Mix and match! That's what these big, fun pillows are all about. One fabric on the front, another on the back, a third for the ruffles and ties. Put them all together for a cornucopia of color. We've blended some great greens, oranges and browns to create an updated take on the late '60s - early '70s mod palette. With a cute bow closure on the back, this set of 18", 20" and 24" pillows looks great from either side. Plop them against a plain sofa and watch the room go from boring to beautiful in the blink of an eye.

This is the first time I have used an organic cotton fabric. Organics are a still a small percentage of the quilting weight cottons available, and almost twice the cost. But, I figure organic fabric will grow in the marketplace similarly to organic food. Remember how difficult it was to reliably find organic groceries? And they were almost prohibitively expensive. A decade later, it's how I shop. There's a great selection and milk is no longer $8 for a half gallon. So, I was pretty thrilled to find emerging organic fabric companies debuting high-quality and colorful fabrics as well as some pretty edgy designs. These summery box-pleat pillows made from organic cotton make a powerful statement: We are pesticide free!

A lumbar pillow is the common term for just about any long and narrow bed pillow. It can be large or small, soft or firm. Though we've seen them in all shapes and sizes, we'd never seen one with ruffles and covered buttons, like the one we designed for our Fresh Linens guest bedroom. The deep pleat-like ruffles add a romantic touch and soften the geometric edges of the squares and points on the other pillows in our pile. That's the secret of an effective grouping of throw pillows: mix shapes and sizes and subtly blend textures and styles.

When I was a teenager, I figured out how to French braid my hair all by myself behind my head. For those of you who've never attempted this, it's a little like weaving linguini with a blindfold on. But, once mastered, the interlacing rows are quite stunning. So it is with our Braided Jelly Roll pillow. The braiding technique takes a bit of brain power to keep track of the strips, but the result is still... quite stunning. And, there are no bobby pins or hairspray required.

You can't welcome the arrival of spring and summer weather without flip flops! Bring the fun inside with one of these super cute flip flop pillows from our friend, Donna Babylon. Ya know, I just gotta say... back in the day, we called this particular type of footwear: 'thongs.' I can't tell you the gales of laughter this brings from my kids when I accidentally slip and still call them this. It's similar to the reaction I get talking about records and/or rotary dial phones. Read on to learn Donna's secrets for a smooth, full and fabulous pillow.

You know what's cool about pillows? You can take one design, and by simply changing up the fabric, get a completely different look. That's what we've done with this stunning hexagonal pillow. We've used this style of pillow a couple times before, but you'd never know it. Our black and white version features a coordinating linen back and Extreme Fussy Cutting (similar to what those daring skateboarders do, but you're less likely to fall) to create a beautiful flower in the center of the pillow... complete with a contrasting linen covered button as the flower's center point. Pretty tassels finish the high-end designer look.

Did you know the Eiffel Tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair? Its graceful lattice ironwork has attracted visitors for 121 years. I wonder if our beautiful Eiffel Tower Pom Pom Pillow with its tufted center and covered buttons will last that long? This is a super-simple pillow, but the finished look is one that would go for BIG bucks at stores and in catalogs. You can make one for a fraction of retail, and it will be unique to you. Vive l'Pillow!

To ‘bolster' means to uphold or add support, as in, 'They bolstered morale by serving large pieces of free cake to everyone.' The etymology originates in the world of pillows (a very, cushy world), where a bolster is a long, narrow pillow, often used to support the back or neck. Our black, white and linen version finishes at over 30" long and makes a dramatic statement across a bed or against the back of a couch. The flanged ends are an intricate-looking detail, but our step-by-step instructions make them easy to create.

Patty thought pleats were pleasing and so put plenty on her projects. I think pleats are one of the coolest ways to add a bit o' pizazz. I still have to pause and really think them through every time I start, but as soon as they're pinned in place, I look again and it's like, 'Duh! That was easy.' So don't you be put off by pleats. We have easy step-by-step directions, and throw in a few diagrams and plenty of pictures for good measure. The combination of the pleats with the natural linen and Michael Miller's bold black and white accent fabric makes a very elegant statement. I think the statement would be, 'Good gracious that's a lovely pillow. I think I'll make one for me.'

One of the most classic decorating palettes is black and white. It never goes out of style and is anything but 'basic.' The combination can look crisp and casual or sophisticated and stylish. Black is a color that anchors and grounds; in fact, any room will benefit with a bit of black to add definition to its focal point color. We have a whole week of beautiful black and white pillows for you, starting today with our extra-large Squares & Stripes. Its dramatic pinwheel center is achieved with clever cutting and careful seaming.

A horizontal pillow injects an interesting shape into the ordinary pile of pillows. This one features an envelope style opening on the front rather than the back, so we can show off a set of three beautiful cherry wood buttons. The buttons are not only fabulous, they are also keeping the pillow cover closed. Who says beauty and brains don't mix? We love how the free-as-a-bird silhouettes on this Joel Dewberry Modern Meadow print swirl and swoop between the live oaks.

This is the second in our series of three Earth Day pillows, featuring the beautiful nature-themed fabric of Joel Dewberry's Modern Meadow collection. This very clever pillow looks complex with its intricate lattice front and peek-a-boo inset. But it is so easy! I love the splash of color behind the lattice strips, and had fun imagining this same design in a number of wonderful fabric combinations. It would be beautiful in silk and brocade as a wedding pillow. Or fun and funky in brights and polka dots for a kid's room. Our instructions are for a 16" square, but you could easily adapt the sizing smaller or larger.

Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd. We kick off our celebration (a tip of our hat to The Beatles) with our Here Comes The Sun round sun ray pillow. Joel Dewberry's beautiful Modern Meadow fabric makes this sunburst pillow come alive with sunny yellow color. And, the ring of sun rays is a fun way to create a pillow flange. Ours is made up of twelve 'prairie points.' These clever, double-folded triangles are a quilting technique. Once learned, you can incorporate them into lots of different projects.

We've designed a small series of lovable baby accessories with a charming vintage feel we call Sweet Softies. They all feature the warm texture of chenille mixed with the beautiful retro-inspired cotton of Heather Bailey's Nicey Jane collection from Free Spirit Fabrics. This first project is a cozy, reversible play mat. Lay it down for a clean, soft play area. Roll it up to tote to your next destination.

Some well-known facts: toy cars are cool, toy cars roll best on hard surfaces, hard surfaces hurt your bottom after a while. We came across this totally fun Michael Miller fabric, in 2010's Color of the Year, and knew it would make a dandy play mat. Though we usually try to keep our projects to simple squares and rectangles here at Sew4Home, this one cried out for an interesting shape. I mean, really, if you're playing cars, doesn't it make much more sense for your play mat to be in the shape of a retro car and trailer?

Yesterday you learned how to make delicate organza flowers. Let's put them to use with this Turquoise 2010 project. You'll also use your new skill of inserting concealed zippers. Why ... it's like three projects in one! We love the swirling pattern on this brocade. Very elegant, and yet it doesn't detract from the beautiful flowers.

Even though it's really tricky to spell, corduroy is cool. It adds interest to any project and comes to loads of wonderful colors, like Turquoise, 2010's Color of the Year. We took corduroy's terrific texture to the next level by spinning the wale to create an awesome center diamond, then we kicked out the corners by turning those famous fabric ridges in yet another direction. We did all this without getting dizzy. A beautiful silver button through the middle adds the finishing touch. It's just one plain fabric, but by being playful with the design, it's certainly not just one plain pillow.

If you're hanging out in the kitchen, chances are your favorite pet is hanging with you. Shouldn't he (or she) have a matching cushion? Pet psychologists have long warned that forcing your furry friend to sleep on a ratty old bedspread can lead to deep-seated resentments ... and hair-balls. I have no idea if that's true, but I liked pretending to be a pet psychologist. Back to the Pet Bed... ours flips over: one side is a cool cotton, the other side is cozy fleece. There's an easy-to-insert zipper in one side so you can remove the cover and toss it in the wash. Its finished size is about 18" x 24", which makes it good for a smallish dog or a giant cat... like our sweet Ollie. You can expand, or reduce, the dimensions as needed to best fit your best friend.

The idea for this project came about from a set of embroidery CDs we received from Westminster Fibers. They have a new series of machine embroidery designs, which have been digitized to coordinate with the fabrics from some of the industry's leading fabric designers. What a great idea ... and perfect as a project to celebrate National Embroidery Month. These two beautiful boudoir pillows each feature a large scale medallion print from Free Spirit fabrics with a featured embroidery design artfully positioned. The print is ‘fussy cut' and positioned over matching plain fabric, using a raw edge appliqué technique. Easy to make and beautiful to display.

Here's another fun project we did in our booth at the recent CHA Craft Super Show in Anaheim. Again, this completely proves neither lack of space nor limited time are sufficient excuses for not making your own home décor. The other lesson from this tutorial is how a clever bit of geometry can transform a plain square pillow into a much more interesting pieced pillow. Start with a square and slice it into pieces, then put it all back together again. The only thing to remember is to add ½" to each piece anywhere there's going to be a seam. As I always say, after all the time I spent hating math in school, Mrs. Martinsen was right, I do use it all the time!

Before you close the page without even trying this project, because you just read 'boxed corners' in the title and are afraid, I'll let you in on a little secret: there's no gusset involved. That's right, we've created a Sew4Home exclusive design with detailed instructions that make it easy to create a beautiful cushion with fancy accent piping and nice, square corners but without any beads of sweat forming on your brow. Read on 'fraidy-cats ... you'll be sitting pretty before you know it!

These three throw pillows look very different don't they? Look again. They are the exact same pillow pattern - just with different fabric combinations, and one with a ruched flower embellishment. Clever mixing and matching isn't just for your clothes closet.

Here's a very fast and inexpensive way to create a wonderfully luxurious gift. It uses just tiny amounts of the gorgeous specialty fabrics you see at your local retail store (a quarter yard would yield nine cuts). You could also use up those small pieces of luxury fabric you couldn't bear to throw away from previous projects. It was quite difficult to write this article, because once these beautiful, fragrant, soothing pillows were done, I didn't want to take them off my eyes. A lightly scented filling of rice and flax seeds give them the perfect weight and smell.

Why is it at this time of year there are so many ads on TV for those wacky room fresheners. Everything from candles to things you plug in the wall outlet to ones that squirt a spray into the air when you walk by. It's all very weird if you ask me. Seems like it would be so much nicer to smell a batch of cookies in the oven or a bowl or potpourri on the table or ... to tuck one of these lovely lavender sachets into your drawer or closet. Very retro, very green, very easy to make. Wrap up a color coordinated bundle for a sweet smelling gift.

These little bowtie-shaped neck pillows are nice for propping up your noggin when you watch TV in bed or supporting your neck while sleeping. They're easy to create despite the complex-looking shape. A thoughtful gift that takes only about 30 minutes to make.