One thing you can say about needlepointers is that we love needlepoint, even if we didn’t stitch it. If you are at all handy with a sewing machine, you can upcycle old needlepoint into pillows.
With retro and vintage styles so popular, the pillows you make will be as chic as expensive ones from Jonathan Adler but at a fraction of the price. And they’ll be better made too!
The key is to buy finished needlepoint that appeals to you. Look at estate sales, your local thrift shop, and on eBay, Etsy, and on-line antiques dealers. If your area has house auctions, you might even try these out.
Often when people downsize or die, everything is given to a thrift shop or sold at estate sales and auctions. With needlepoint’s huge popularity in the 1970’s, it’s relatively easy to find.
Keep in mind the colors in your house as well as the styles you like. Don’t plan on spending too much on any single top.
Once you have bought your piece of needlepoint it’s time to make some decisions.
If it’s small, consider turning under the edges and sewing it onto the front of a larger pillow. If you like, uses iron-on sewing tape and trim to make the edges pretty. If you don’t want to do that, add trim to the edges to enlarge the design to make more of an impact.
Once you have your pillow top the size you want, decide if you will have trim on the edges or tassels and pick your background fabric. Velvet and moire are always classic choices, but any heavy fabric will work.
Follow one many tutorials or videos on making pillows if you haven’t made pillows before. Remember that pillows do not need to be finished with zippers. The backs can be lapped (like a pillow sham) or the pillow can be sewn shot.
Best of all finishing these vintage pillows will give you confidence to turn your own work into pillows.
About Janet M Perry
Janet Perry is the Internet's leading authority on needlepoint. She designs, teaches and writes, getting raves from her fans for her innovative techniques, extensive knowledge and generous teaching style. A leading writer of stitch guides, she blogs here and lives on an island in the northeast corner of the SF Bay with her family
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