I’m all about SIMPLE crafts/DIY projects these days, mainly because I’m too busy for anything crafty that takes longer than 10 minutes!

I whipped up this pillow in less than 10 minutes, and my sweet mother-in-law insisted I blog about it.  It’s nothing earth-shattering, but I always enjoy reading about frugal, easy home decor projects, so I’m sharing it!

I found a placemat on clearance at Target (Threshold brand) for $1.18, and I was immediately drawn to it.  The fabric is printed, but the texture makes it look embroidered.

I checked the back, and I realized that because of the layers (the back was a light-weight fabric), I could easily turn it into a pillow just by cutting open part of a seam and stuffing it.

If you want to make a pillow like this, you’ll need to find a placemat with a fabric back that is not fused to the front of the placemat.  You’ll also need some stuffing!  (I actually unstuffed a cheap IKEA pillow and used that for filler.)

Note: A slightly more difficult way of converting a placemat into a pillow is adding a piece of fabric as the backing, sewing it right sides together leaving an opening, turning it right side out, and stuffing. 

Using a needle and scissors (or a seam ripper), carefully remove the threads on one seam to create an opening wide enough to allow you to stuff the pillow.

Fill the pillow with stuffing, then hand-stitch the seam closed.  Fluff the pillow, and you’re done!

This project cost me $3.18 total, but your cost may vary.

If you enjoyed this tutorial, feel free to pin it!