I realize the place mat turned pillow cover concept is nothing new.  Because place mats are perfect and almost ready for stuffing.  So, here’s my version involving a clearance pillow cover, nail scissors, Velcro  embroidery floss, and an old down alternative bed pillow.  I like to use a small pair of scissors to cut along the bottom seam, making an opening for the insert.

As luck would have it, I had a down alternative pillow in the closet (I think it came with our duvet insert).  Even luckier, when cut in half, the dimensions perfectly fit my place mat.

With my pillow cut in half, I sewed the open ends to create two 18 by 13 inch inserts.  Whenever I make a pillow, I like to have an opening to remove the insert for easy washing and storing of the covers.  The easiest way to do this with a place mat is with the help of Velcro   Hand stitch on the inside, if possible along the existing stitching.

Close it up and the Velcro is barely noticeable.

Especially along the bottom of the pillow.

The little border and metallic gold feather are my favorite parts.  And all for $1.99 because I had the rest of the supplies in my stash.

When I want a change, I can pull out the insert, store the cover and make something new.

Each season, I try to sew new pillow covers to fit the time of year.  For the fall, I made an assortment of coral, tangerine, and yellow covers.  When winter rolls around I think of blues, deep greens, silver, and white.  Lucky for me, I bought a few yards of pretty blue fabrics over the summer.  These fabrics set the tone for the winter look.  Because I have to make everything more complicated than necessary, I set out to make a hexagon patch pillow cover, similar to fall’s triangle one.  To make it, I made a template in Photoshop, printed it to card stock, cut it out and traced it on scraps of linen/cotton blend fabric.

With my pieces cut, I pinned the pieces together to make a strip, alternating colors.

I wanted a small seam, so I stitched along the sides, keeping the edges of my presser foot and fabric aligned.

Easy enough, just a few straight lines.  But sewing the strips together was more complicated.  First, line up the strip, fold the right sides together, then pin one side only, like this:

Continue sewing each side, one at a time, working down the row.  Or skip sewing strips and add one piece at a time.  Check out this full tutorial to get a better idea of how to sew hexagons together.

Once I had a sheet of hexagons large enough to cover a pillow front, I cut pieces of silver satin for the back envelope closure.

For the stripe pillow, I simply cut out a 19 inch square (for my 18 inch insert) at an angle.  It also has a shiny silver satin back.

Ben thought six pillows on the couch was overkill, so we’ve only got four.

Because the designs aren’t winter or Christmas specific, we can use the pillows year round or elsewhere in the house.

Do you rotate pillows with changing seasons or holidays?  What colors seem most wintery to you?