Floor pillows are a quick and cheap way to add extra seating.

In the midst of moving weekend, I saw plenty of chairs and couches near the trash. I wondered, where will these people sit now? So I came up with a floor pillow — great if you’re living in a residence hall or if you just got rid of your furniture because you couldn’t move it across town.

Supplies: 1 yard of 60-inch wide fabric or 1 2/3 yard of narrower fabric for the outer cover; 1 yard to 1 2/3 yard fabric for lining (I used old sheets); ruler; marking tool; scissors; pins; thread; sewing machine; pillow stuffing; hand-sewing needle; 1 1/2 inch cover button kit; plain 2-hole button; upholstery thread; doll needle.

Instructions

Step 4: At each corner, pull the front and back layers apart so the seams lay flat against each other and match up. It should look like a triangle. Measure 3 inches down from the corner point and mark a line across the triangle. Pin layers together.

1. Cut two squares from the lining fabric and two squares of outer fabric the same dimensions. Mine were each 29 inches square.
2. Pin the lining squares right sides together. Leave a hole for turning right side out and stuffing about 8 inches to 10 inches on one side. Sew around the edges with a 1/2-inch seam.
3. Press the seams open. This is tricky, but I used a seam roll I bought from an estate sale, which made the job a lot easier. You can probably get away with skipping this on the lining, but definitely do it on the outer fabric so the seams look flat and not wonky when the pillow is finished.
4. Start at one corner and pull the front and back layers apart so the seams lay flat against each other and match up. It should look like a triangle. To make a pillow that’s 6 inches deep, measure 3 inches down from the corner point and mark a line across the triangle. Pin layers together. Repeat for the other three corners.
5. Sew on the lines you marked across the corners, making a triangle at each corner.
6. Turn the lining right side out and stuff with pillow stuffing. I gutted two old pillows for mine.
7. Sew the opening closed with a slip stich using thread and a hand-sewing needle.
8. Repeat steps 2 through 5 with the outer fabric, but leave a bigger opening on one side for stuffing the inner pillow inside.
9. Turn the outer fabric right side out. Measure to find the center of the pillow and make a small mark there on the top and bottom. This is where the buttons will go for tufting.
10. Stuff the inner pillow into the outer cover. This gave me quite the forearm workout. Once the pillow is fully inside, situate it so the corners align. Sew the opening closed with a slip stich using thread and the hand-sewing needle.
11. Following the instructions on the cover button kit, make one covered button using leftovers of the outer fabric.
12. Cut a long piece of upholstery thread and thread it through the doll needle. Pull it so the ends match up and tie the ends to the shank of the covered button.
13. Put the needle into the middle of the pillow at the marked spot on the top side and aim it to come out at the marked spot on the bottom side. Slide the plain button onto the needle and up to the pillow. Tuck the needle in through the other hole of the bottom button and come through the pillow underneath the covered button. Slide the needle and thread though the shank. Repeat sewing through the pillow about three times, pulling the thread taught so tufting is achieved. End with the needle on the bottom side. Wrap the thread under the bottom button and tie it off.

Throw down your pillow on the floor and take a load off!