Making a Grain Sack Pillow

I really like the burlap trend that you're seeing in decorating now.  And because I like French Country and French accents in my home, I wanted some burlap pillows with French writing on them.

After shopping around for a while, I discovered that I could buy two grain sacks at onlinefabricstore.net for $10 each and decided to make my own pillows.  I've always made pillows for my home so this was an easy decision.  You can save a lot of money by making your own pillows and you get a custom look.

I liked these two options because one had a French theme and the other had a cow.    I found pillows that I already had that would fit well.

You can use an old pillow, buy a pillow insert at a fabric store or just stuff your pillow with loose batting.  I wouldn't advise stuffing a burlap pillow though.  The weave is so loose that you may have fiber that pokes through the fabric.

The bags had a finished edge on one side that I actually liked but because I couldn't reproduce it all around I decided to sew over it.

A standard pillow size is 18" square and this bag was 17" across so that worked perfectly.  I turned the bag inside out, measured 18" each way and marked it with a pin.

I trimmed the extra fabric off the top and bottom of the bag and then sewed three sides of the bag together.

I also sewed the final corners for a few inches leaving most of the fourth side open so I could insert the pillow.  I like to sew all the corners with the machine instead of hand sewing them because they turn out stronger and more uniform.  I inserted the old pillow and then hand sewed the bag closed.

If you've never done anything like this before the burlap is good project to start with.  The weave is so loose that you can't see your hand stitching at all - if you use a matching thread.  And this is an inexpensive project to try.

And voila!  The finished product.

This is not a great pillow to cuddle with.  Burlap is pretty rough.  But it is a fun decorative statement.

And here's a preview of the newly painted mudroom with the burlap cow pillow...

We're going to make a new console for this room and I think I'll wait to show you more after it's all finished and decorated.  And show you how we make the console.

Have a great weekend!  Love and blessings!

 "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills."  Psalms 50:10

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