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Easy DIY Burlap and Floral Strip Pillow

If you saw my post the other day about Fall-ifying the Living Room, you may have noticed the long Burlap and Floral-fabric Strip Pillow on our ‘falled’ out couch. Well after a few emails about it I am here today to share with you how I whipped that bad boy up in a matter of only a few minutes.

burlap floral strip pillow DIY tutorial at thehappyhousie

To make this pillow you will need:

  • burlap and floral fabric
  • scissors or a rotary cutter and cutting mat
  • a sewing machine
  • an iron and ironing board

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Start by measuring your pillow form. My form was 16″ tall by 24″ wide.

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Now use some paper to sketch out the sizes you will need your fabric to be.

My planning went like this:

I knew I wanted to sew one LOOOONG strip of fabric together and then fold it in on itself to sew a simple one piece envelope pillow. If you aren’t familiar with how to do this – you may wish to review my basic straightforward instructions here. It will likely help you understand the rest of this process.

I decided that I wanted an 8 inch strip of the floral fabric (on the FRONT only) in the middle of the pillow. The height of my pillow was 16″ tall and I needed to add a 1/4″ seam for each side of the floral fabric. This meant that I cut a piece of floral fabric at 8.5″ wide by 16″ tall.

I then need two pieces of burlap to attach to each side. I knew I wanted my loooooong strip to end up being double the width of my form (24″+24″) plus an additional 8″ to overlap at the back for the envelope enclosure. This meant I needed the loooong strip to be 56″ long. I cut my two burlap pieces at 28″ each by 16″ tall. Here is how I sketched it out:

sketch out pillow design

Okay… once your measurements are figured out… measure your fabric and cut it…

(I used a rotary cutter and mat but you could always mark your fabric lightly and cut it with scissors.

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I didn’t hem the edges of the burlap with a folded over edge… instead I just used a back and forth stitch on my sewing machine and finished the edges this way:

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Reinforcing the burlap with this kind of machine stitch is recommended because of how burlap frays and pulls otherwise.

I sewed the burlap to the floral fabric using this same kind of stitching and “hemmed” the two edges that would be on the back of the pillow making the envelope enclosure.

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Once my looooong strip was sewn together I folded right sides together (the pretty sides that you will see are facing into the center together),

then I measured the length (to 24″) and pinned it….

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Finally… time to do some more back and forth machine stitching down the sides of the pillow and finish this baby off! (pro sewers- I am sure that stitch has a different technical name… feel free to enlighten me in the comments section:)

Turn it inside out… and you are done!!

diy burlap and floral strip pillow at thehappyhousie

It is really quite easy and quick- once you figure out the math (not necessarily my strength) and measure it all correctly before cutting!! Once you tackle that hurdle the rest is pretty smooth sailing. Though sewing burlap does add a little extra dimension because of using the back and forth stitching rather then a quick straight stitch.

I’m pretty happy with the results….

burlap and floral fabric strip pillow diy at thehappyhousie

I love the way the subtle colour and rich texture of the burlap tone down all the color and pattern in my floral fabric choice…

Fall Living Room decor 4 at thehappyhousie

burlap floral strip pillow full DIY tutorial at thehappyhousie

The floral fabric is part of the same series as the fabric on the white chairs (I made those pillows as well) and it is by Waverly – the fabric on this pillow is Waverly Button Blooms Confetti, and the coordinating fabric on the white chair pillows is called Waverly Pom Pom Play Confetti. I bought all of mine through Fabric.com but they seem to be out of the Button Blooms print right now. The faux bois is called Willow yellow by Premier Prints, and I bought the black and white chevron from Michael’s Craft Store in a 1yard package.

Fall Living Room decor 8 at thehappyhousie

Nothing says fall like burlap (oh yeah, and chalkboards and mums and pumpkins….okay I guess a lot of things “say” fall:)

In case you have missed anything… here are some of my other recent ‘fall’ projects (picture is the link):

chalkboard projects for the fall front porch at thehappyhousie

Fall Living Room decor collage at thehappyhousie

Black and White Hand Sketched Sharpie Pumpkins at thehappyhousie collage

What projects have you been up to for fall decorating? Any fall pillows on the horizon? How about pumpkins? Or porches? Hey… those all start with P. Crazy.

Thanks for reading. And remember my housie friends, HOME isn’t built in a day. Enjoy the journey.

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59 Comments

    1. Hi Olivia – no, I didn’t because it was simply burlap ribbon (with finished edges) and there didn’t seem to be any need to wash it.

    1. Thank you! It was quick and easy project and I am thrilled with it – though I might even like it better on a square pillow. Might have to give that a shot:)

    1. Thank you Megan – that fabric is pretty busy but I love the colors so it is perfect softened by some burlap strips:) Thanks so much for your visit!!

  1. I love it. I have some fabric similar to your stripe fabric and I have burlap. So now you’ve inspired me to make a pillow like yours. Thanks! Do you think you could share this post at our Making Monday link party this upcoming Monday {actually goes live Sunday 8pm eastern}? We would love it and I know our readers would, too. Thanks. Have a fabulous weekend.

    Lori @ A Bright and Beautiful Life
    http://www.abrightandbeautifullife.com

  2. Krista, you should be proud of yourself! Your whole room is so cheerful and happy and yet there is a fall vibe present. You rock, girl!
    Nice pillow btw!!
    !
    🙂
    hugs x, Crystelle
    Crystelle Boutique

    1. Thank you Crystelle!! I guess it is just about time to add a little HAlloween-y to the mix now! Hope you are doing super well:) Thanks for the visit and comments!!

    1. Hi Rachel!! So great to see ya!! I love Waverly fabrics too… and I bought a little series with these ones, the large scale floral, the tight floral, and a geometric. I love all of the prints!! Thanks so much for your visit and comments!!

    1. Hi Amanda- I added some links for the fabric to the post. It is a Waverly Print called Button Blooms Confetti- in the same series as the fabric I used on our white chair pillows – that one is called Pom Pom Play Confetti. I ordered mine from FAbric.com but they seem to be out of the button blooms right now… you could possibly get it through another online fabric retailer by googling it:) Have a great day!!

    1. Thank you Carrie!! The broken oar or the whole oar? I think I like the broken one the best:) We have a few oars/paddles around the house to go with our slightly “lake cottage” look.

    1. Thank you Kendra! It is more subtle then my pillows usually are (even with the floral in the middle) so it takes some getting used to… but I like the subtleness for fall:) So thrilled you came to visit!!

    1. Oh Vel you are a woman of many talents…I bet that you could learn to sew if the fancy hit ya….to be honest I really only sew straight lines and nothing complicated but that is enough!! Have a great week:)

      1. I did it! It’s done and it’s so cute. I just put the post up. I hope you like it since you totally inspired me. I never would have thought to put that strip in the middle and I love it. Thanks!

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