Anthropologie Pillow Knock-off
Well, I hope everyone enjoyed their long weekend! I worked about half of the weekend, but I was off for the holiday Monday so Ryan and I relaxed most of the day and then went for dinner with my sister and soon to be brother-in-law at a nice place at a local beach. The weather wasn’t anything fantastic, but it was a really nice way to spend a day :)
I was craving some change for our throw pillows on the couch, so today I wanted to share how I made an Anthropologie inspired pillow. It was actually pretty easy, and I think it turned out fairly well.
I was doing some browsing on the Anthropologie site a few weeks ago, and one of the many things I saw that I loved was this pillow:
I loved the look of it, but $58 for a pillow cover is definitely NOT in my budget. I decided that I could make a DIY version for far less, so here’s how I did it.
The pillow form size that I was making this for is a 16×16, so to make the back for an envelope style closure I cut two pieces of material that were each 17″x12″. I used a flat sheet that I got at a thrift store for $3, so I used the already hemmed edges for the back so that I wouldn’t have to do that myself. I overlapped the two pieces so that they measured 17×17 and pinned them together. I laid them out with the right side facing up.
I then put a piece of material that I had cut to 27×27 on top of my back piece. Since I was using a plain sheet, it didn’t really matter which side was which. If you use material with a pattern, make sure you place the right side down. I pinned all of the corners together and then began making small pleats along each side. This is why I cut the full piece 10 inches bigger on either side, so that I had material to play with to make pleats. I had also pinned everything into the carpet at the corners so that it wouldn’t move around. It just made it easier for me.
This is what it looked like once I had pleated each side.
I then sewed up the edges, making sure to keep the pleats in place as I went along. I then snipped off the excess material at the corners and turned it right side out and made sure to fully poke the corners out. Then I gathered the extra material in the center and twisted it, arranging the pleats as I went to make sure they looked the way I wanted them to. Again, I had pinned everything down to the carpet so that it wouldn’t move. I also stuck a pin into the rosette in the middle to hold it while I sewed it down.
As I sewed the rosette together to keep it from unravelling, I gathered the pleats at the rosette and secured them as well. You can see in the picture how the pleats will look loose and puffy before you do this.
I did my best to keep the stitches under the rosette so that they wouldn’t show.
After tucking and stitching everything until I was happy, I put the pillow form into the cover and stood back to admire my work!
My pillow isn’t as pleated as the Anthro one (I think if I had made the full piece even bigger than 27×27 I could have gotten more pleats per side which would have made it look even more similar to the Anthro pillow), and the pleats are looser in some spots, but I think I like it. It has the overall look that I was going for, and it was MUCH cheaper! I’ve only made this one pillow cover so far, but I’ll easily get a second pillow out of the sheet and will have material left over as well. I already had the thread and pillow form, so for $3 for a thrift store sheet I’m happy with the new look on our couch!
I also just made the grey and white pillow covers last week from a tablecloth that I picked up at the thrift store for I think $2. Whenever I buy any kind of fabric item from a thrift store for something like this I just make sure it’s in good condition and then wash it when I get it home. You really can’t beat $5 for 4 new pillow covers!
Linking to: Serenity Now, It’s Overflowing, Classy Clutter, Tatertots & Jello
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[…] Steph from Building This Nest had been craving some change to the throw pillows on her couch and loved the look of a pretty rosette pillow cover from Anthropologie. Unfortunately, $58 was definitely not in her budget for a cover alone, and she knew she could make it for way less. Using a $3 sheet from the thrift store, Steph sewed up a cover to fit a pillow form she already had and saved herself a pretty penny. Well, 5,500 pennies actually! […]
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[…] Anthropologie Pillow Knock Off […]
Building This Nest 
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat!!!! This is amazing!!!!! I currently don’t own a sewing machine, so there will be no projects like this in my near future, but you better believe once my office isn’t a storage space, it’s happening. And I’m totally coming to you for advice! I’m terrible when it comes to sewing…
Thanks! I was unsure at first whether or not I liked it, but I think it looks pretty similar to the Anthro one and it was so inexpensive that I won’t feel bad when I want to change it up again!
Honestly, a sewing machine is such a good investment! Mine isn’t even a very expensive one. Obviously it’s better when you have space for it, but it’s so handy to be able to whip up your own pillows, curtains, etc. I’m definitely not an expert, but pillow covers are super easy because they only involve straight lines!!
I love it! I think you did a great job on the pillow cover, and even though I’m not a big sewer, I think I could do this one. (Gotta love the English language, I’m talking about being someone who sews (soh-er) and it looks more like somewhere the water waste goes (soo-er)!) Anyway, I’ve pinned this, I really want to try it. Thanks for sharing, saw you featured on Knock Off Decor.
Debbie :)
Thank you so much Debbie!! I’m glad l could give you some inspiration :)
And that sewer/sewer thing is a bit confusing haha
Thanks for stopping by!! :)
This is gorgeous – just as good as the Anthropologie one, and much much cheaper. Pinning this for when I’m feeling crafty in the future.
Thanks! It really was fairly easy and I think it looks pretty similar to the inspiration. Thanks for pinning! :)
Love it!! I have also used sheets for curtains, duvet covers and all sorts of other projects. Another thing I’ve used are large sized napkins that I find on sale. Most of the time they are the right size so minimizes the fussing. I have also put a pillow form into a pillowcase and then just knot the end of it. I suppose that is the lazy man’s way by I
get bored easily so this way I’m able to switch things around easily
Thanks! :)
Sheets are such a cheap alternative for lots of things! I’ve made curtains from them several times and am planning on a duvet cover too. I’m all about saving money wherever I can!
What a fabulous little pillow and an awesome tutorial. Pinning!!
Thank you so much for sharing this at the Fall Get Your DIY On Challenge: Blue Projects. We were so thrilled to have you and hope you will be back tomorrow to share you fall wreath with us!! It goes live at 4pm PST.
Thank you! I’ll definitely be linking up to the wreath party :)