Ten Amazing Round Pillow Ideas

Ten Amazing Round Pillow Ideas!

Pillows are comforting.  They add layers of warmth to any home.  While square pillows are the norm, a little variety in your pillow world, can take your home decorating to new levels.  Round or circle pillows are a creative persons dream.  Let your creative side go a little wild, and circle pillows offer a wide range of imaginative options.  For now, I'm going to show you ten fun, amazingly easy projects you can do using round pillow forms.

1.  Make simple round pillows for your couch.  Round pillows make a great contrast when used with square pillows or they make a fun contrast when used alone.  Select fabric that matches or highlights the major color of fabric on your couch.  Using several sizes of round pillow forms make several solid color pillows, then throw in a dash of Bohemian with several pillows made from floral patterns, geometric designs, or plaids.  This is an easy, fun way to lighten up a tired living room or family room without replacing costly pieces of furniture.

2.  Do you or a friend have a wedding in your future?  You can create a wonderful ring bearer pillow using a small round pillow form.  The small forms are perfect for those little hands that will be carrying your precious rings.  You can easily match fabric to your wedding colors.  Consider embroidering the bride and grooms names or initials to the fabric creating a beautiful addition and keepsake.  Fabric choices can be as extravagant or elaborate as you want when sewn with traditional silks, satins, and lace.  If your wedding is more simple and earthly, create a ring bearer pillow using simple cottons embellished with old-fashioned candle wicking.  Another very romantic and traditional idea is to create fabric for your pillow either from vintage fabrics you've purchased or created with fabric from your mothers wedding dress, or other wedding attire.  Remember to tack sew a lovely piece of ribbon into the center of your pillow.  This allows you to tie the rings to the pillow in case those small hands get a little bit fidgety.

3.  Do your parents have a special anniversary soon?  Round pillows make the perfect frame for a photo pillow.  The round pillow forms come in a variety of sizes, letting you fit the picture to the best size pillow.  Nearly any photo shop, on-line photo shop, even Wal-Mart can put your photo on fabric.  The round shape gives you a "fish-eye" view of a favorite portrait.  The round shape gives you endless creative possibilities.  For a vintage or Victorian look, that you might use with photos of grandparents, use tea-died fabric, with lace around the edge.  For a bridal gift, use traditional white fabric, laces, and metallic thread.  This idea can also be used as a great gift idea for new parents using a photo of their newborn, for grandparents with photos of all their grandkids, and it can easily be adapted to a teen's room or a dorm room.  Of course, teens and college kids are going to want something a bit less traditional in photos and fabric, use your imagination.

4.  Are you tired of hard seats at the breakfast table or breakfast bar?  Round pillows can easily remedy "hard butt syndrome".  Unlike square pillows, round pillow forms fit a wider variety of chair seat sizes.  It's easy to match fabric to your kitchen décor.  You can keep it simple, or go a little bold by adding buttons, quilted tops, or even create wipeable chair covers using vinyl fabrics.  Don't forget those hard metal outdoor chairs.  Use round pillow forms and outdoor fabric to give your deck or porch a quick decorating boost and give your butt a more comfortable seat. 

5.  Round dog pillows.  Don't forget your favorite furry friend.  Round pillow forms make absolutely perfect dog beds.  The can curl around, and around, and their variety of sizes allows you to fit the pillow to your dog.  Of course, some of us have those small dogs that can stretch out long enough to require a large dog pillow, so take that into consideration.  By adding a zipper to your pillow cover, you can easily unzip and wash the cover.  Another great addition, particularly for those of you who live in a colder climate, is a blanket for your dog's bed.  This is especially helpful if you have a dog bred, that is not noted for a heavy fur coat.

6.  A front porch or deck is just the right spot for round pillows, particularly during the summer months.  We spend a lot of time outside on the deck and porch, so adding a bit of whimsy makes summer days more fun, memorable and comfortable when you add pillows.  Think 4th of July, ice cream, blooming flowers, Americana bunting and happy round pillows on your patio chairs.  By cutting red and white fabric in triangular wedges, then sewing them together to create a round pillow cover, you have instant, adorable pinwheel cushions for your patio chairs.  With today's great weather resistant fabrics, using large round pillows on your deck, patios chairs or around your campfire can make those summers evening last even longer.

7.  Dream pillows.  A bit new age, a bit aromatherapy, dream pillows can easily be created around your personal taste.  Using round pillow forms and a small pocket between your pieces of fabric, you can have a wonderful addition to your bedroom.

First, you'll want to make a trip to the health food store and gather a few items.
1 part rose petals
1 part dried chamomile
1 part lavender
1 small bottle of essential oil (your choice)
About 2 teaspoons of Orris Root.  (This acts as a stabilizer for the other ingredients)

In a small non-metallic bowl, mix all together.  To this, add a few drops of your favorite essential oil.  I personally enjoy lavender, peppermint, and jasmine. 

You'll want to cut out three layers of fabric for your round pillow form.  One layer, which will become the "pouch" or inside layer where you'll put your herbs, should be a slightly open weave material such as burlap, or open weave cotton.  Sew this open weave material to the fabric that will be the pillow top, leaving a small opening.  Through this opening fill with your herbal mixture, and then sew closed.  Attach this to your backing fabric and fill with your round pillow form. 

You now have a fragrant dream pillow for your bed.  The fragrance will waft through your bedroom, and depending on what herbs you use, it could help you get a better nights sleep.  All the ingredients can be found at your local health food store.  Personnel at the store can also recommend different herbs and essential oils to help you breath better, relive headaches, and sleep better.  Additional herbal information can be found in books at your local library.

8.  If you are a romantic at heart, you can create a wonderful sweetheart pillow.  Some of you might remember them from your grandparent's bedrooms.  Sweetheart Pillows are round pillows that were sometimes trimmed to resemble a heart shape.  Ladies a generation or so ago, crocheted the front and back for the pillow form and between the crocheted fabric and the pillow form, they would add the flower petals from their wedding bouquet. 

Most Sweetheart pillows today are round pillows forms with lovely crocheted covers.  If you crochet or you can bribe someone who does, you can create your own Sweetheart Pillow by using round pillow forms and romantic yarns in colors like red, pink, rose, and burgundy.  Several of these tossed across your bed give a wonderful romantic feel.

9.  Don't forget the kids!  Circle pillows are absolutely perfect in a kid's room.  They can be covered with hundreds of different fabrics and accessories creating wheels, rocks, hockey pucks, whatever imaginative world your child inhabits.  If your child loves reptiles, round pillows can slither across his bed.  I've used camouflage fabric to cover four to six round pillow forms, and then stitched the forms together using heavy-duty thread.  With the addition of two felt eyes and a red ribbon at one end and you have a great snake.

10.  Another wonderful kid's room idea is using the round pillow forms as eyes.  They make incredible reptilian eyes.  You'll need two medium sized round pillow forms, several yards of black fabric, two pieces of white felt, and two pieces of black felt.  Create a cover for your pillow forms using the black cotton fabric.  Next, cut out a large round circle from the white felt.  This will be the white of the eye.  With the black felt, instead of a round "pupil" for the eye, cut it out in a slanted, or oblong shape.  Attach the black felt to the round white felt circle, by either sewing together or using fabric glue.  Then attach this to the black pillow cover.  Viola, you have two really cool eyes.  Place two of these eyeball pillows at the headboard of your kid's bed over a dark green comforter and you have the makings of a serious swamp monster.

There are dozens of other ideas for round pillow forms.  Don't get stuck in a square pillow rut, round out your world and your imagination.