Green Week: Multi-Use Pillow

For some reason coming up with a "green" idea was incredibly hard, even though I love the color.  I really wanted to make something that I could use around my house that would be useful.  I also wanted to check another thing off my to do list. 

In steps project "Green Pillow".  We recently bought a new bedspread (that is adorable by the way!).  We bought it in the clearance section, and it was a steal!  The only problem was since it was on clearance, it didn't have all the cute pillows that went with it.  I love decorative pillows!  I decided I was going to make a pillow that would be multi-use, therefore working with more than one aspect of green week.  I also tried really hard to use only the material I had on hand.

First I cut out white material for the pillow part.
I cut out one piece that was 17" x 12 1/2" for the back of the pillow.  For the front I cut out a piece that was 17" x 16".

I took the front piece and folded the end up 2" and ironed it in place. 

Next I sewed on the fold with a 1/8th inch seam allowance.  Repeat these last two sets until the front has pleats the whole way up.  Depending on how exact your seams are you may need to trim the front a little to line it up with the back.

Next lay the front piece on top of the back piece and sew together.  Remember to leave an opening so you can stuff the pillow.  Trim the corners so they aren't bulky.

Turn the pillow right side out and iron the edges flat, turning in the material at the opening you left.

Now it is time to stuff you pillow.  I used  polyester stuffing because I had it on hand.  After stuffing I hand sewed the opening shut.

I chose white so this pillow could go with all sorts of colors.  Since this is green week and I wanted an adorable pillow to match my bedding, I used green fabric for the wrap around.  I cut out a piece that was 8" x 25".  I didn't finish any of the edges, I kind of liked the raw edge look.  Next I took some iron on Velcro and applied it to the short sides of  the green fabric.  The hook part was ironed on the top of the fabric on one side and the loop part was ironed onto the back of the fabric on the other side, so it makes a ring.

This should wrap perfectly around your pillow.  I double checked where the second piece of Velcro should go before I ironed it on.

In order to make it more St. Patrick's Day themed, I tied some green tulle around the pillow.  I love how it looks!

The green tulle didn't really match the style in my bedroom so when I put it in there I just took it off. 

I love the idea that I can change out the band for any time of year.  Look out holidays I now have some universal decor!

I think it would be a great idea to make a few more.  This was so easy!  I'm sure in the future there will be more pillow posts, because my bed still looks bare!