Outdoor Pillows

G and I have been working very hard on our outdoor space. We were gifted two beautiful rocking chairs by my parents last weekend, which I'm so excited about, but something was still missing. I'm a low-cost project kind of girl and pretty much everything else on the porch was reused from a different space (with the exception of the planters that we created a few weeks ago). The two armless chairs used to be our old dining chairs (which we got at Goodwill for $7) and I put some old chair covers on them to tone them down a bit (they used to be 70's green and blue vinyl). The coffee table used to be in our living room years ago as well as the side table between the rockers. I still have big plans for vamping up those old things but I thought the porch was lacking some color. On my way home from lunch, I stopped by a fabric store and found an remnant bolt of fabric for $3 with about 3/4 of a yard left on it so I whipped up some pillows for the chairs. This could easily be a no-sew project just by using stitch witch or heat n' bond and ironing the fabric together where you would normally have thread seams. I used my sewing machine because it's been a while and I needed the practice. The second fabric I used was left over from when I made my fabric headboard. I'm sure there are a million tutorials on Pinterest for pillows but this seemed pretty standard to me so I just went for it sans pinning. I made two lumbar pillows and two standard decorative pillows. The back sides of the pillows were made with the drop cloth I used on my headboard and the front sides were made with the $3 fabric I found.

Materials Used:
Sewing machine
Matching thread
One half yard remnant of drop cloth
One 3/4 yard remnant of decorative fabric
1/4 bag of polyester filling
2 old decorative pillows

Step 1. I lined up the pattern on my fabric so that it would be straight (this is what left me with slightly less fabric because the remnant had been cut so poorly). Then I used straight pins to secure both of my fabrics together with the print facing the inside.

Step 2. I measured out four 18x18 squares and four 9x18 rectangles, two for each side of the pillows (I would have liked the lumbar pillows to be a little taller but I didn't have anymore fabric).

Step 3. I sewed straight lines down three sides of the pillows and left the fourth side open for my stuffing (This is where you would do heat n' bond if you don't want to sew). On the lumbar pillows I used polyester filling I already had on hand. For the standard pillows I used two old throw pillows.

Step 4. I took the easy way out instead of putting in a zipper or making an envelope pillow, I just pinned the fourth  side of the pillows with hems facing in and sewed a line as close to the edge as possible.

When I need to, I'll just toss the pillows in the washing machine and let them air dry. I think I'll also pick up a can of scotch guard to help keep them clean longer. I like how the pillows help anchor the space and distract from some of the pollen that has accumulated everywhere else on the porch.

lumbar pillows on the armless chairs and
standard pillows on the rockers

A closer look