A week ago I showed you how to make a pillow using a fringed fleece scarf. But I’ve also made them with old sweaters. Today I’m going to show you an easy way to make sweater pillows, because who doesn’t love easy! The best part is you use up the whole sweater – zero waste, here we come!
Turning Sweaters into Throw Pillows
Let’s just start by saying I have a lot of sweaters to work with! If you don’t have them, ask family and friends if they have any they’re ready to let go of. Or check your local thrift store – they’ll have lots of different types and patterns to choose from!
Here’s what I started with, an old patterned sweater with sleeves and a turtle neck and a sweater vest. As you’ll see, any sweater shape will do!
Supplies Needed to Make Sweater Pillows
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- old sweater ready to be upcycled
- scissors
- needle and thread in coordinating color
- another piece of soft clothing for the stuffing (or cotton/polyester batting)
How to Make a Throw Pillow Cover from Sweaters
Let’s start with the vest. All it needs is a running stitch going across, just under the arm openings. Then it is flipped over and stuffed and sewn shut. You don’t need to cut it at all.
And here is my white sweater pillow next to the fleece scarf pillow… yes I had a lot of sweater vests.
Now let’s look at that other larger sweater with sleeves and see how I made that sweater pillow.
I turned it inside out and sewed it across about two-thirds of the way down. If you want a more “square” pillow, rather than the rectangular style I made, simple sew farther down, even at the hem of the sweater.
Fold the sleeves inward…
…and the cowl/neck towards the body.
At this point I wanted the pillow to look bunched together on the sides so I used a gathering stitch. Just do a regular stitch and pull tight.
Here you can see the gathered ends more clearly. I added an old soft scarf inside for filling and then folded it on top of the scarf. No need to buy extra stuffing or batting! Simply use another piece of clothes if you don’t have a scarf.
I took the gathered bottom part and folded the rest into it. It’s not hard, just think in terms of thirds.
Once all the inner stuffing is inside the pocket simply sew it shut. You can see that nothing was cut or thrown out. I used everything.
Here is the pretty gathered end. I wanted the look of a roll pillow. It reminds me of these no-sew candy throw pillows over at Sustain My Craft Habit.
I used the same approach to make this sweater pillow from a buttoned sweater with a hounds tooth embellishment. I did exactly the same way as the vest but just fastened the buttons closed first.
What do you think of my no-cutting, easy-peasy sweater pillows?
I don’t think this pillow will fit in my upcycled basket, but that’s alright! If I can repurpose something old and give it a new life I’m more than happy!
This concludes my project on making sweater pillows the easy way, because why make it difficult when you don’t have to? And with this post I think we are done with winter things. Winter begone!!
You literally made a cushion out of a jumper – Mary you are quite brilliant!
I share your love to upcycle and repurpose. Thanks for sharing with us at Merry Monday. I really like the way you were able to use all parts of the sweater.
Thank you Shirley. I figured since its a reuse nothing should go to waste.
What a clever way to keep a favorite sweater and to reuse and recycle to decorate. This would be a lovely way to gift a special item to a child. Thanks for sharing your craft with us at the Over the Moon Link Party.
Sandy I have done just that. I repurposed an old sweatshirt of my daughter’s as a pillow to give to her best friend. This way they get to be close without actually being together.
What an interesting idea Mary! You truly are a creative master! Thanks so much for linking up with me at #manicmonday
Michelle it’s thrifty and you get to save things from the garbage dump. A win win for me!
These are so gorgeous and cozy! What kind of thread did you use for the stitching?
Thank you Katerina.I used regular sewing thread and used a running stitch. The easiest kind!
That’s so clever! I think I’ve got some old jumpers that I never got round to taking to the charity shop 🙂
Thank you Anna. This one is a no brainer anyone can do it, especially you who are so talented with the needle.
Mary, what a clever tip–I learned something new! Thank you for sharing your pretty pillows & tutorial @Vintage Charm!
Thank you Cecilia. Someone also suggested that it is better this way beacuse the yarn does not unravel.
I love upcycling my old sweaters. Not seen this method before, thanks for sharing it !
Claire, my method is easy! And because there is no cutting the thread will not unravel. Give it a try and let me know how it turns out.
this is such a lovely idea! we were planning on going through our old clothes and sweatshirts (ready for spring) and I hate throwing them away! this is such a great way to repurpose them!
That’s what I was thinking too Charlotte. I hate getting rid of my favorites. This is a great way to keep them around without having them take up storage space.
I love the pattern on this jumper, it makes such a nice cushion.
Sally @ Life Loving
#LifeLovingLinkie
Thanks Sally, it’s my favorite that’s why I decided to repurpose it, because of the lovely pattern.
