A Thrifting I Did Go!

Yes, I admit it. I am a thrift-shop addict. I keep myself in check by not going near them as much as possible, because as soon as I am near one, I just cannot help myself. In I go and stuff I buy. Like I need more stuff.

This is an obsession that neither my mother nor my husband understands. My mother is strictly of the belief that if someone is getting rid of it, it's garbage and not something to be coveted. "Why would you want something someone has thrown out?", she's asked me many times. The only time I think she's gone against this particular mantra was when she went through an Ebay addiction phase a few years back. The object of her desire at the time was enamelware. She was crazy!! She bought up piece after piece. She owns a number of beauties--and even gave me a piece, which I love. But this was the extent of the thrifting on her part. I haven't ever known her to go into a thrift store, and anytime I've extended the invitation, she politely declines.

My husband is of similar ilk, but less vocal about it. Instead of asking why I'd want something someone threw out, he gets quiet when I mention thrift stores and that I'd been in them. Just really quiet. Which usually means he doesn't agree, but doesn't want to start a fight. He's a smart man.

Me, though, I'm hopeless. I love them. Come on, what's not to love?? Where else can you find stuff that people had kicking around for years that you can't find in stores because it's not being made?? And then get it for not a whole lot of money? A thrift store, that's where!! It's the way to go. And I do like digging through the 70's retro chic stuff to find the treasures. Doesn't bother me in the least. It's like a hunt where nothing gets killed. Win-win all the way.

Anywho, my diatribe is because I caved today and went thrifting. I have been wanting to make sweater pillow covers for the pillows in the family room, and spending a lot of money on sweaters I'm about to chop up makes no sense whatsoever. So, where do I go?? The thrift store, of course!! Woo hoo!! Fun, fun!!
Anyway, I bought a few, as you can see. I needed 4 sweaters for the pillows, and a couple more just followed me home because they had an interesting texture to them. I have to say that the store was chock-full of sweaters. And the colors were just something to see. I resisted quite a few that were colors that would not have worked in the room, but after I got home I thought about possibly going back to get them to make blankets out of. Hmmmm..... I think I may. Some of those colors were just TOO irresistible. A feast for the eyes, no joke.

When I got home, I looked on the net to see if there was some information about making pillows out of sweaters, just in case there was something I didn't know that I needed to. I didn't find much information, but I could buy a video all about it for only $19.95, if I wanted to!! Er....no. So, being the savvy sewing-lady I am, I just did it myself. And I thought I'd share with you how to do it, in case you thought about this yourself. It's super-simple. Here are my instructions. I hope they make sense!

Sweater Pillows with Envelope Backs

1. Go and buy sweaters. Or go in your closet and find sweaters. It matters not. Just make sure they are big enough to cover your pillow. If they are not, you can seam them together (I had to do this with the yellow one you see below). However, the seam is going to be super-obvious on a plain weave, monochrome sweater. It's not obvious on a sweater with cables and braidy-design thingers on it. So if it's a plain weave monochrome that's too small, put it down and walk away. Or find a smaller pillow to cover. Whatever works for you. I would think that you could seam a plain weave striped sweater and have it be less noticeable, but just be aware that the seam will keep some bulk no matter what, so the seam will stand out a bit. Those cable-braidy things really do help. Plus they look cool too.

2. Go and buy backing material if you're making pillow covers you can remove and wash. If you are just covering the pillows and they can stay covered forever (you have no kids or pets to make them dirty, or you just like to have a lot of pillows), then you wouldn't need this. Also, if you have a small enough pillow, you can probably back it with the rest of the sweater you're using for the front. However, sweaters are bulky. And folding them over to make an envelope back will make a bulky blump on the back of your pillow. So, I don't know if I'd recommend that. I used flannel for the backs of the pillows I made, which is still soft and nice, but doesn't make a blump at the seam. Cotton homespun would be just as soft and also be non-blumping. It's up to you!!

3. Ok, this is where it gets faster. Determine where your pillow needs to be on the sweater so that you have enough to cover it. For example, can you center the pillow on the sweater and have enough for a seam allowance? Does the neck get in the way? If it's a V-neck, you may need to use the back of the sweater instead of the front. Figure that out now.






4. Cut off the arms of the sweater.








5. Cut off the neck of the sweater.







6. Cut along the side seams to separate the sweater halves. Cut off the bottom band as well. Measure your pillow and determine how much more you need to cut off of the sweater to get the correct size piece for your pillow (plus your seam allowance--don't forget to add that in).

For example, if your pillow is 20 inches square, and you want to use a 1/2 inch seam allowance, you would need to cut a 21 inch square to properly cover your pillow. Do that now. Once you've got this, leave it alone and work on the back.




7. Cut two pieces of backing fabric. Their width should be the width of your pillow+seam allowance (so, going back to the example above, it should be 21 inches wide) and the length should be half of your pillow's length+3 inches (again referring to the example, it should be 13 inches--20 divided by 2 plus 3). The three inches are for the fold to finish the edge of the envelope, plus overlap. It's a generous number, but more overlap on the back is better than not enough.






8. Fold over one side of your backing piece 1/2 an inch. Press and then fold it over again another 1/2 inch so that the raw edge is inside the folds.







9. Sew down your folded-over edge, and then press it again.








10. With right sides together (very important), and one of the backing pieces overlapping the other, position the backing on the sweater piece for the front. Get the center seam straight and the overlapping part even. Here I hadn't gotten it straightened out just yet. I had to fiddle with it a bit.






11. Once the backing is straight on the front and overlapping nicely, pin it! Use big pins. I started with silk pins because I like them, but they were just lost in the weave of the sweater. It's better to use a bigger pin with a big head so you can see them.






12. Sew the backing onto the front, using your predetermined seam allowance. After it's sewn together, remove the pins (if you didn't already), and then trim the seam if it's not even all the way around. Cut the corners on the diagonal, if you'd like to make them a little crisper (it will only make them a little crisper--the sweater material is bulky and rounds the corner naturally).






13. Turn the cover right side out and stuff your pillow into it. Viola!! A sweater-covered pillow!!









And the back!











A whole pile of sweater-covered pillows!! So pretty!








I hope that all made sense! If it didn't, please let me know and I'll fix it. Enjoy your thrifted sweaters, everyone!!