Innovation: Save money, make your own cushions

Sometimes, doing stuff for yourself at home can make a difference of more notes in your wallet that you would have ordinarily spent.

Throw pillows are one such example of something you can do for youself and Sheila Nagitta of Home Décor Interior in Ntinda says there are simple steps to follow:

1  Buy pillow filament fibre from a wholesaler at sh11,000 per kilo.

2  Go shopping for material from as low as sh6,000 per metre to as high as sh50,000 in Kiyembe or other fabric shops in town.

3  Remember to buy two materials — the lining and the outer material. The outer material is the one that complements the furniture.

4  You can either identify a good tailor to help you sew or you can actually sew the lining yourself into 16-inches by 16 inches.

5  Stuff the pillow with fibre, depending on the size of pillow but 1kg of fibre can make four average-size pillows.

6  You then sew the lining after stuffing and start sewing the outer material, which can be the same size as the lining.

7  Dress your pillow with the outer material and you are done with four pillows; easy!
Throw pillows go for as much as sh50,000 and above each, so this should save you over sh120,000 for six cushions.

Nagitta says making pillows can save you money. She, for example, sells her covers at sh30,000 and the pillow alone at sh15,000 to sh20,000.

She makes a killing considering how little she spends on making them.