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OUTDOOR PILLOW DIY FROM A VINYL TABLECLOTH

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colorful outdoor pillow on a black rocking chair

Today’s outdoor pillow diy is BRILLIANT! Here’s an easy to do summer diy project that will make your porch or patio so so pretty! Let’s make a pillow from a vinyl tablecloth! I told you it was a brilliant idea! And it’s so so easy!

I have trouble with outdoor pillows! They blow away, I have to collect them when it rains and honestly, they are a pain to clean!

But I LOVE how outdoor pillows make any outdoor space so much prettier!!!!!

I was visiting the dollar store when I found myself in the vinyl tablecloth aisle! And had a stroke of brilliance! Why not turn this pretty, colorful, inexpensive vinyl tablecloth into a couple of easy-care outdoor pillows?

I went home and whipped up an outdoor pillow cover and plunked it down in a rocking chair on my back porch. Wow! It was so pretty!

outdoor pillow diy made this aqua and red flowered outdoor pillow

No more soggy outdoor pillows. They are quite waterproof!

No more “spot clean” only pillows. I hose my pillows down!

No more hunting the farm fields if one blows away. See the bottom of the diy for a very practical way to keep these outdoor pillows from blowing away!

So I made a few more and wrote a step-by-step outdoor pillow diy just for you!

These are great little pillows that will give your outdoor living spaces a fabulous pop of pizzazz!!! Let’s make a sew-easy outdoor pillow!

HERE’S WHAT YOU WILL NEED

  • flannel backed vinyl tablecloth-
  • scissors
  • ruler
  • sewing machine or hot glue
  • needle and thread or hot glue
  • polyfill pillow form- not feather

I got four 18″ pillows from my one tablecloth. How many pillows you will get per tablecloth depends on the size of the tablecloth and how big you want to make them.

Here are some pretty tablecloths I found you might like to use to make your pillows…

LET’S MAKE AN OUTDOOR PILLOW

vinyl tablecloth cut up read for the outdoor pillow diy

1. Using a flannel backed vinyl tablecloth, cut out 2 pieces for each pillow. Cut out a square the size of the pillow form plus 1/2 inch to all sides!

I made an 18-inch pillow so I cut 2- 19-inch squares. EASY PEASY! If your tablecloth has a noticeable design make sure to match the patterns.

With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, sew three sides of the pillow using a half inch seam allowance.  Leave the bottom of the pillow open. 

2. Turn the pillow to the right side and stuff it with a polyfill pillow form. A polyfill form is best because if it would somehow become wet a feather form would smell.  Stitch the bottom of the pillow closed.

You can also hot glue the pillow together but use a low temp hot glue so the vinyl does not melt.

TA-DA!!!! How cute is this outdoor pillow?

finished colorful pillow made from a vinyl tablecloth

Here’s another great tip if your porch or patio gets windy like ours does. Add a couple zip type snack bags filled with rocks to the bottom back of the pillow. This works great to keep them from blowing away!

You might like to see how I keep my summer pots on my patio from getting leggy and wilting as the summer progresses. You can see

FABULOUS SUMMER POTS, HOW TO KEEP THEM BEAUTIFUL IN THE SUMMER HEAT!

large pot filled with summer plants and flowers

Our vinyl tablecloth outdoor pillows will work outside all year round. Make them for every season! Grab a vinyl tablecloth and make pillows for your outdoor living spaces!

pretty colorful outdoor pillow made from a vinyl tablecloth
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Comments

  2. This is a great idea, especially inserting some type of weight. We get a lot of wind so that we frequently find pillows from the patio up in our driveway. Now I have to go back and read about the summer pots. Have a great holiday weekend, Yvonne!

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  5. I apologize if you answered this question previously but….where do you buy your pillow forms?

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  6. Oh what a great idea! I will be making these today!! I always have a problem being here in the south with the hot hot hot days and humidity plus when it rains in this heat things just tend to get damp on my porch and take forever to dry. On top of that I have a beautiful sweet cat that sheds really bad and she just loves to “borrow” my pillows. Needless to say these will be fairly weatherproof and my Kitty won’t touch them! Thank you so much. I am amazed at how my “brain” doesn’t come up with some of the great ideas but so grateful that you do!

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  7. Oh my gosh!!! I found a can of purple spray paint in our shed and decided to use it up on an old bench for my front porch. It painted up beautifully but purple. My husband was agast. “Okay, I paint it out”. Then comes your blog. I am headed for the dollar store to find a table cloth for pillows to soften the purple on the bench. A lovely plant or two and I can have a picture destined for Pinterest. Thank you for your blog.

    Reply

  8. This is a great idea! My mother & I made pillow ticking cushions for my chairs 28 years ago — could never leave them outside — wow, now I can cover those with vinyl table cloths! Thank you for the inspiration.

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  10. I have seen the vinyl material before but the tablecloths would be so much cheaper! You’re genius.

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  11. What a great idea!! We get so much road dirt that settles on our front porch and the pillows always get filthy, this is a blessing now I can have pillows that I can just wipe clean.

