Go green while enhancing your home décor by repurposing a ready-made cardigan into a whimsical pillow.

Supplies

Size L ready-made cardigan sweater

14" square pillow form (See "Sources.")

All-purpose thread

1 yard of 20"-wide fusible woven interfacing (See "Sources.")

1/4 yard of 1/2"-wide fusible web (See "Sources.")

Hand sewing needle

Note: Use a larger or smaller size cardigan depending on the desired pillow size, making sure the cardigan buttons go around the pillow form before construction.

Prepare It

Button the sweater. Adhere a fusible web strip along the placket overlap on the sweater wrong side. Remove the paper backing; fuse, following the manufacturer's instructions.

Cut off the sleeves and collar or neckline, if applicable. Separate the sweater front from the sweater back by cutting through the sides and shoulder seams.

Adhere a fusible interfacing rectangle to the sweater front and back wrong side, following the manufacturer's instructions. Ensure the sweater cables or ribbing remain straight while fusing.

Cut one 15" square each from the sweater front and back, centering the placket along the sweater-front square.

Sew It

Align the squares with right sides together. Stitch the perimeter using a 1/2" seam allowance, leaving a 10" opening along the lower edge.

Turn the pillowcase right side out through the opening and insert the pillow form. Fold the opening raw edges 1/2" toward the wrong side; slipstitch the opening closed.

Sources

Fairfield Processing provided the Soft Touch pillow form: (800) 980-8000, poly-fil.com.

Pellon provided the Shape-Flex interfacing: (727) 388-7171, pellonideas.com. {EDS: pelloninterlinings.com in original copy isn't working.}

The Warm Company provided Steam a Seam 2 paper-backed fusible web: (425) 248-2424, warmcompany.com

Appeared in:

Volume 3