In honor of President’s Day I thought I would repost my patriotic pillow of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln with penny button details. Now this pillow doesn’t get much use.
However, I do pull it out for the week after Valentine’s Day and again near the 4th of July. And everyone always comments on how crazy it is much they like the pillow.
And look at the cute penny buttons I made to go with it.
Materials:
- 3 Pennies dated before 1982
- Doming Block Set (because of the copper content in them)
- Heavy Hammer
- Metal Polish (I use Haas)
- Soft Cloth for polishing
- Material for pillow (I used canvas dropcloths)
- Cording for pillow (optional)
- Heat Transfer Material
- Silhouette machine (optional)
- Thread
- Needle
- Sewing Machine
- Electric Drill
- Small Drill Bit
- Pillow Form
Instructions:
Step 1
I purchased my doming block from Harbor Freight. It was around $25 on sale.
Step 2
Place the penny (heads up) into the doming block and take one of the dappers (I used #18) and hold it tight to the middle of the penny and pound away with a heavy hammer.
And it will slightly dome your penny like so…
Step 3
Next polish up your penny with the metal polish and a soft cloth.
Drill two small holes into the sides of Abraham’s head for the button holes using an electric drill and a small bit made for metal.
Step 4
Next up I used my digital Silhouette machine to design and cut out Abraham Lincoln and George Washington’s silhouettes.
Step 5
Then I ironed my transfers onto my pillow front.
And peeled back the plastic protective sheet.
Step 6
Prior to that I pressed each side under 1.5” and then made three buttonholes with my sewing machine.
Step 7
Then I added cording and sewed my pillow all up.
I turned it right sides out and admired our founding fathers.
Step 8
I hand stitched my penny buttons in place and added a 12” x 16” pillow form.
And there you have it…a President’s Day Pillow.
If you would like this file for the Silhouette machine click here to download it for free.
Check out some more canvas drop cloth pillows here…
Left to right: Christmas Subway Art Pillow, Chalkboard Fabric Silhouette Pillows, Lucky Pillow with Domed Penny Button, Pottery Barn Nest Knock Off Pillow, Presidents Day Canvas Pillow, Definition of Adventure Pillow, Christmas Glitter Ornament Pillow, Home Sweet Home Pillow