Every once in awhile, I’ll open my closet and see something that causes me to shake my head and wonder, “What on earth was I thinking, and why do I still have this?!” What seemed like a great idea at the time, would now be fashion suicide should I actually slip it on and leave the house. Sometimes the item goes straight into the Goodwill bag, but there are also times when my Vintage Rescue lightbulb goes on. I see beyond the jacket’s silly majorette neckline and wild, stacked cuffs and envision what could be a cool home decor project. My denim jacket lives again as a whimsical throw pillow.
Every once in awhile, I’ll open my closet and see something that causes me to shake my head and wonder, “What on earth was I thinking, and why do I still have this?!” What seemed like a great idea at the time, would now be fashion suicide should I actually slip it on and leave the house. Sometimes the item goes straight into the Goodwill bag, but there are also times when my Vintage Rescue lightbulb goes on. I see beyond the jacket’s silly majorette neckline and wild, stacked cuffs and envision what could be a cool home decor project. My denim jacket lives again as a whimsical throw pillow.
All this project requires is a denim jacket you wouldn’t be caught dead wearing, some coordinating fabric for the pillow back and the ‘jacket’s shirt’, and a fluffy pillow insert. If you have a jacket with interesting closures, such as the frogs on mine, toggles or buckles, this makes the pillow front more fun and best shows off the fabric behind the closures.
Create a pattern template for your pillow front. For notes on pillow sizing as well as step-by-step instructions for a simple square pillow with an envelope back, check out our tutorial: Super Simple Throw Pillows.
Using your template, fussy cut the jacket so the original closures will be right down the center of the pillow front.
Cut a small strip of your contrasting fabric and stitch it in place behind the jacket’s original opening. This is the jacket’s ‘shirt’ that will show behind the closures.
Complete the envelope back, and sew front to back around all four sides. Insert the pillow form though the back envelope opening.
