How to make a pillow from a placemat; the easiest DIY sewing project ever
Alrighty kids, I’ve had one too many Diet Dr Peppers today and I’m feeling jittery!
I guess I need to go lay down on my… BRAND.NEW….
Pillow!
Yuppers, I made a Placemat Pillow. I know what you are thinking, “Another blogger made yet another pillow from a placemat…”
It’s true. No excuses here. I’m going where no man too many men women have gone before. I’m about the 10 thousandth person to make a placemat pillow.
Hopefully my plethora of pictures and my awesome tutorial writing skills will make my Placemat Pillow more awesomespice than the rest of them.
For starters, I found this linen placemat at Target on clearance (do I ever buy anything at Target not on clearance?
First thing I did with this placemat was wash it, hung it out to dry, and ironed it.
I’d say {obviously} you can only make these pillows with fabric placemats that are double thick, but sometimes it’s not so {obvious} to others, so please, don’t buy a stack of plastic placemats. It is impossible to stuff with polyfill anything that is only one layer thick.
So, next up, after my placemat is all wershtd and ironed is to take a seam ripper and carefully rip out the seam on the bottom of the placemat. Don’t rip too big a hole though – just enough to stuff with polyfill.
See, the hole really isn’t that big.
Now take a bunch of this stuff and stuff it inside the pillow {I bought my polyfil at HobLob}.
I tried to fluff and pull apart each handful of polyfil before I stuffed it in the pillow.
Once you have a very fluffy pillow, take a needle and matching thread and carefully stitch your hole back up.
Easy Peasy.
Now you are done. OMG, this pillow was seriously the EASIEST pillow I’ve ever made. I’m not even sure I can say I “made” it because it was so easy and I hardly did anything to create this masterpiece.
I’m finally starting to get a small collection of pillows for my couch. I want a whole bunch of fun mismatched ones, but holy-camoly, pillows are NOT CHEAP! But my placemat one was! I think I spent about $4 total for the placemat (clearance) and polyfil (I still have half a bag left).
And that, my friends, is the 12,458th tutorial online teaching you how to create a placemat pillow. 
I love original ideas here at HoH. I would love to be creative and have every single post I make be a brand-new original idea. But like I was telling Beth the other day, I’m decorating my house for me. And if I see something online that I love and want to copy, I’m gonna copy it! Because a) it’s my house, and b) most people that come to my house will be seeing the idea for the first time anyway and will assume I made it up myself! Ha!
Now go make yourself a placemat pillow and post your link in my comments section so we can all enjoy your pillow too!
Toodles.
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Welcome to House of Hepworths! HoH is primarily a Home Blog that specializes in DIY projects and renovations, crafts, and decorating. My name is Allison. My family and I live in Austin, Texas. I'm married to Ben and have two children, a 10 year old son and an almost-8 year old daughter. To find out more or to contact me click 
I don’t care if it was the 12,458.45 time it was done…so CUTE!!!
I’m inspired!
Blessings,
Lana @ ilovemy5kids
That is a cute pillow! I actually bought those same place mats on clearance except in the tan color with the blues, greens and yellow in the flowers. I love’em!
Very nice job! And so easy!
Allison, this is why i adore you and your blog haha. We often need to be this way and its not like we are taking credit for the concept but just transitioning it into our lives
love what you do.
I bought some clearance napkins at Target a while back thinking THOSE would make cute pillows. Except I forgot that I don’t sew, not even enough to sew two napkins together. I’m going to find some snazzy placemats and try this instead. So cute! Thanks!
I LOVE the pillow/placemat! It makes me want to run to Target and hope that they have the same one. And I’m happy you posted even if it isn’t original. I haven’t been looking at crafty blogs for too terribly long, so I hadn’t seen this before. Thanks!
I somehow missed the first 12,000 tutorials and had no idea this project existed. I CAN’T WAIT to make myself a placemate pillow! Thank you!
Snazzy Pillow! I have read that you can make place mat pillow, but this is the first tutorial that I have seen. Thanks! I will be perusing for place mats now!
Yeah, these are addictive. I’ve made about 6 so far and I’ve even started just hot gluing the hole shut to be completely lazy. It totally holds. I’ve even used the pillow for naps and it’s still shut.
Holla for the cutest pillow on the planet! Seriously, this is what I love about the blog world…take what you learn from others blogs and apply it to fit in you world! That is why peeps put tutorials on right?! If someone copied something I did, I would be flattered (especially when they give credit where credit is due)!
Off to Target quick after I drop off my son at football practice to see if they have any placemats that will work for my house! You are so right, pillows are so expensive and if I can create some for $4, count me in! My couch is in need of an overhaul!
Thanks for posting this one! Easy peasy lemon squeezy! Love that the commenter above mine, Courtnay, hot glues hers! I am a girl who loves hot glue!!!!
WOW, what a great idea and all of your pillows are SO cute on your couch!!
