Denim is so versatile and infinitely customizable, whether it’s frayed, fringed, cut off, bleached, studded, or spiked. I love leveraging denim’s transformative nature by putting it in unconventional places. After making a patchwork denim trench coat dress, I started seeing any unworn jeans as untapped potential. Before I knew it, I found myself planning patchwork denim throw pillows.
Quick note: This post merges my first explorations of patchwork denim throw pillows, from inception through selling a limited run of pillows. These pillows were very well received, which led to multiple commissions over time, but more on that later.
I started with a proof of concept because, let’s be honest; a denim pillow sounds absurd. I went down a rabbit hole brainstorming geometric patterns but eventually zoned in on a simple black and light blue chevron. Next I started the familiar process of deconstructing my jeans, tracing/cutting quadralateral shapes for the chevron pattern, and sewing columns of alternating colored shapes. Once I added a zipper and a pillow insert, I was shocked to watch this silly experiment unfold into a compelling breakthrough.
I revisited my brainstorming sketches to plan a mini collection of eight denim throw pillows. I opted for designs which challenged my design and sewing skill set, but some designs were too ambitious and had to be scrapped. My sketches were translated into schematics with exact measurements for each pillow’s patchwork design (a process I kept for future patchwork projects). This allowed me to strategically maximize my materials since I knew the exact amounts I needed to cut from each color.
Believe it or not, the most challenging part of this project was keeping the cut out shapes for eight separate designs organized. The denim trench coat may have used an ungodly amount of materials but they were all the same shape with a singular color story. The pillows came together pretty quickly after all the shapes were cut out. I tackled each pillow one at a time, which help a lot because each finished pillow gave me motivation to keep sewing.
Eight pillows later, I had a complete collection of denim throw pillows with assorted geometric designs. I remember it felt so surreal to take a step back and see everything I’d made. I’m still impressed at what I accomplished considering how new I was to sewing and also I’m not surprised that I sold each and every pillow.
If anyone’s interested, there’s an old build video on YouTube which captured the entire process. It means a lot to me because this project helped me push my design and sewing skills while continuing to refine my patchwork process. That said, I haven’t watched it in a while and can’t vouch for it’s quality. I’m sure it’s great though!
