![\"Sweater](\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/12\/Sweater-Pillow-2.jpg\" "\\"Sweater")
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The following is a post from contributing writer Jackie<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n This summer I found a cardigan sweater at a yard sale for 25 cents. It was so soft, and I thought it would be perfect for this winter. However, when I tried it on, after I got home, I realized it was way too big on me.<\/p>\n So, I put the sweater in my sewing room to wait until I figured out what I could do with it.<\/p>\n Recently, I had a brainstorm. Why couldn’t I turn the cardigan sweater into a Christmas throw pillow? Lightbulb moment! \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n You won’t believe how easy it was to make this pillow. By using the button front of the sweater as the opening to place a pillow form, I didn’t have to sew a zipper or other type of closure for the pillow.<\/p>\n Here’s how you can turn a cardigan into a throw pillow.<\/p>\n 1. Lay out the sweater and smooth out any wrinkles. You will be cutting through both layers so be sure to line up the bottom edges.<\/p>\n 2. Determine the size you will need to cut your sweater to in order to match the pillow form you have chosen.<\/p>\n I used a 16 inch pillow form, so I cut my sweater to a size of 18 inches square because I was using a serger. If you are using a regular sewing machine the minimum I would cut the pieces would be 17 1\/4 inches square.<\/p>\n 3. Cut the sweater to the size desired. Remember to add 1 1\/4 to 2 inches to the size of your pillow form to make sure it will fit inside the sweater.<\/p>\n 4. Pin the sweater pieces, right sides together, on all 4 sides.<\/p>\n 5. Serge, or sew, around the entire sweater. Remove pins as you sew.<\/p>\n If you use a serger you can use a 1\/2 to 5\/8 inch seam allowance.<\/p>\n If you are using a sewing machine I recommend sewing a 1\/2 inch seam allowance and then zig-zagging around the edges.<\/p>\n 6. Turn the sweater right side out and slip a pillow form inside. Button it up and you are finished.<\/p>\n I loved the simplicity of this project and the fact that, because I used a pillow form I already had and a 25 cent yard sale cardigan, the project was very frugal.<\/p>\n Now I want to hit the thrift stores to find Christmas sweaters to make more of these. The possibilities are endless.<\/p>\n I didn’t want to waste any of the sweater so guess what I did with the sleeves from the cardigan?<\/p>\n I turned them into pants for my little girl using my shirt to pants tutorial<\/a>. They will be so warm on cold days this winter.<\/p>\nSupplies Needed<\/h4>\n
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![\"\"](\"\/\/thehappyhousewife.com\/home-management\/files\/2012\/11\/cardigan-throw-pillow-1.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nInstructions<\/h4>\n
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