Throw pillows make any bed or couch more comfortable and more attractive.? There’s just nothing like cuddling up with a nice, soft pillow at the end of a long day, except maybe cuddling up with a nice, soft home-made pillow.

Throw pillows are surprisingly easy to make.? You can even make one if you don’t know how to sew.? Read on to see how simple it is.

Supplies

• 1 yard each of two coordinating pieces of fleece (prints, solids, or one of each; a print with a matching solid color makes a nice reversible pillow)
• 24-inch pillow form
• Straight pins
• Sharp scissors
• Ruler or measuring tape
• Disappearing ink pen

Instructions

1. Lay the pieces of fleece on a flat surface, one on top of the other, with the wrong sides together.? Smooth out and take care to make sure the edges are even.? Pin the pieces together a little over 6 inches from the edges.

2. Measure and mark a 6-inch square in each corner, and cut the square out of both pieces of fleece.

3. Make the fringe.? This is done by cutting 6 inches into the fleece at 1-inch intervals all the way around.

4. Remove the straight pins.? Place the pillow form between the two pieces of fleece, making sure to keep the right sides out.

5. Tie each piece of fringe from the top piece of fabric to the one behind it from the bottom piece.? It may help to tie a few fringes in each corner before doing the rest to prevent bunching.? If you’re having trouble keeping the pillow form in place, pin the fleece to it until you get most of the fringes tied.

If you have good square throw pillows but would like a new look, you could use this method to cover them with fleece.? Just measure the pillow and cut the fabric 6 inches longer than the measurement.? Or if you prefer a shorter fringe, only add 3 or 4 inches.

You can also make blankets using this technique, so it’s easy to create a matching set.? If you can find patterned fleece that features a favorite football, baseball, basketball or hockey team, such a set would make a great gift for the sports fan on your list.? Patterns for kids could be used to make nice sets to go on their beds.

Who would have thought that making new throw pillows would be this easy?? This project is so easy that a pre-teen could do it, and smaller children could assist with it.? Yet the finished product looks like it took a great deal of time and effort.