Pillow Talk That Will Leave You Breathless

“That Pillow is HOW MUCH???”  Often, we surprise our clients with the price of the products we sell.  Design and furnishings can be surprisingly complicated as well as time consuming.  Let’s explore for example, the cost of one tiny little 18” x 18’” toss pillow.

First, we’ll select the fabric.  Is it a small pattern?  Large? Is it scattered, uniform? These details will determine the placement of the motif within the pillow.  If the pattern has a definite story to tell, it will be important to consider.

Here is a pattern that would definitely need to be centered.  We will need to be sure that all the circles look symmetrical when cut for the face of the pillow.

And here is one that I would consider to be a random pattern.  A random pattern means less waste because we don’t have to worry about where on the fabric we cut.

So—what will the back of this pillow be?  Sometimes, if the face fabric is hugely expensive, we’ll select a solid coordinating fabric for the back to help defray the cost.  How about this one?

Next, we’ll need to trim the edges.  Rope?  Fabric welt made from one of the two fabrics? Tassels?  Fringe?  We’re partial to simple French Piping.  Like this one!

Now…onto the mechanics.

How will this pillow close? Zipper?  Buttons? French Opening? If you can’t open it, you won’t be able to clean it.  You want to be able to clean it right?   If the fabric isn’t stain resistant, shall we add a finish before making it up for you? And what sort of filling shall we use? Down and feather?  Just Down?  Down Synthetic?  Synthetic? Is it Hypoallergenic Synthetic?  What’s your preference?

And now….onto the purchase order!  There are potentially SEVEN separate purchase orders involved in this one tiny 18″ x 18″ pillow.  That’s correct.  Seven.

1.    Face Fabric

2.    Back Fabric

3.    Stain Resistant Finish for Face Fabric

4.    Stain Resistant Finish for Back Fabric

5.    The trim around the edges

6.    The filling for inside the pillow

7.    The labor to make the pillow

Seriously?

And what happens before we place 7 purchase orders?  We order cuttings from the actual bolts from which the fabrics will be cut to ensure the dye lot is what we expect.  And what if a cutting doesn’t match?  Another cutting will need to be ordered. We’ll need to track the fabrics, the trim, the extra finishing in order to make sure they get to the workroom.  In addition, purchase orders will need to be sent to our vendor with the filling and to our workroom to make the pillow for us. Also–we will need to send payments to go with these purchase orders.

Once the pillow is completed, it is picked up by our receiver or delivery company and sent to be stored until the rest of the furnishings are ready to be delivered.

All in all, there are costs in materials, time to source, present, propose, create, ship, track, receive, store and deliver your tiny little 18″ x 18″ toss pillow.

So now you know why a custom pillow can cost so much.  Perhaps those ready-mades you saw last week on Wayfair are looking pretty good now!  =0)

For more helpful tips and tools, visit my DIY Outlet. My Home Decor Planning Guide may be just what you need to get that project started!