Sweater pillows are so fun. Warm and cozy feeling for winter! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Mary, I love projects like this. I am a woman with too many old sweaters and it’s time to do something with them.
What a great way to re-purpose old sweaters! A craft job perhaps even I could do!
I’ve always wanted to try making pillows from old sweaters. I often just don’t know what to do with them other than giving them away. But yours turned out so well that I may give it a go! Thanks for the step-by-step tutorial – easy to follow 🙂
Love this sweater pillow idea. Found you on bloggers pit stop link party
Ingenious! You made that so simple. I would never have thought to NOT cut it and had all those unraveling ends to deal with…
Loving the gathering on the ends of the bolster pillow too.
gwingal
Τέλεια τα μαξιλαράκια!!!Έχω βάλει και εγώ στο μάτι κάτι παλιά πουλόβερ για να γίνουν μαξιραλάκια και γενικά τα μαξιλαράκια πάντα χρειάζονται,αλλάζουν όλη την εικόνα του καναπέ!Kαλημέρα!!!
Ηταν πολυ ευκολο Ιωαννα μου. Και φεραν μια φρεσκαδα στα δοματια.
This is such a great re-purposing idea Mary, lovely and simple, but the resulting cushions look fab 🙂 Will definitely be trying this x
Glad to hear it Sarah. It is so easy and the possibilites are as limitless as your sweaters
Now that pillow makes me want to go to the ski lodge. And I don’t even ski! (Truth be told, I’m with you…winter be gone!!)
Kim, it served me well all these years, but now I’m getting too round in the middle to fit into it. So this was the best way to keep it near by without actually wearing it.
Hello my lovely friend. Just like me. If there’s an easy way to do something, I’m onto it. These will be fantastic for our upcoming winter. Thanks so much for sharing last week at Thriving on Thursdays. I’m featuring this at tomorrow’s party. Thanks for coming lovely!
Anne xx
Anne, that’s right, you are getting ready for the winter time. I always forget that. So this will be perfect for you now. Thank you also for freaturing it on your fantastic link party!
Mary, you’re amazing. Now I wish that I wouldn’t have taken all our old clothes to the goodwill. I could have made tons of cozy pillows out of old sweaters that no one wore anymore. These are the cutest little pillows, so much character. I love the bolster pillow and how you filled it, this would make for a great neck pillow. You know I love your creativity!
Aww, Nikki, if you kept them you would have a treasure right now. Don’t worry I’m sure you’ll collect more by the end of the winter. Just save them up for next winter when you can make these pillows. Thank you for your sweet words!
You are so creative Mary! What a great way to repurpose old sweaters. I’ve always wondered how it was done, and never tried because I was thinking they would need to be cut. Then the sweater would unravel. Thanks for sharing your tutorial!
Well then Linda, we’ve unravelled that problem. This is the easiest ones I’ve done yet.
Thank you for this post. I have been stashing old sweaters away with the intention of making pillows. Now I know how to do it. Great Post.
And here I was debating about whether I should do this post or not. I’m glad I did it Debra, because it has a special twist – keeps us away from the complicated machinery.
Love love love a good sweater pillow and I’ll be referring back to this post when I turn the exact same sweater vest as yours but only in grey, into one of these sweet pillows. Thanks for the tutorial! Pinning to share ☺
Marie, great minds think alike. And they are so soft and sweet indeed!
how cool you actually didn’t loose any of the sweater but used the extra as stuffing! 100% upcycled with no waste! I love the gathered edge one – that is a great idea and now I need one or three of those!
Exactly Millie, I was able to do it without cutting and someone actually suggested that if I want to wear it I can just take the seam out. Now go get those sweaters.
So cute!! I have a bag full of clothes ready to go to the charity shop. Would I be mean if I had a look to see if there’s any sweater I can update?
Not at all Pili, that’s exactly what I do before sending them out the door. Younever know what treasures you have unless you rethink them.
Mary, love these sweaters pillows!!! I have an old sweater in my to-make-into-a-pillow stash but just haven’t gotten to it yet, but you have given me the inspiration to go get sewing. Like you said it should be quick and easy!! 🙂 Not to mention comfy, beautiful, and inexpensive!! You did a lovely job on these pillows!! I really like the pattern on the roll pillow!!!
It was an old one of mine, but didn’t fit that well anymore, so I had the option to give it to charity, but then I discovered some holes and decided against it. In the end all turned out well. Can’t wait to see yours.
What a pretty rolled pillow! I would get all tangled up in the extra fabric, but you managed to get it all in there and make it beautiful! Great ideas, and now I have ideas for all my old sweaters, too. Thanks!
