The beads on the aqua-and-brown starburst pillow are strung on threads and glued in place, following the design on the purchased pillow.

Consider adding beads to the centers of flowers on a floral pillow or edging stripes with sequins. Colorful embroidery floss adds style to a solid-color brown pillow. Use quilter's chalk to draw a simple pattern, and then backstitch over the design.

 

• To create the swirls for the beaded starburst pillow, first string seed beads onto a piece of thread.
• Use a toothpick to apply glue to the pillow in the pattern you want to create with the beads. Position the string of beads along the glue swirl and pat in place, then add other beads along the glue lines using a toothpick or tweezers.
• A sequin adorned with a glued-on bead dots the center of each of the starbursts.

 

• For the embroidered bolster pillow, use quilter's chalk to draw a simple pattern, such as the circles shown here.
• Use three strands each of lime green, lavender, hot pink, and turquoise floss to backstitch clusters of bubbly circles on this bolster.