Anthropologie Hack: Tassel Pillows

I love Anthropologie. It's one of my favorite stores to go to for inspiration. They have the most beautiful displays and color schemes - I always leave with ideas for projects. But, to be completely honest, I don't think I've ever bought anything there. Shit's expensive! Luckily, as I'm browsing around I'll often see something and think, I could make that! 

Lately I've been searching for some throw pillows to add a pop of color to my completely white bedding. I came across these pillows and fell in love. Like most throw pillows, these are outrageously priced, but these ones seemed easy enough to recreate. Making the tassels was a bit time consuming, but the pillows turned out so well that it was totally worth it.

What you will need:
-Pillow inserts (or you can make your own like I did, in which case you will need cheap white fabric, thread, a needle, a sewing machine, and stuffing)
-A couple yards of white fabric
-Around 40 different embroidery threads (depending on how big your pillows are)
-White thread
-A sewing machine (or I guess you could hand sew this if need be)
-A needle
-Some sort of measuring tool
-An iron
-Scissors

What I did:

First I made my own pillow inserts by cutting two 16x16" squares, sewing them together (leaving a small hole, turning them inside out, stuffing them, and hand stitching up the hole. Then I made the cases using this tutorial as a rough guide. I did option A because it seemed much less complicated. I made it even easier for myself by only folding down and sewing one of the edges. If you do this, just make sure that when you are sewing everything together the folded flap is under the unfolded flap (so it is on the outside when you turn the case right side out). For the case, I cut one piece that was 15x36", and folded the fabric so that the case was 14" across. I was using a 1/2 inch seam allowance so this meant that when I was done the case would be 14x14" (while the pillow insert was 15x15") - this made it so the case fit nice and snug. Take a look at the tutorial I used for a more in-depth explanation.

To make the tassels:

1) Take one color of embroidery thread and cut it at each loop. 2) Cut all of the tread in half (fold in half and cut at the loop) 3) Separate all of the thread into three equal sections and take out 6 individual pieces of thread. 4) Tie a piece of thread around the middle of each of the three sections of thread. 5&6) Fold each section of thread in half at the tie and tie another piece of thread around the top. 7) Trim the end of each tassel so they are even.

This size tassel worked well for my pillows, but you can also make them bigger or smaller.

8) Once all my tassels were done I took my cases, and lined the tassels up around the edge to get the spacing right. I put 10 tassels on each side of the pillow and used white thread to hand sew the tassels on. That's it! If you don't have a sewing machine but still want to do this project, you could buy a cheap white pillow cover and just sew on the tassels!

I hope you all are having a great week! I had a job interview this morning, and now I am about to head off to prepare for a presentation for the venture competition I'm in (ahhh)...this is turning into a busy week! Oh, and happy October! I can't believe it's already a new month... I've been brainstorming a few Fall/Halloween projects and recipes that I'm excited to share soon!