a holiday project: my version of pottery barn winter village pillows

I really like a lot of Pottery Barn's pillows, in fact their Winter Village series is one of my current favorites... but let's face it, they're not usually inexpensive.  And for a holiday pillow it can be a bit much to swallow.

found here

So when I saw that Pottery Barn also sold a kitchen towel in the same line I had an idea....

I've used kitchen towels, napkins and place mats for all kinds of projects before... including you guessed it, pillows!  At $12.50 a towel, still not super cheap but with my 20% off and free shipping I purchased two for around $20.

When they arrived I was excited to see that the towels, like the pillows, were made of a linen and cotton blend fabric.  Like most towels they were rectangular in shape and around 18 x 26 inches in size.

After washing the towels I was ready to measure for my pillows.  I realized that when I cut two squares (18 x 18) I would still have enough for a smaller pillow as well.  Three pillows for $20!

My first one was using the leftover bit of fabric.  I added it to a piece of drop cloth fabric I had.  I just turned under two edges (the other two were already the edge of the towel) and attached it, applique sort of  fashion, to the front of the pillow.  I added a back (using the non zipper method, you know overlapping like a pillow sham?) and voila!

I suppose I should have picked up the sewing machine cord first, hmm?  And you may never have noticed... but our little house has the original (working) pocket doors between our living room and dining room...

The same pillow on a different chair... please, ignore the dog hair... it's time to switch out the slipcovers but that's for another day.

As I was taking the photos I noticed something outside the window....

Swans in our field!

Not the best picture but I knew if I went outside they would fly off.

The other two pillows (the 18x18 ones) stitched up quickly too.  I  also used drop cloth for the backing on these... not trim on any of the pillows.  Since they are just for the holidays I didn't want to spend a bunch of time on them, keeping it simple.

I was careful when cutting them out to pick a part of the image I liked...

I think this one is my favorite...

So the pillows aren't an identical match to the real thing since the village scenes are smaller and not just a singular scene...

But I'm really enjoying the holiday change up... and with this little scene I can't help but think...

"And to all a good night!"

linking up to

Elizabeth & Co

Be Inspired