apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

In a perfect world, I'd have perfect custom pillows, of course, but while we save up and await a perfect decor budget, fabric-tac has certainly been a faithful friend in helping me beautify my imperfect home. I've tried a few other fabric glues, glue guns, and iron on seams, but fabri-tac is by far my favorite for its durability, wash-ability, and tiny price-tag...and no, they're not paying me to write this.

Our sofa came with two notably lackluster pillows, and for the past year I've been on the look out for the perfect fabric to replace the covers. Well, a few months ago I noticed two slightly stained fabric sample memos in the trash at work — such a scavenger! — and although they were intended to be sheers, I knew immediately that they'd be wonderful on our pillows. Because I only had two tiny samples, and because I was sans sewing machine, I had to be creative with how I used them. Here's a play by play...

• First, I removed the pillow insert from the original pillow cover
• next I folded and ironed a one inch edge on each side of the fabric memo
• then I placed a line of fabri-tac on the top part of the fold edge
• finally pressed each edge onto the top of the existing pillow cover in the crevice where the piping meets the main part of the pillow.

Before beginning the project, I was a bit skeptical, but I'm thrilled with the results. It will probably not be a forever fix, but I've already washed it once, and everything has stayed in place beautifully. Definitely an improvement upon our old bland standard issue pillows.

Stay tuned for fabri-tac-tastic part II, but in the mean time, tell us about your own fantastic design cheats.

(Images: Leah Moss)