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I made a bench for our outdoor space and decided it needed some pillows. But outdoor pillows can cost anywhere from $10-$20 or more each at the store.
These outdoor pillows cost me zero dollars to make.
“How,” you ask?
Make them out of materials you have on hand.
Being creative with what I already have and brainstorming ways to save on project materials is one of my favorite ways to stick to our monthly budget.
So I looked around my garage and I made my outdoor pillows out of an old mattress pad and an old vinyl table cloth that I had just laying around!
You can get creative with what you use for stuffing your pillows if you don’t have a mattress pad. You could use something like old carpet padding, old bed pillows, old towels, or shredded rags- even old stuffed animals.
And for the pillow cases, you could use old table cloths, old bedding or clothing, etc. If you want them to be waterproof, you can spray the finished outdoor pillows with a can of Scotchgard heavy duty water shield.
These are going to be outdoor pillows so you don’t have to use brand new materials!
Since I just used material that I had on hand, I could also make the pillows any size that I wanted. That’s another nice bonus of making your own outdoor pillows.
I went with a classic size- a 16″x16″ pillow. This way, if I wanted to replace the pillow cases in the future, I could look for deals online and whatnot.
Step 1: Measure your space and determine what size you want your pillows to be.
You could make one long pillow the length of your bench, or extra thick pillows for the chairs around your patio table, etc. Be creative!
Step 2: Prepare your stuffing.
If you’re using an old mattress pad, cut it into the length and width that you decided upon in the previous step. For towels, play around with folding them and decide how many you need for stuffing. And if you’re going to use old rags, you might want to shred them. Be creative!
Step 3: Cut your fabric.
Measure and cut your fabric with an extra inch on all sides so you can sew it together. Remember to make space for the height of your stuffing.
Step 4: Sew three sides of your pillow(s).
Leave one side open so you can stuff the pillow.
Step 5: Stuff your pillow and finish sewing.
Here’s a picture of me sewing one of mine up with the stuffing inside.
Now, enjoy your new FREE outdoor pillows!
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