Destashing with pillows and covers!

My stash has been getting full again, so I emptied out my entire stash bin and sorted through the contents looking for projects. Most of the fabric I found had an intended purpose, including some artsy cat panels I had bought for pillows!

The panel was a single piece of fabric with four illustrated cats. Each cat was centered in its own box, outlined with a dotted cutting line. I also had a white cotton with more artsy cats that I chose for the back side.

I quickly realized I should make pillow covers with the panels, not pillows. They’re mostly white and destined to be covered in actual cat hair. They need to be washable!

So I made the actual pillows with muslin, cut same size as panels. It used up the muslin I bought for designing, but you really can’t beat $3 pillows so I didn’t mind! Each pillow used 1 yard of 45″ muslin. I sewed all but a 6″ gap around each pillow, for stuffing. When the pillows were well stuffed, I sewed them shut with machine.

All the raw edges in the pillows and cases were trimmed with pinking shears to prevent fraying.

The stuffing was also a sort of de-stash. I used two king-sized bed pillows we bought, which seemed nice in the store but were too poofy for sleeping. They were enormous and took up alot of storage space!

I had enough stuffing for five pillows, so for the fifth I used a funky blue canvas. I originally bought it to reupholster a chair we don’t have anymore. I made this pillow the same size as the others.

Two of the pillows have lapped zippers to close. The other three are “envelope”, meaning the back is made from two overlapping pieces. Mine overlap by 3″.

To make an envelope closure, measure half of the pillow length and add the overlap plus an inch for a hem. Hem one edge of each piece, and layer them over each other for the back.

We have been using them everyday for a couple months. They need the occasional fluffing and are covered in actual cat hair but otherwise are quite wonderful.

I used up three fabrics from my stash and finally got rid of those awful large bed pillows. The new pillows are a welcome addition to the living room!

Thanks for reading <3