DIY Sweater Pillow

I've been seeing a lot of sweaters turned pillows on Pinterest and wanted to get in on the fun.  I was particularly inspired by this cable-knit sweater turned pillow that I pinned (originally found on Better After and made by Grand Design Co.)  I originally wanted to use a thick cable knit sweater for my version too, but I realized that I had given all of my ill-fitting ones away to Goodwill recently.  But I did find this old, but cute, argyle print sweater in my new Goodwill pile that is perfect for pillow making.



It no longer fit me, but my model looked pretty spectacular wearing it:



I must admit I briefly considered keeping the sweater for him, but I didn't see any country club visits planned on his calendar, so I decided to move forth with the pillow project.



I'm a total novice when it comes to sewing, so I don't feel qualified to write a full tutorial about how to make a sweater pillows, but I did put together this quick picture showing where I made cuts and where I sewed (just keep in mind, I'm no pro!).

Basically, I cut off the sleeves, stitched the top of the sweater, stitched the bottom of the sweater part-way (leaving just enough of a gap to squeeze my pillow form in), and then cut off all of the excess material.  The width of the sweater was perfect for my pillow form so I didn't have to touch the sides of the sweater.  Once the pillow form was in, I hand sewed the bottom of the pillow where I had left the opening.   

Here's the finished project.  It was pretty quick, easy, and cute!

I also added a small rosette that I made from excess fabric.  I played around with a bunch of ways to make a rosette, but the only thing that really worked was rolling the fabric until something it looked nice (this must be the vaguest tutorial ever!).



I think the pillow looks festive for the holidays, but can also be kept around other times of the year.  What do you think?  Have you made any sweater pillows or from other upcycled materials? (I also made placemat pillows and a tea towel pillow over the summer).

Have you made an Pinterest inspired projects?  I'm linking this post to the Pinterest Party fun going on at Bower Power, Young House Love, Hi SugarPlum, and The Great Indoors.

This post was also linked to House of Hepworths and Thistlewood Farms.