I like to coordinate my front porch with the seasons and holidays. So, with July fast approaching I got busy making some patriotic pillows in preparation for our July 4th festivities. I combined burlap fabric with reds and blues.
Earlier in the year my family went to a Memorial Day parade. Small parade flags were handed out. The stick handle of my flag broke. But as a veteran’s wife I didn’t have the heart to toss this little flag in the trash. I knew I had to recycle this little flag into a new treasure. I removed the staples from the flag with tweezers. The flag was ironed to remove any wrinkles. I used Aleene’s fabric tape to attach the flag to the burlap material. Both the burlap and red material on the back side were cut into 10×14 inch pieces. I also cut a 10×14 inch piece of muslin to put behind the burlap. Once sewn the pillow was about 9×13. I always was use muslin behind burlap.
I found this patterned patriotic burlap at JoAnn’s Fabric Store. The pattern is super cute! My youngest daughter said to me, “Hey Mom I love your Captain America pillows!” Hahaha. Well, it wasn’t Captain America that I had in mind when I made them; I was thinking more of the brave men and women who provide our freedom…so you can definitely say they are our super heroes! These pillows were cut 15×15 inches. Once sewn the pillows are about 14×14 square.
All pillow sides were sewn except for a small 4 inch opening to the middle bottom. I recycled grocery bags to use as a filler. Even though my porch is covered the pillows can still get soiled and wet. Using a plastic pillow filler eliminates the pillows from getting soggy. When that season is done I remove the plastic bags and store the pillow casings flat. The bags are moved into the new season of pillows. This creates less of a storage issue and less waste. Pillow openings were closed with safety pins. I always attach a ribbon with a safety in and tie down to bench to prevent movement if windy.
I love how the pillows add some patriotic flare to my porch! They pair up nicely with the canning jar lanterns!
Enjoy! 
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