) and I immediately knew I needed to make one. But I wanted to make a Christmas pillow with ornaments, not hearts!

I don’t know about you, but I’m a big fan of decorations that are festive, but not overwhelming. This pillow was a bit vintage and also a bit farmhouse. And what’s better than a holiday-inspired Christmas pillow with antique ornaments?

I love this pillow but I also knew I had to simplify it.

So how did I make it easier? I used a pillow cover that I bought at a store instead of making them myself!

The pillow covers came in a set of two and cost less than $10.00 each. You can use any ready-made pillow. Just make sure that it has a zipper before you buy it… this is key! The opening also needs to be pretty large. Like almost all the way across the entire end. (You will need access for sewing.) The pillow I purchased was a linen/burlap-type fabric with a cute edging.

Okay… let’s get onto it!

How to Make an Anthro-Inspired Pillow

W H A T    Y O U ‘ L L    N E E D:

• A pillow cover
• 1/2 yard linen or cotton fabric for ornaments
• Contrasting thread (I used a tan color but red or green might look nice!)
• Fabric Glue (I bought the kind that washes out when laundered called Aleene’s No Sew Fabric Glue)
• Pins
• Pattern downloads (download here!)
  • Medium
  • Large
  • Large 2

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S T E P    B Y    S T E P: 

STEP  #1

If you buy an existing pillow (and not a pillow cover), remove the pillow filling and prewash and dry both the pillow and linen fabric.

Otherwise begin with step #2.

STEP  #2

Iron to ensure the pillow covers are flat.

STEP  #3

Using the patterns (Medium, Large, or Large 2), cut out as many ornaments as needed to cover your pillow. I used an 18″ x 18″ square pillow and cut 50 ornaments. Fold over the fabric and cut two at a time. I used 16 large ornaments and the rest were medium sized. But it’s up to you.

STEP  #4

Lay the ornaments out on the pillow as you cut each one out. Be sure to place them very close together. I even had a few overlapping.

STEP  #5

Next, place the fabric glue about 1/2″ from the edge. Don’t put the glue near the edge because you want the edges to eventually unravel. Also, you don’t need a lot of glue. Flip over each one and press gently on the pillow to adhere to the glue.

Let the glue dry for at least an hour.

STEP  #6

Sew around the edges of all of the ornaments. I used a sewing machine but you can also hand stitch. (I knew the machine would be faster.) Be sure to backstitch so the thread doesn’t come loose. Leave some edges on the outside of the stitching so they can ravel over time. Also, be careful not to catch the backside of the pillow when you are sewing.

When completed be sure to trim all of the threads.

At this point, you may want to put the Christmas ornament pillow back in the washer and dryer to get a more weathered look. I didn’t have enough time but I may still do it. I can’t decide because I like my pillow so much already!

And that’s it! I love the way this turned out.

My Favorite Pillows

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