How to Make a Vintage Fabric Pillow

I picked up these two pillows (shown below) awhile back. Some of you are probably thinking “ick.” They are definitely vintage. And not good mid-century modern vintage or industrial vintage — just old, ugly, vintage.

But, I liked something about them.

So I came home from thrifting with two small, vintage, not-so-pretty pillows.

I thought they’d probably end up in the guest bedroom, which is getting a mini-makeover. The color scheme is not yet totally defined, but I expect it to include mustards, oranges, greens and navy. Yes, I know that is a lot of different colors… but it’s a work in progress 🙂 You can see some of the color scheme in this post about the mini-office which doubles as a nightstand.

But my thrifted pillows had not made it into the guest bedroom yet. Instead, they had been sitting in storage — until the day I saw this pillow, for $68, on Anthropologie.

I love a good mix of vintage and modern. And to me, this pillow is the perfect example! The fabric is very vintage, both in color and style, but the typography adds a graphic and modern touch.

Here it is up close:

Typically I won’t purchase pillows that cost much more than $10, so this one was definitely out of my price range.

My two pillows got pulled out of storage and I began working on this Anthro Knock-Off.

I liked the seamless look of the words on Anthropologie‘s version (they actually look to be peeking out from under the vintage fabric) so I decided to iron them on instead of sewing. This was the first time I had worked with iron-on interfacing and I used this video tutorial.

Instead of the words “Live Love” I chose the word “Rest.” After all, it will be placed on the bed in our guest room, and that is exactly what I want our guests to be able to do.

I hand drew my letters similar to the font on the Anthro Pillow. Since I was making letters, and not a shape, I traced them from the backside of the paper to reverse them.

My first attempt to iron on the interfacing was not successful. So, I increased the heat and amount of steam to the maximum settings. Worked like a charm!

After cutting out the letters, you need to peal off the transfer paper, which leaves a residue on the back of the fabric. Pealing back the transfer is a little tedious, as it takes a few minutes to get it started.

I laid my letters out on the pillow, trying to imitate the feel of the Anthro version. Once I was satisfied with the layout, I ironed them on. I used a lower heat setting on this portion.

I’m so happy with the finished look, and it cost me a measly $5!

Here is how it looks on the bed. I’ll share more of our Guest Bedroom as I make progress!

Supplies and Cost

• Pillows – $5, thrifted
• Fabric Scrap – already owned
• Iron-On Interfacing – already owned, you can purchase similar here

So, what do you think? Do you have any vintage items laying around that could be updated to a modern look?