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  12. Just the inspiration I needed to make with the vinyl tablecloth I bought this week. I live in very wet but beautiful Wales in the UK so outdoor cushions have been a thing of dreams only! I thought that any left over cloth could be made into sweet bunting to brighten up a corner too – I have made this before with vinyl off cuts. Thank you for all your lovely ideas.

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  13. Thanks for all the great ideas! It’s barely feeling like spring here in northern New York, but when it comes we’ll be ready!

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  14. WOW! I just recently discovered your wonderful podcast. I now consider myself a “binge podcaster”.
    All of your ideas are so great and inexpensive for me. Thank you girls so much for taking time out to share your thoughts and ideas with all of us.
    I really had a great time listening to the Pillow podcast. I sew and making pillows are one of my favorite things to make. The ideas are infinitesimal‼
    Keep up the good work.

    Reply

  15. I’m definitely going to make some of these. I have a friend who loves hedgehogs and I found a vinyl tablecloth for a dollar on clearance at Wal-Mart and this is a great idea to make some pillows for her. Thank you so much for the idea!

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  17. Yvonne – What a great and practical idea! I have started to visit my local GW to buy gently used pillows and I recover them. I usually find them for 99 cents and sometimes when they have too many, they will sell them 4 for a $1. You can’t be that with a baseball bat! Thanks for the great idea.

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  20. I have done this numerous times with vinyl table cloths and also from vinyl coated fabric. When making the pillows that are just for show and not actually being used, I put one or two rocks inside the pillow before sewing it shut. This way the pillows don’t blow away. Just add a few more inches to the bottom of the pillow so there is room for the rocks.. I have even stapled the bottom of the pillow closed when it is going someplace outside that is just for show. The stapled side goes down on the wicker bench, no one sees them and it is a cinch to close up the pillow
    Love your blog!

    Reply

  21. Great idea Yvonne! I wash my outdoor pillows and they always end up lumpy. I’m going to haunt the dollar stores! Thank you so much for the tip. You continue to inspire me.

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  22. Which dollar store did you find this tablecloth? This pattern would match my outdoor cushions perfectly!

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  25. Thank you Yvonne!!! I love your blog, I go back to your ideas over and over again. This is a great one, I’ve had a problem with mildew, problem solved!!! By the way, I would love good a chocolate chip cookie recipe, do you have one you recommend?

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  26. Thanks for the Great Idea! Cloth shops also have vinyl by the yard that is very pretty. I can’t wait to get started.

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  28. You amaze me and I LOVE this idea. My hubby just finished doing a make over of an old garden bench. These pillows will give it some zap! Thanks for sharing your economical ideas. Blessings to you, Avis

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  29. I can tell you this idea works great! I got tired of the pollen in the spring making a mess of my porch cushions and this is what I did to remedy the problem. An inexpensive way to make living outdoors a little easier….

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  30. Thank you! Great idea! I have a tablecloth I think would be perfect for this. It almost is a vinyl type but the hem is damaged, so I just put it aside for awhile. Now I will run out to the store for some pillow forms. Great idea for decorating and saving money!

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  32. I have a side yard that is visible to the street so I try to keep it nice. Truth be told it is a rarely (never) used area, but is my view from my kitchen picture window so it is staged with white Adirondack chairs, hanging baskets, clematis, lavender and tall grasses. I couldn’t justify spending $50 for pillows only for show and only to get ruined in one season. Your idea is PERFECT!

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  33. Yvonne – Because you like to swap out pillows so often, you could also make your outdoor vinyl pillows with a fold over closure. Do you remember those old school sandwich baggies? Add 3.5 inches of extra fabric to the both sides of the fabric to make a fold over pocket on the front and a tail on the back. Put a finishing seam along the extra edge and fold down the remaining 3 inches on the front, right sides together. Sew the three sides together catching the folded over edge and leaving the tail loose. You can also add Velcro to create a tight closure. Insert your pillow form, tuck in the tail, fold over the top and you’ve got a pillow cover that’s easy to change out!

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  35. Love This idea! I have a couple Fourth Of July tablecloths just sitting in a bin downstairs that will be perfect for this project!!!

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  36. Oh my goodness! What a great idea. My sister gave me an outdoor pillow that she bought at a craft fair made from the expensive “plastic” material from Hob Lob, but this is so much better! THANK!! I’m off to the store right now..

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  37. This is a terrific idea for our red, white and blue holidays too! Can’t wait to try it. Gonna make a stop at the dollar store today! Thanks Yvonne!

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  38. What a wonderful idea! I can’t wait to cover my old outdoor pillows. My pillows are really starting to look worn, and I hate to spend a lot of money on new ones that are just going to get blown around by our crazy Oklahoma winds or left out in the rain because I forgot them. Thanks for such a great idea!!!

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  39. Yep, why didn’t I think of that. Another one of your fabulous ideas! I will be off to the dollar store when they open.

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  40. My goodness I’m so excited to try my hand at making a few of these pillows for my wrap around porch. Thanks Yvonne for the inspiration. Have a great day!

    Reply