If you love farmhouse style, then you probably love just about anything with a buffalo check pattern on it! I have had my heart set on having a few buffalo check pillows in our living room, but spending $30+ on a pillow cover was never going to be in our budget. Check out this simple 5 step tutorial that will help you achieve farmhouse style on a grass farmer’s budget.
My entire life, money has been tight—but I’m not complaining. In fact, I see it as a challenge to use what God has given us and be super creative with it. I really wanted country-style pillows, so I came up with a quick easy way to get that look for under $3 per pillow.
It’s gonna take a bit of good old fashioned hand sewing, but I finished 2 pillows in the time it took my girls to watch an episode of Barney. Which means you definitely have the time to tackle this project and you can get in some cuddle time while you’re at it! (Feel free to adapt this tutorial for sewing machine use if you desire.)
Step 1. Shop
Okay ladies, step one involves shopping, so you should be able to handle this one with skill! Yep, the Pioneer Women’s Flea Market napkin sets are my secret weapons for this project. Think about it: this buffalo checked fabric is already cut in a perfectly sized square, is already hemmed for you, AND you can get a 4 pack for under $5 at your local Walmart! I love that there are a variety of colors too, so you can get a shade of checks that fit your home decor.
When I say these pillow covers are under $3 it’s because it only takes half a pack to make one pillow. The number of napkin packs you will need to purchase depends on how many pillows you want to make; and if you want both sides to be the check patterned or if you want to mix it up. I already had a few of the Pioneer Woman napkins when this idea occurred to me. I really love how they look on my farm table, but I was willing to sacrifice a few for pillows.
Step 2. Gather
Now it’s time to gather all your supplies for the project! I assume you will have everything on my list laying around your house once you have purchased the napkins. Here is a list of everything you will need to make one pillow:
- 2 Cloth napkins
- 1 Old pillow or stuffing
- Coordinating colored thread
- A needle
- Push pins
- A pair of scissors
- & 1 Episode of Barney
Step 3. – Pin
I had to include this step because unfortunately I found that the Pioneer Woman Napkins were not all exactly alike in dimension, so it’s very important that you line up the edges how you want them to lay before stitching. In most pillow making projects you would sew a pillow inside out, but I wanted a faux piped effect. This meant that I pinned the “wrong sides” facing in. (As shown above)
Step 4. Sew
This step might seem self-explanatory, but I wanted to point out that I am achieving a piped effect by carefully stitching just under the already existing hemline of the napkins. Keep sewing all the way around 3 sides of the napkin and then stop with a knot. I wasn’t worried about my imperfect stitches showing, because all the hand-made stitches in plain sight are just another way to add farmhouse style to your pillows. I always feel like Ma from Little House on the Prairie when I’m hand sewing something for my family or home. It’s fun for awhile… but I’m not sure I could make myself a dress—a simple pillow is enough for me.
Step 5. Stuff & Stitch
Lastly, stuff an old pillow or the stuffing of your choice into the open end of your pillow case. I often get tired of the throw pillows on my couch, but I can’t afford to replace them on a whim. Reusing them as inserts for new handmade covers is a great way to recycle them! Once your stuffing is in place you can rethread your needle and close up the remaining side.
I am thrilled with the way these handmade pillows turned out! They give me that cozy farmhouse feel I was dreaming of and you would never guess that they only cost $3 to make! I added one on the chair, one on the couch and draped a matching tablecloth over the other fireside chair to balance the pop of color around the room.
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These are so cute! And I think I might be able to pull these off, even with my (extremely) beginner sewing skills. Now I just need to get some napkins and find an episode of Barney, and I’m all set! 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Yes! You can do this! As you can probably tell I have beginner sewing skills too, but even a beginner deserves authentic {homespun} farmhouse style! Let me know how it goes and don’t be afraid to ask any questions. I will do my best to help you out. Happy sewing my friend!
Oh my goodness!! Even I can do that and I don’t really sew! I’m going to go find some napkins today! Pioneer Woman is one of my favorite blogs and shows. I also get bored with my pillows and like to change my colors with pillows. I have gone searching at many thrift stores looking for pillows in autumn colors. Apparently everyone else has done the same. The only one I found I liked was $9.99. For a well used pillow. No thank you. SO excited to try this! Thank you! I am always so excited when you post!
Lori you are the most faithful non-family reader of our blog and we can’t believe all the love you send our way! Your sweet support has kept me from giving up writing here quite a few times. I’m not sure you will ever know how much we love you 😘 You basically are family now. No one else knows as much as you do about what’s going on at Bryarton Farm. 😂 I hope your pillow project is successful, Happy Sewing!
Thanks for this idea! I have some front porch pillows I was thinking about changing up for fall, but didn’t want to spend a lot. This looks so cheap and easy! Thanks again!
I definitely tried to make this tutorial as simple and budget friendly as possible. You can’t beat $3 and 30 mins of work! As mommies money and time are things we seem to run out of pretty quick ☺️ Let me know how it goes. 💙
I found some napkins I liked at Home goods and covered my front porch pillows just like you did in the tutorial. They were so easy and they look great! One of the fabrics, I could only find in a place mat not a napkin. It was even easier to make because I just cut open one side of the place mat, slid the pillow inside and stitched the open side back together again. I like the way the napkin ones looked better though because they have the faux piped edges. Then I painted the bench the pillows were on. Then the plant stand next to it looked dingy so I painted it too. Then my old broken rocker looked bad so I bought new rocking chair and new fall plants and pumpkins for the porch. See what you started:) Thank you so much! My porch looks better than it ever has since we moved here!
LOL My Goodness you were busy! So happy to hear that you were able to put this tutorial to good use! I often wonder if writing my blog posts is worth the trouble, but it seems at least this one has been useful to a few sweet moms on a budget. Thanks for writing back and letting me know what you accomplished Kristen. Hopefully someday I can come see your pretty porch!
So I went to Walmart to execute step 1 (shopping) and couldn’t find the set with all the buffalo checks, but found a similar set with the blue checks and some coordinating prints. I grabbed a couple of those and when I checked out the napkin sets rang up as $1 each!!! That’s some affordable pillows.
Score! That’s so awesome my friend! I can’t wait to hear about all the beautiful pillows you hand make for your home. Thanks for sharing your score with me!