Sewing Projects: Sweater Vest Pillow

This project, a pillow made out of a sweater vest and some plaid wool fabric, was a Christmas gift for my dad, and I finally got around to photographing it while I stayed at their house last weekend.  I came across this 100% shetland wool vest at a thrift store while on the hunt for a wool sweater to make my brother-in-law's mittens.  I didn't yet have a project in mind for the vest, but with the charming argyle pattern, I couldn't pass it up.  Read on for more details and photos.


It was a few weeks until Christmas, and I had yet to decide on a gift for my dad.  Like I've said before, my dad has always appreciated my handmade things, but he's often difficult to make things for.  But, seeing how he loves to sit in his armchair and read, and since this vest has a masculine feel to it, I decided to whip up a pillow.  I bought some plaid wool fabric to match for the back and tried out the button-hole feature on my sewing machine.  I designed the back based on these Pottery Barn pillows, and I think the plaid/wool/argyle pattern blends in nicely with my parents' decor.

A couple of notes about the project:

1.  I felted the vest first, by machine washing it in hot water with some tennis balls and drying it in the dryer.  Then I did my best to cut out a straight rectangle.

2.  For the back, I cut two pieces of fabric, one 2/3 the width of the pillow front, and one 1/3 the width, with an extra inch of width on each (to first be folded over and sewn to create a finished edge where the buttons go).

3.  I used my machine's button hole feature, which made the buttons really easy!

If you have any other more specific questions, feel free to leave me a comment.

Also, another post is coming soon with some more photos of my parents' house, in case you're curious!