Reading Pillows

Hubby and I enjoy reading in bed at night before going to sleep, and we like having little "reading pillows"to pop behind our heads or under the book or wherever we feel we need them. We had these cute little white embroidered ones that were hand-me-downs from my mom, but the light-weight linen eventually wore to a point where the fabric tore, and I could not fix them.  Hubby and I needed new pillows, and I had a perfect idea in mind.

I purchased two white linen curtain panels at the local thrift store for $2.00 each...such a steal for linen fabric! I only needed 1/2 of one of the panels for the fronts and backs for two reading pillows. Inspired by this lovely tutorial, I drew scrolley leaves on the front panels with a pencil, and after pinning a batting layer (I used a thin white towel for the batting layer) to the front panels, I stitched over the pencil lines, using ecru embroidery thread and a straight stitch on my sewing machine.  I then simply sewed the fronts and back together, and after washing and drying, to get that lovely quilted look, I filled each new pillow with the filling from the old pillows...two new pillows for only $1.00 (the cost of half of a linen panel)!  I am very pleased with the results, and it feels so good to, again, use recycled/thrifted materials or items that I already had on hand, and Hubby and I are both quite happy to have our "reading pillows" back.