Anthropology Inspired Fringe Pillow

Categories: Gifts, Decor, Pillow

Cleaning out the clothes closet is a sometimes dreaded seasonal task that most people do not enjoy. The process can be soothing to me because it brings back memories of when the piece was acquired, where each piece was happily or regretfully premiered and most interestingly, because it gives me new supplies from which to create. The clothes in my wardrobe are primarily classic. Composed of a basic go-to section and supplemented with little bits of trendy pieces, I find that there is always a piece or two that need to be reinvented. Fun and flirty, I find I tend to lean toward items with a lot with touches of Bohemian. You never know what you will find. Natural fibers and earthy colors fill my closet now as I slowed my purchase of all black statement pieces of clothing a few years ago. Black had became my crutch and my wardrobe became dark, depressing and lacking personality. Nothing exciting or spirited, truly not much but safe and boring.

These Fringed Pillows, made from a wool wrap skirt have been a way to enjoy the fun year around. It was least a decade old and unfortunately no longer fit, so it made the perfect addition to my fabric stash. Just one of the many pieces sitting there, begging to find a new purpose when inspiration strikes. After a visit a to Anthropology and seeing pillows in natural fibers, raw edges and fringe on display, the skirt was destined to become a pillow. Not only is it on trend, it is a fraction of the price and I made it myself. There is something so rewarding about incorporating well loved pieces of clothing into your home decor. It is like little pieces of you on display.

What you need to make this project

Materials
14x14 Pillow
Poly-Fil Fiberfill
Wrap Skirt
Supplies
Basic Sewing supplies

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Poly-Fil® Premium Fiber Fill 12 ounce Bag

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Crafter’s Choice® Pillow 14″ x 14″

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Using a fringe skirt for pillows is easier than starting from scratch because at least one of your edges is already finished. In this case the structure of the skirt and the fringed edges were what made it perfect. Pattern, texture and color were all in one piece of fabric. Iron the skirt to remove wrinkles. Make sure to set the iron to the correct setting. Wool will shrink and change shape if it is heated to high. Decide on a size and shape of the pillow based on the size of the skirt. I use a pencil and ruler to mark directly on the back of the fabric. Chalk also works great. Pillows can be cut by finding fabric to size for a front and back or to get as many pieces out of the fabric as you can. You can always add a different back to a cool front; be sure to save the remnants for scrap projects. For the large Fringed pillow, it was constructed envelope-style to utilize the fringe element which accented its closure on the front.. The large rectangle was stitched by forming a tube. To form the pillow, pin the two sides of the pillow together and arrange the front to display the fringe as desired. The sides are sewn together on your sewing machine. The opening remaining is plenty large enough to insert fiberfill or pillow form. The smaller of the two pillows resembles a neck or lumbar-support pillow. As a pillow roll, it is smaller, just be sure you can fit your hand in to distribute the fiberfill evenly. Add the fiberfill to the pillow small bits at a time. The original skirt waistband made the perfect closure, complete with a fun button. Add the fiberfill to your desired thickness. I like firm pillows so I added enough to make the pillows very solid. Pin the openings closed and sew them either by hand or on the machine. If by hand, I use a whip stitch. Remove the pins and fluff the fringe pillow.