EASY SEASONAL PILLOW FOR HALLOWEEN - a tutorial (sort of)

So I was feeling a little lackluster the other day.

I've had a very busy season and I was feeling like I needed a little time off -

even if it was only a few minutes.

I decided to stop at HomeGoods to have a quick look around - 

relax a little - (retail therapy)....

Halloween was in full force.  

I found an awesome Halloween garland of little black and white felt skulls 

that I will put to good use next month.

As I was browsing through table runners, I saw this one.

I thought that colorful embroidered design on the end would make an awesome pillow.

Actually, with the design on both ends, it would make 2 great pillows.

I decided to buy it and see if I could grab a few minutes 

to make something kind of special.

The runner had this great black piping above the design, a perfect finish for the top of the pillow.

Check out the great details on this design - the embroidery, the beading and sequins.
This is very nicely done.

I would have to pay a pretty penny to purchase a pillow like this at Pottery Barn.

In fact, I have paid a pretty penny for Seasonal pillows at PB.

Here's the finished product,

and how it was done...
(I love this, by the way)

First, I cut through all layers of the runner, about 1/2 inch above the black piping (top of pillow).

The lining provided the perfect backing for the pillow - no sewing required - and a nice black piping all around is a great finishing edge for this pillow-to-be.

I happened to have a perfectly squishy pillow form that fit nicely.   

You could use polyester stuffing if you weren't able to find a pillow form the right size.

(Mine was actually a little larger than the pillow, 

but the length was good and it was soft enough that it still fit snugly inside.)

Once I had the pillow form inside,
I folded the raw edges under 1/2 inch and pinned the top edges together to close.

I used a heavy duty thread, and whip-stitched the edges together.

It only took a few minutes, and it was done.

So cute in my living room!

This was pretty simple and with the runner having this design on both ends, I have one to give away!

That's about $7.50 a pillow (not counting the filling).

This was by far the cutest Halloween runner I found, but I'm keeping my eyes out 

for some great Fall and Christmas runners to turn into pillows!