Hey, time to refashion those ugly sweaters into wonderful holiday decor. We love the idea of using what we have and getting more use out of it. Although, if you want to do this project and have no ugly Christmas sweaters the thrift store is full of amazing sweaters all year round. I chose to do this tutorial on pillow slip covers to get more use out of our regular throw pillows. Double the fun!

What you will need to round up!

Ugly sweaters
Interfacing stabilizer  (depending on your sweater you will want sew on or iron on. I’m using sew on and spray basting glue because my sweaters are polyester)
Zipper
Sewing machine
Scissors
Thread

Sweaters unravel, so first let’s cut our interfacing out the size of our throw pillow that we want to cover. Don’t forget to add seam allowance. The interfacing will make your pillows look professional and make them no longer stretchy. It gives them structure. I’m using spray basting glue to save time.

Cut the sides of your sweater and sleeves off. If fraying happens we are safe. Apply your interfacing over the motif you want to showcase and the pillow back.

NO MORE CUTTING YET! We will zig zag or serge around the interfaced piece of the sweater to keep the edges from fraying out. Tip, always sew with your interfacing side up and the stretchy stuff up against the feed dogs of your machine to avoid puckers.

Next cut the pillow front and back out.

This is the time we apply the zipper. Applying zippers in pillows, bags and zipper pouches is so much easier than clothing. Simply pin the tape edge of the zipper to the outside edge of the front of your pillow with the zipper head kissing the outside or shell of the pillow. Put your zipper foot on, use a straight stitch and sew it on. Repeat the same process to the back of the pillow.

Unzip the zipper half way, pin around the three un-sewn sides of your pillow carefully sewing over the zipper end. Tip, use your hand wheel to insure no broken needles when sewing over zipper teeth. Cut the extra zipper length off.

Flip your pillow cover and stuff your pillows in.

It’s that easy! And if you make mittens out of the sleeves you get bonus points.

Behind the scenes~

I have been making fun elf party hats for my friends. The free pattern and tutorial are below if you want to make your own.

Free Elf Party Hat PDF Pattern and Instructions

Thank you for reading,

Tracy McElfresh

Dream it! Sew it!

Tracy McElfresh
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