You are going to think that I am crazy, but this is the FIRST placemat pillow tutorial that I have seen! What a great idea!!! Thanks for the awesome pictures
Awesome idea! You did a fantastic job! Thanks for sharing!
I love your placemat pillow! You can bet I’ll be making one of those for me!!
I made pillows out of linen napkins (from Target) and they turned out great – as long as you don’t look too close! Here’s a link: http://thriftydecormom.blogspot.com/2011/01/linen-napkins-old-pillows-new-pillows.html
By the way, I LOVE your blog and read it every day!!
Lori : )
Thrifty Decor Mom
Looks great! and you know what I do to save on Polyfill? I buy cheap $1.50 chepo standard pillows from Walmart and then cut it open & use the stuffing
makes about 3 pillows 
I’ve always wanted to try to make a pillow this way. You make it look so easy! Love it in pink… so spring-y! (yes, that is a word!)
I’m sitting here reading this out loud to my husband, saying, “Oh my word, I had no IDEA (truly) that’s how you make a placement pillow.” He says, “Well, that’s how I would have made it.”
That is easy enough that I can do it! Great job! And I completely agree with you about the house stuff. It’s YOUR house! Do what you want!
That is so cute. Love it! If I could sew, I’d make one, LOL!
and by the way, WHY are cute decorative pillows so stinkin’ expensive? I just don’t get it!
Ooh, super cute! I hate to admit it… I’ve seen several of the tutorials go up here and there, but I never really paid attention to any of them, but I love your tutorials in general, so I went through and read it, and it LOOKS SO EASY! I was always picturing everybody sewing two placemats together, and that didn’t really make sense to me… (Oh my, are those my blonde roots showing through again???)
Love it!
that is cute! i honestly hadn’t tought of that or seen it before. lol. great idea (even if you got it from someone else)
thanks!
Hello!? Genious! Mind if I copy this one?? With a differnet pattern of course…lol Great job!
Well, I love your placemat and I have to confess I never thought about making a pillow with a placemat. I must live under a rock or something. I have never seen a tut on one either!!! Sigh! I must get out more. Anywho…love yours and your instructions are fab!!!
Thanks
Hugs
SueAnn
So cute! And, it looks pretty easy too.
GENIUS!!! First time I’ve seen this and its genius!! Thanks for posting and I too don’t care how many times its been up…..I’ve been wanting to update some extremely boring pillows for some time now and you have given me hope. Keep on doing what yer doing.
oh my gosh, you are a GENIUS!! why have i never seen this before…what a totally FABULOUS idea! i am so in love & now i will be completely obsessed with double thick placements…at least long enough to drive my hubby crazy…LOL! big hugs girl!
This is the first time I’ve seen this idea! I love it. I planned to make some of my own pillows, which involves… buying fabric, measuring, cutting, sewing, etc. I love a good one-step solution. Thanks for sharing!
I LOVE these!! I am always looking at napkins to make pillows but this looks WAY easier! Thanks for the great idea!
I just started reading your blog about a month ago and love your with and personality. I too must have missed all the other online tutorials on pillow making but I am going to make some now too. I am going to Target tomorrow – and may look at pier 1 or kohls too!!! Thank you!!!!
I love, love, love this! I do not sew so this is perfect. I can thread a needle and sew a few stitches by hand. I have been wanting some new pillows in my living room but I don’t want to spend the money for them so this is a great way to do that.
I’ve seen these placemat pillows all over – definitely opening up a new world to me! Super cute!
This may be the 100th thousand post about placemat pillows, but the first I’ve seen. What an awesome and easy project. Now off to Target to find some cool placemats!
Love it. Almost didn’t read the post because I cannot sew. Glad I did because even I can make one. What a great way to use those clearance place mats which are usually only available in odd numbers.
It might be the 12,458 one out there, but its the first one I have seen so, “Thanks! What a great idea!!”
cool idea!! I wanna try this!
what a great idea!
I haven’t been reading home/decor blogs for all that long so this is the first I’ve seen this idea. I LOVE it! I loved it so much that I picked up a placemat last night while I was at Target and made myself one when I was watching TV last night! I had an old pillow that I didn’t want anymore so I stole the stuffing from there and it’s perfect! I don’t own a sewing machine so seeing an idea that just requires a small bit of hand stitching is perfect for me. Thanks so much for the inspiration!!! I can’t wait to finish it and put it in our newly low-cost redesigned basement.
Great job! I didn’t see these at my local Tarjay.
Am I the only one who has never seen this project? Glad you shared!
WOW! Easy and super cute! My kinda project! LOVE your blog you have me craking up all the time! Have a great day!
Super cute and clever!!
I love these kind of pillows, but I never find cute placemats (cheap) hehehe
your pillow looks fabulous on your couch.
gail
ps thanks for sharing @ catch as catch can!
I love the fabric…and this late in the year I’m unlikely to find that one…but even full.. price for a placemat..we’re still looking at less than $10.