As soon as I get wind of Michaels putting out their Halloween supplies each year, I head out to scope out the merchandise. Rarely do I actually buy any of their pre-made decor, but I love to see what they offer. And the first thing I spotted was this selection of Halloween pillows.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I honed in on the orange pillow decorated with bats right away. Not only did I think it was cute, but it was more than that.
Because several months earlier, I’d thrifted a vintage orange velvet pillow and it was sitting in my storage unit. And I could embellish it pretty easily- with that Michaels pillow as my inspiration.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
That’s when I decided that my velvet pillow was destined to become a Halloween throw pillow. I hopped on Etsy and eBay and found another vintage orange pillow to go with it- this one in corduroy.
Image credit: eBay.com (store: richebbets)
Now I just needed to upcycle and embellish them to my Halloween-loving heart’s content!
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Decorating a Velvet Pillow for Halloween
With my two vintage throw pillows in hand, it was time to transform them into Halloween pillows. But, I didn’t want to do anything permanent to either one.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
You know I love a crafty challenge like that!
Starting with the velvet pillow, I could have attempted to cut out a few bats from pieces of black felt. But, I found some laser-cut felt bats on Etsy that would be perfect for it. And their edges were much cleaner than anything I could have traced and cut out, so…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Now, the bats on the Michaels pillow were chenille, like a varsity letter. But felt bats suited me just fine…
First, I arranged the felt bats on the vintage throw pillow and pinned them in place with straight pins. Which, of course, allowed me to use one of my all-time favorite projects: the hidden teapot pincushion.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Since I didn’t want anything to be permanent or damaging to the pillow, I wasn’t about to glue them on (hence the pinning). After that, I simply stitched the bats to the velvet pillow using as few stitches as possible.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
I just love simple stitching projects like this because I can re-watch a favorite comfort show while I do it! And for me, that’s usually Gilmore Girls…
Once I removed all the pins and snipped all the thread tails, that was it. The first of my Halloween pillows was done!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Jack-o-Lantern Pillow in Corduroy
Next, onto the corduroy pillow. Unsurprisingly, I planned on transforming him into a jack-o-lantern pillow.
And while his face would be similar to what I did for the bat pillow, I needed to craft him a pumpkin stem. To do so, I grabbed a paper bag (that was destined for our recycling bin) and some vintage brown corduroy fabric.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
First, I twisted one corner of the paper bag until it resembled a pumpkin stem. And our youngest rescue kitty, Pixie, was VERY upset that I was crafting with the brown paper bag. She’d wanted it to lay on…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And don’t worry, our oldest kitty (Cottonball) is just fine. He’d just prefer napping than helping with me projects these days. And our middle kitty, Ruthie, has never been much interested in my crafting!
Anyway, I then cut off the twisted paper to an appropriate length and wrapped some additional paper around the bottom part to make it thicker. Then, I cut long strips of brown corduroy to wrap around my “stem”.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Using my hot glue gun to secure the strips of fabric in place.
Lastly, I glued the stem to a round-ish piece of brown corduroy to complete the look. And, to be totally truthful, it looked a bit more like a witch hat than a stem, but we’re going with it anyway…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
From there, I simply pinned the stem to the top of my corduroy pillow…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And I stitched on jack-o-lantern-style features (black velvet with a goldenrod velvet overlay). With that, both of my Halloween pillows were done!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Upcycling a Pair of Halloween Pillows
Theoretically, I could snip all the threads, remove the embellishments, and I’d have two plain vintage throw pillows again. But I don’t know, you guys…I think these two are forever part of our Halloween decor now.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
My husband is particularly fond of the jack-o-lantern pillow, too. It’s the glowy face, I think. All my previous jack-o-lantern projects used plain black felt/paint features.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Thankfully, the orange corduroy was a dark enough hue that I felt like plain black felt would have gotten lost. But the addition of gold felt really made them pop! And clearly that won over Mr. Seasongoods’ heart.
All I know is, I’m quite tickled about how my Halloween pillows turned out. Maybe the stem is a little wonky, but I love that they’re both vintage throw pillows with amazing textures. They definitely fit in swimmingly here in our thrifted and eclectic home…
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
And hurray, hurray- today is also Thrift Store Decor Team Day! Check out the upcycling projects that my friends have been up to recently.
1. Chandelier Repurpose Idea for Fall – Petticoat Junktion
2. Solar Powered Water Planter Feature – My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia
3. Fall Wooden Crate Project – Shop at Blu
4. DIY Cheese Box Wreath for Fall – House of Hawthornes
5. Upcycling a Pair of Halloween Pillows – Sadie Seasongoods (that’s me!)
6. Bathroom Wall Cabinet Makeover – My Repurposed Life
7. Lamp Makeover with Rub n’ Buff – Our Southern Home
I hope you enjoyed my latest upcycling project- AND the first of several new Halloween projects this year. Usually I have a mix of Fall and Halloween posts at this time of year. But, all of my ideas have definitely leaned Halloween.
Not that I’m complaining! It’s my favorite holiday, after all…
Speaking of Fall, though. Love a good pillow upcycle but not for Halloween? Then you might also enjoy this repurposed pumpkin pillow project, as well!
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Craft on!
S
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Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Image credit: Sadie Seasongoods.
Sarah Ramberg is the owner of Sadie Seasongoods, a website that celebrates all things secondhand. From upcycling ideas and thrifted decor to vintage-centric travel itineraries, Sadie Seasongoods is a one-stop shop for anyone who loves thrifting and approachable repurposing ideas. Sarah is also the author of “Crafting with Flannel” and has been featured in numerous media outlets and magazines.
Oh my goodness! These are so cute!
Thanks, Sue!
Sarah, these are darling! I love the temporary stitch because those pillows need to be enjoyed well beyond Halloween! Pinned.
Right?? I’d just need to cover up the center of the corduroy one (both sides). I’m assuming a covered button was there originally?