This Luxury-Looking Bolster Pillow Was Made from Scratch So Easily

There’s one bed accessory that I’ve been yearning to buy, but can’t seem to commit to the price point: an extra-long bolster pillow. The cylindrical pillow looks so chic lying across a bed, but a quick web search brings up products that start at $50. IMHO, that price tag feels egregious for one, arguably decorative, pillow. But content creator Sophie Simmons has an easily copyable DIY to get the look for less.

Sophie isn’t afraid of a DIY project; in fact, she found many items for her New York City apartment on a budget (much of it thrifted from places like The Salvation Army thrift store, which is near her apartment) and added her personal touch. For example, her favorite DIY project was reupholstering two storage stools after essentially teaching herself how to sew, which gave her the confidence to tackle even more projects. 

After the storage stools project, Sophie felt more confident in her sewing skills. She’d always loved the look of high-end bolster pillows, but they were unfortunately over her budget. So she bought $16 worth of velvet fabric, spent 30 minutes at the sewing machine stitching the fabric into a cylinder shape, and secured one end with a rubber band in a twisted, Tootsie roll-like shape. Then, she stuffed it with pillow fiber and fastened the other end the same way. To finish it off, she added tassels and raw-edge fabric shaped like bows to give it an “old-world, glam, classy, antique vibe.”

Following Sophie’s lead and creating a bolster pillow yourself gives you the freedom to save money and choose exactly the fabric, color, size, and details you want. The ability to customize it is what makes Sophie’s simple sewn cylinder feel like a much more expensive piece than it actually is. 

“I’m obsessed with creating, and DIY’ing ‘custom’ high-end-looking pieces you would never expect were a project,” Sophie said at the time of the House Tour. “There’s something so special about one-of-a-kind statement pieces where you can handpick every fabric and detail.” DIY pillows don’t have to look like a basic sewing project, though, as evidenced by Sophie’s pillow — choosing a luxe fabric and adding trim can make it feel intentionally designed. To see more of the custom items in Sophie’s apartment, visit the full House Tour.