How To Make an Upcycled Gucci Inspired Tiger Pillow

Some Gucci tiger pillows came up in my Pinterest feed. I don’t shop at Gucci, it’s a bit out of my price range, and I’m not one for designer labels.

When I saw these pillows, I loved them and wanted them. But there was no way I would pay that price for them.

Not only did I know I could make them much cheaper, but I could also tweak their designs so the pillows were more personal to me.

I liked the funky designs of the pillows; they were just what I needed for my home office chair. The pillows looked very simple to recreate. They consisted of embroidery patched on either velvet or tartan fabric and were trimmed with a coloured fringe.

After a quick online search, I saw that the large embroidery patches could be bought cheaply. I wanted a tiger pillow, so I chose a large tiger embroidery patch. There were quite a few tiger designs to choose from.

This pillow was not a direct copy, just inspired by Gucci. I didn’t want the words Gucci on my pillow but something more personal.

I went for the words “Sit Down”. Not only was this a humorous pun, Sit Down by James was my wedding song. So the phrase has extra meaning.

The pillow was made from upcycled fabrics which also made it very affordable.

I was so pleased with how this upcycled tiger pillow turned out that I posted a picture on the family’s Whatsapp. But I now have a request to make one for my son, sister, mother and best friend, so I will be busy. I have also made an easy DIY footstool with a tiger embroidery patch to match the tiger pillow.

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What You Need To Make A Tiger Pillow

The Embroidery Patches

Embroidery patches come either as stitch-on or iron-on patches. If you can get iron-on patches, adding these to your tiger pillows will be easier.

If the patch you want only comes as a stitch-on, that doesn’t matter. All it means is that you will have to stitch the patch to the fabric, which will take a little longer.

• Large tiger embroidery patch – there are a few different designs available.
• Embroidery patch letters – there are lots of fonts to choose from
• Rose embroidery patches

• Fabric for the body of the pillow. I used a tartan fabric from a mini skirt and the leg off an old pair of jeans for the back of the pillow. As well as denim and tartan, velvet fabric would work well with a tiger pillow.
• Fringe pillow trimming. The trimming I used was 4cm wide. Make sure you order enough to go around the outside of the pillow. I used just under 2 meters for my pillow.
• Pillow insert, I made a cover for a pillow 40cm by 40cm.
• Rotary cutter and mat
• Sewing machine

How To Make An Embroidery Patch Tiger Pillow

Step 1: First, unpick the seam of the skirt to open it up.

Step 2: Cut the leg off the old jeans. Then unpick the seam of the jean leg to open up the fabric. You will need a straight or flared pair of jeans for this. Skinny jeans will not be wide enough.

Step 3: Next, measure your pillow. To fit a 40×40 cm pillow cover, I cut both fabrics to a square 42 x 42 cm; this allowed for a 1 cm seam margin.

Step 4: Next, lay the embroidery patches on the tartan fabric to work out the design of the tiger pillow. Once you are happy with your design, pin the patches in place.

Step 5: I secured the embroidery patches to the fabric using an iron. Put the iron on the hottest setting (turn off the steam), and place a piece of scrap cotton fabric between the iron and the patch to protect it. Then iron the patch to the tartan fabric, and pass the iron over the patch for about 30 seconds.

Then turn over the tartan fabric and iron the back of the material for another 30 seconds. This will activate the glue on the back of the embroidery patches and secure them to the fabric.

Step 6: Next, pin the fringe trim to the right side of the front of the cushion. Pin it all around the edge. Then stitch the trim in place using a sewing machine.

Step 7: Next, lay the denim backing fabric on top of the fringe and pin the pillow cover pieces right sides together. Stitch the two pieces together, leaving a large gap for the pillow/cushion inserts on one side.

Finishing off the Tiger Pillow

Step 8: Turn the tiger pillow’s right sides out, using the hole left for the insert. Place the pillow pad in the cover and hand-stitch the hole closed.

I considered adding a zipper to the pillow cover to make it removable. Then, I realized that I would never wash the cover of this pillow in a machine because it would ruin the fringe.

However, if you want to make the cover removable, add a zipper or make it an envelope pillow. As I did with my other Sit Down supercross stitched cushion.

Step 9: Finally, all left to do to finish off the pillow is set the fringe free. The fringe trim is kept with a thread to make it easy to sew into place. Pull these threads out to release the fringe.

I’m thrilled with my rather funky-looking tiger pillow and will make another one soon, as I have another tartan skirt. I’m just deciding what words to use and what embroidery patch.

These embroidery patch cushions would look great just on the denim. They would look like biker jackets and add a bit of Rock ‘n Roll fun to any couch or chair.

Don’t throw away any of the tartan scraps from this upcycled pillow cover. You can use them to make super cute plaid tartan fabric feathers or even a mini tartan Scottie dog garland. Or check out these fabulous tartan craft ideas.

Check out all these other fabulous unique handmade pillow design ideas.

Visit Favecrafts for more projects.