Thank you Marite. I’m glad I was able to give you some ideas. And it’s a shame to get rid of favorite sweaters especially when the patterns are so cute.
So clever Mary! I would have never thought of just leaving the rest of the vest and sweater on and cut it off. But this way you have stuffing! I love the sweater pillows, the white one would look lovely on my white sofa, but I also like the patterned one a lot, and the way you sewed it is so unique. I don’t think I’m able to do that! I also like that it’s a roll, a different shape is always fun! You always come up with great repurposes Mary! Love it and love stopping by to see what’s going on! Have a great Thursday!
Katrin these are very easy. It’s like making a pocket and rolling the rest into the pocket. The way I was able to achieve the roll was by doing a simple sew on the bottom sides and then just pulling the thread tight so that it bunched up. If you have any old sweaters lying around this is the perfect idea. Have a great weekend.
You sure made those look easy. Hmmmm…. I am still not sure but I’m pondering the possibility of trying one. I do have a lot of old sweaters. 🙂
That’s the spirit! These are so easy anyone who can sew a button can do it. Those old sweaters are calling you Krista!
Mary, I love this pillow! It looks like something I would love to make. I love that you thought of how to make it less expensive!
Sherry if you happened to read my last post on the state of the economy here in Greece you’ll know that I’m on a tight budget. I always try to make things frugally and not spend money needlessly. I think we spend too much on stuff we don’t really need to begin with. It’s not good for our planet.
I love the little bolster you made! I love the pattern on the sweater too. I would probably have worn the sweater! haha But the sweater is absolutely adorable! Definitely pinned!
Gabby if I could have still fit into it I would have worn it too, but I’ve been hanging out with too many foodie bloggers lately (wink, wink) and trying too many yummy recipes. At least the sweater is still useful.
This is such a good idea! Love the time saving tip of just tuning them inside out. Now I’m wishing I’d have kept my sweaters when we moved here and just recycled them into home decor!
Little did you or I know that this would become a trend Wendi. I’v also gotten rid of lots of sweaters but this one had such a lovely pattern I couldn’t give it away.
Mary, this is so cute! I’m not exaggerating when I say these are the cutest sweater pillows I’ve ever seen! I love the way you shaped the long one. I’ve never seen a sweater pillow like that. But, I love that style of pillow. This is a great way to reuse old sweaters. I may just need to go browse the thrift store for some inspiration. 😉
There you go Gina. I’m always happy when I can inspire and help others see things in a different way, or in this case, shape. lol I hope you find just the right sweaters for your pillows.
Mary, all I can say is I’ll never get rid of another sweater again! This is such an awesome idea and I love how you showed how to do it.
Carol I’m really glad to hear that. And its pretty easy when you think of it as a pocket.
I actually have a round pillow that needs to be covered and I going through all of my clothes to give away and clear the clutter and this would be a great way t recycle some of my old clothes.
Thanks Mary.
Absolutely Celeste. It’s always preferable to recyle then to spend more money on things. All we need is a little creativity
I love the shape of this pillow dear, this is a real creative work or using something old and converting into some useful item.
That’s what the blog is all about Sadhna, that and the photos. I’m so glad you like it. And it’s super soft too.
Howdy Mary! While I love all the pillow, the houndstooth with the buttons is my hands down favorite…love that! Think it looks clever all buttoned up. But, here’s my beef with you…why didn’t you show me this 2 months ago?!? I gave so many sweaters away during my unclutter! RATS! But I’m sure I’ll come across one soon.
You are just brilliant1
Hugs, lynn
Lynn, I had been meaning to do this about a month ago and just never got around to it. You’re lucky I didn’t post this in the Summertime. I am all over the place lately. Thinking about Spring, while still in Winter mode, and then having to do Easter projects while our Easter is still 2 months away. I tell you I feel as if everything is off lately. I’m sure you’ll find some sweaters eventually. Hugs back.
Υπέροχα έγιναν τα μαξιλάρια σου, Μαίρη μου!!!!!
Και πάρα πολύ εύκολα!!! Μου άρεσε πολύ και το fleece αλλά και το καλάθι που έβαψες!!!!
Φιλιά και καλό Σαββατοκύριακο!!!!
Σε ευχαριστω Μαριάννα μου! Και πάντα οικονομικά για να τα βγάλουμε πέρα. Καλή Κυριακη.
I love these projects – what a great idea. I’m just going to rummage through the bag of clothes I’d sorted for charity and have a go myself!
That is exactly what we should all be doing Coralie, we don’t need to spend a ton of money to have our homes look great. And there are a ton of patterns out there in sweaters to please everyone.