This post may contain affiliate links.

Besides being one of my favorite people on earth, my mom is also a DIY goddess. Seriously. She likes to claim that she’s really not that creative, but it’s all lies. She and my dad are home-improvement junkies and this is the first of many posts showing one or both of them showing off their epic skills.

Today my mom brings you the “Camp Blanket Pillow Tutorial” with step by step instructions and (tons of) pictures! From here on out, you are crafting with Mama Jen.

Camp Blanket Pillow Cover Tutorial

Recently I’ve been working on updating my chairs. They were a gift from B [Natalie’s Dad] from a local antique store for our new home. I love the style and the scale.

Unfortunately, they came with ancient dust filled cushions that could not be saved, so I made do with what I had on hand. This week I decided to revamp the 1990s pillows that came from the most uncomfortable sofa I have ever sat on. [Natalie’s note: Seriously, Worst. Couch. Ever.] We got rid of the sofa before our move 3 years ago, but kept the pillows.

Now it’s finally time to make them shine!

I found this camp blanket in Montreal, Canada in a thrift shop for 40 bucks..100 percent wool…perfect colors AND didn’t smell like nasty moth balls! B and I were chaperones for our son’s senior class trip and this was the only souvenir I crossed the border with. I love, love, love all things plaid. [Natalie’s Note: This is an understatement]

Plaid blanket on rocking chair — *Natalie’s Note: Do you see that other pillow? Yep! Mama Jen made it too!*

Thankfully our home was built on an old Boy Scout campground, which lends itself to a rustic theme/vibe. I picked up a similar pillow at TJ Maxx at Christmas time and had some “Pinspiration” on my “Projects to do” board. Here’s a similar throw in a different pattern on Amazon for under $30.

Fair warning: Plaid can be a blessing and a curse to work with. The blessing is that you have built in lines which make cutting easy and the curse is that you need to make sure the pattern is centered, straight, and matches on both chairs!

Step by step: Here we go!

(Keep in mind anything in pink is an affiliate link. That just means if you purchase the item through that link, Natalie gets part of the purchase price. Thanks!)

I really wanted to reuse the insert to the old pillows because they were more firm than a regular decorative pillow… fit perfectly in my chair and I have a passion for saving a few bucks whenever I can!! So off came the old and…what is this mass of weird lumpy fiberfill? Yikes!

Thankfully I had some polyester quilt batting in my stash so I did some fluffing of the green mass and proceeded to cover it with the batting in hopes that it works like women’s shape wear…smooths and firms. I folded the quilt batting over the fiberfill and stitched it closed by hand so it would stay together when it came time to insert it into the pillow. (You can buy the batting I used on Amazon. If you don’t have an old pillow you are working with, you can purchase this pillow on Amazon as well — I used them for a different project and loved it!)

Now that my inserts look like real pillows I situated them on the blanket and very carefully began planning my cuts. In my case, the lines of the plaid dictated the fringe placement

After measuring twice…or maybe four times [Natalie’s note: from our experience DIY-wedding planning, this was a wise move. Neither of us can “math”] I made my cuts! My goal was to create an envelope for the pillow form…2 side seams and one fringe edged flap.

Pin the fringed edge of the blanket over the bottom edge that you cut…carefully matching the plaid. Your cover should be right side out and resemble an infinity scarf.

Top stitch your seam 1″ from the fringe.

Now it’s time to work on the side seams of your cover. Turn the cover inside out. Pin your side seams so that the plaid matches. You will sew one side completely shut and the other you will need to sew the top and bottom in approximately 3 inches in order to leave an opening through which you can insert your pillow form. Make sure you arrange the fringe as you pin so that it does not get stuck in your seam.

Turn your pillow right side out making sure that you fully extend the seams and corners.

Insert your pillow form into your cover. TIP: I inserted my form into the plastic bag that my batting came in — a trash bag would also work — before I began inserting it. This allowed the pillow to slide in very easily. Now remove the bag once you are finished!!

Stitch your opening closed by hand.
Marvel at the beauty!

Don’t you love before and after shots?

dumb cat sitting on chair with new pillow — *Natalie’s Note: This is our evil cat, Pumpkin, relaxing on his new chair*

Clearly the cat did! I’ll keep you updated on the rest of the chair’s transformation!!

I’m loving the new pillows, but what should I do with the extra blanket fabric? Please comment below and give me some of your best ideas! Thanks for reading and if you liked this, please share this super pinable picture below with your friends, family and followers 🙂

Whereveryoucallhome.com is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com