“Another pillow project?” you say.
“You boys just made pillows from bandanas. ….and before that, you splattered pillows with paint”
Yeah, I know, we are a little pillow-happy in this house. But these are such a clever idea, and cheap.
2 things that get our hearts racing.
I found a pile of these European grain sacks at a local junk shop.
15 bucks each,
They are made from very thick woven linen. The center stripes are added to help farmers/merchants quickly identify what’s inside and where it came from.
Did I mention that they are huge? Well they are. About 4 feet deep and 20 inches wide.
I picked this one….
I washed it – I don’t know where it’s been – but didn’t dry it.
Sure it’s a little worn, read that as “stained”, that just gives it character.
This is the part where I would give detailed instructions on how to sew a 20 inch square pillow, leaving a 10 inch hole at the bottom for squeezing in a down pillow insert.
I’m sparing y’all that part…it’s pretty easy. I do advise steam-ironing your pillow before and after sewing…so all the seams are nice and crisp.
I had enough grain sack to sew 2 of these……The sides are from the original sack, I just closed the top and most of the bottom.
I had just enough grain sack for 2 20 inch square pillows.
A 20 inch square pillow gets a 22 inch down-feather insert. Always 2 inches or more bigger, and always down-feather.
BUT wait, there’s more.
But before filling with an insert, and taking my cue from these cool-as-heck grainsack pillows,
I thought I’d add a little red stenciling.
Jamie picked up these 5 inch stencils at Harbor Freight and Tools when we bought our bar cart.
See how puckered they are?
I have a plan to make them flat on the heavy weave linen.
This stuff will stick paper to paper for eternity, but just a light spritz on the back of my stencils will be just enough to hold it in place on thick fabric.
I roll the stencil down with a rolling-pin, just to make sure it’s a tight fit…..
Then I stipple on some red latex house paint. Martha Stewart “Barn”. Remember that color from our Christmas front door?
Stipple means that I apply a small amount of paint by dotting the brush straight up and down. Start with an almost dry brush and keep adding paint layers to the fabric as it dries.
After the paint completely dries…… about an hour maybe…….I carefully pull my stencil off.
Told ya it was simple….
Wanna see what they look like?
BA-BAM!!!!
Pretty great with those bandana pillows.
Am I right?
15 bucks for the grain sack, and Ikea down pillow inserts are 12 bucks each.
19.50 for each complete pillow……
You couldn’t buy a pillow-case at Pottery Barn for twice that much.
Clever and Cheap, just like I told ya…….
THE CAVENDER DIARY 
I need to know…87? 5?
LOL, Tiffany, there is always a reason for numbers. 87 was a prety damn good year- graduated high school, started college, pledged a frat, and “Red 5” is Luke Skywalker’s call number in Star Wars
This project is freakin’ awesome. You boys sure have style.
Awww shucks, really glad that you like them…..:)
Hi James (& Jamie!) – read about your garage last Wednesday on I Heart Organizing and have spent the last 5 days reading your blog from the beginning to end. Love it & love your style! These pillows in today’s post are awesome…I haven’t not liked anything you’ve done & have gotten some wonderful ideas on how to express my style (so similar to yours). I have 3 questions for you if you don’t mind answering: 1) which Native American is/was displayed on your Pottery Barn-style easel in the post on how to make the easel? Is that a Curtis photo? 2) what is the “globe-style” container used to display your beer bottle cap collection on your amazing bar cart? and 3) where did you get the Indian chief patches used on your bags and sweater (in your blog photo)? They look like they’re the same. Thanks for any information you can share!
And thanks for sharing with us all your projects and ideas. I’m kinda a little bummed that I caught up with all your posts ’cause I’ll have to wait now for more!
Hi Maggie, We love hearing that someone has read through all our posts (there’s almost 300, and the early ones aren’t that interesting) We try to post every 2-3 days, I have 30 post drafts in the works right now, 1 is for Thanksgiving and 3 are for Christmas. Here are some answers for you 1) the Native photo is a Curtis, “the Old Cheyenne”, from a book I found on Amazon for $4 because the jacket was torn. Great book for framing. Here’s one for $16 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/Edward-S-Curtis-Portraits-American/dp/1603760814/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1372025322&sr=1-9&keywords=edward+curtis+portraits+of+north+american 2) the globe was a gift from a friend who worked in a design showroom, Global Views, I have never seen another one like it. (btw…it’s almost full of beer bottle caps) 3) the Indian patch is from a sadly now-defunct store “Rugby”, I did an eBay search and there are a few there, here’s the cheapest, $30 free shipping http://www.ebay.com/itm/RARE-Rugby-Ralph-Lauren-Indian-Head-CHIEF-Patch-FREE-SHIPPING-/261218409033?pt=US_Men_s_Accessories&hash=item3cd1d49a49. Same company made that sweater…isn’t it just awesome? But the Indian is knit into the sweater.
Thanks for commenting, it’s great to know someone is truly out there reading this stuff (not just our Mothers)…….I’ll try to post more often 🙂
Thanks for the info, James! I guarantee there are way more people than your mothers reading your blog! 🙂
Love these pillows! And, the numbers just seal the deal making them perfect Cavender Boys style! You inspired me again. I just ordered two grain sacks from Etsy to make my own pillows. I did NOT get the awesome price that you did. Bummer… But, I’m excited about them all the same. Time to break out the sewing machine. Well, after I break out the paint brush for Grey’s room that is. He’s going to be backpacking in Colorado next week, so I figure it’s the perfect time to get it done. He won’t be around to fuss about me “messing up” his room. 😉
I knew that you would like them! Have you been to the Uncommon Market in the design district? That’s where I got the sack, you would just die from all the awesomeness they have there …..
“Surprise” him with a painted room , that will make it sting less…..
I have not been to Uncommon Market, but you can bet Robin and I will be making a visit there next week! Your Stars and Stripes bunting is on it’s way 🙂 I’ll send pics when I get Grey’s room painted.
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