* This post is sponsored by Wayfair. All ideas and opinions are my own.
I am excited to share with you today my festive Dia De Los Muertos pom pom pillow! Wayfair.com is running an AMAZING Halloween decor contest that is super simple to enter, and the prize is a $500 gift card! Score! Details are at the bottom of the post, but before you scroll down take a second to check out my festive pillows!
I have always had a load of Halloween decorations, and I just keep collecting more each year. Last year I added a plate wall to my collection, and this year I have been going a little bit nuts with the Dia De Los Muertos theme in our formal living room, where my Ancestor Gallery Wall resides. I set up a whole display of Dia De Los Muertos themed decorations, which I shared a couple of weeks ago, and this week I decided that the couch in between the Ancestor Gallery Wall and the Dia De Los Muertos display needed some festive pillows to tie everything together. I grabbed some Halloween fabric from the store, some (including these colorful skeletons) from my stash, and POM POMS! I love a pom pom pillow, don’t you? Pom poms just make everything so dang festive! Today I am going to teach you how to make your own pom pom pillow.
My pom pom pillow is an envelope pillow cover. I always make holiday themed pillow covers for the pillows that sit on our couches all year. It is SOO much easier to store pillow covers than to store actual pillows!
To figure out how much fabric you will need and the sizes for cutting, you will need a tape measure.
Measure your pillow. This is always a touch simpler when it is a perfectly square pillow, but it’s really a cinch either way. Although I will freely admit that I do write down my measurements each time so that I don’t make any math mistakes. My pillow was 21 inches by 17 inches. That means that I will need to cut three pieces: a front piece and two back pieces, which will overlap. I always add an inch or two of seam allowance to my pillow covers, which means that I cut a front piece that was 23 by 19 inches. For the back I use that measurement, divide it in half, and then add three inches to the height of the piece, so that the back pieces will overlap. I cut two back pieces that were 23 by 12.5 inches. (19 divided by 2 plus 3.) You will need enough pom pom trim to wrap around all four sides of the pillow. (I always try to err on the side of excess materials, because there is NOTHING more frustrating than getting this close to the end of the project just to run out of materials!)
Iron one of the edges on each back piece so that there is a hem. I usually fold and iron, then fold again and iron, as shown. I am not exact about this. I believe my hems are about 1/2 inch.
Sew the hem down. Be sure to back stitch!
Time to pin your pom poms. The pinning is the most time consuming portion of this project, but it is extremely important. It keeps everything in just the right place so that you can avoid frustration and seam ripping later! Place the front piece with the good side of the fabric facing UP. Pin the pom pom trim along the sides of the pillow with the pom poms pointing toward the middle of the fabric, as shown below.
Place one back panel on top of the pom pom lined front piece. (Right/good sides facing one another!) Make sure that the hemmed edge is in the center of the pillow. Pin around the edges of the back piece so that everything is fastened together. Lay the other piece on top of the pillow pieces and pin that as well. The two back pieces should be overlapping, as shown below.
Now slowly and carefully stitch all the way around the pillow. Be sure to back stitch at the starting and ending point of your sewing.
That’s it! Flip your pillow cover right side out and shove your pillow into it!
Are you proud of yourself? You should be! Now you can enjoy this pillow for years to come!
Time for the contest info! The well-decorated folks at Wayfair are looking for amazing, magazine-worthy photos of YOUR Halloween decor to feature on their website! Each family can submit up to five photos, and the person who submits the winning photo will receive a $500 Wayfair gift card! The photos can be of indoor or outdoor decorations. Hurry and enter — it’s a cinch!
ENTER THE CONTEST HERE. GOOD LUCK!!!
If you loved this Halloween post then you may also enjoy these posts:
Too Cute to Spook Halloween Pillows
50 + Halloween Party Food Ideas
30+ Halloween Wreaths & Door Decor
Pottery Barn Kids Inspired Glittering Skeletons
Don’t forget to also follow along on my Pinterest Halloween board for Halloween inspiration from all over the web!
Rachel Nielson says
LOVE the pillow!!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
Thanks, sis! xoxo
Rachel Nielson says
Make me cute stuff for my house!
Sarah Westover McKenna says
You wish. 😉
Junebug says
Where did you find the skeleton fabric?
Sarah Westover McKenna says
JoAnn Fabrics