When I was young, I used to talk my mom’s ear off while she sat at her sewing machine sewing away.  She tried to teach me how to sew a few times, but I would have none of that.  Too many directions, too little concentration.  It was much more fun to have her pretend to listen, while I babbled away about what Rosie said to Kim, or how Jimmy made me laugh in reading class…

Funny, though, when she gave me her sewing machine, years later and I sat down to try and sew something, I knew exactly what to do, aside from threading the machine.  That task always requires pulling out the directions.

I guess it’s amazing what a child can learn by just watching someone else do something and believing that someone else is giving her undivided attention, right mom?

But this post today isn’t about how to sew, it’s about how to make coffee sack pillows with a no-sew product called Speed-Sew.

And darn, if I’m not impressed!!

I started off with some coffee bean sacks that I washed first, which you can see here.  I purchased several standard sleeper pillows.

And Speed-Sew was kind enough to send me several tubes of their no-sew glue to try out.  Upon trying this product, I found that it not only works as a no-sew product, but it can be used for many other craft projects, and it works great for a variety of household and clothing repairs, as well. (More about that further down.)

No-sew coffee sack pillow

The coffee sacks I have are large enough to fit a sleeper pillow inside, so that it exactly what I did.

Insert pillow inside coffee sack to measure

I put the sleeper pillow inside the coffee sack, which gave me three sides that were already sewn together.  Now all I had to worry about was no-sewing the fourth side.

Trim down coffee sack fabric

I propped the side of the coffee sack up with a long narrow cardboard box, but books or anything can be used to prop up the fabric, so it aligns with where the seam should be.

After I inserted the pillow, I trimmed down the coffee sack fabric (on the 4th side only)  leaving about 5-6 inches of excess burlap.

Use clips to hold burlap fabric in place while applying the no-sew glue

I used clips to hold the top flap back and with a cut-down piece of bamboo skewer, I applied a line of the Speed-Sew (about 1/2″ thick) along the burlap.

Remove clips and smooth down the sack material

Next, I removed the clips, smoothed down the fabric and voila!! The fabric was glued together almost instantly, with just enough time to readjust, if needed.

Did I mention that there was barely any stickiness on my fingers, on the cardboard box…hardly any mess at all??

Because that alone was a bonus in my world of gluey crafting.

Apply another layer of no-sew glue to the back side of the pillow

I did want a finished looking edge, so I flipped the pillow over, applied another line of Speed-Sew and then folded the burlap over onto the glue strip.  Once again, no mess or fuss with this glue.

And I now had my finished edge. Optionally, one could use a needle and twine, yarn or thicker thread to stitch across the top of the pillow to make it look more unified.

 This no-sew pillow project couldn’t have been more easier or peasier.

Although there’s still work to do in our basement where the sitting area is concerned, here’s a sneak peak of the pillows in the basement.

I was able to make four coffee sack pillows with one (1) tube of glue.

Speed-Sew repairs fabric, too

I was showing Ken how nicely this glue worked, and he took it upon himself to try it out on one of his pocket tee work shirts.  His tee shirt pocket had a hole it in, so he dabbed on some Speed-Sew and scrunched the fabric together, and he says it’s been holding screws in his pocket at work ever since, huh?

I also mended a sweater that had a hole in it AND my little bean bag lap top bed desk which kept spilling bean bag beans all over.

The no-sew factor and the above repairs are just a few of the uses for this glue,

see all of Speed-Sew’s uses here.

Disclaimer:  I have partnered with Speed-Sew to demonstrate some of their products. Although I received free merchandise in exchange my review, the opinions stated are entirely my own.

You might also like reading:

Best Sources for Inexpensive Pillow Covers

Make Pillow Covers from your own photos at Groupon

How to wash coffee sacks SAFELY

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