Give me your tired, your weary -- throw pillows, that is.

In the family room, they have become flattened with use. The ones on the living room sofa seem positively tawdry against your newly painted celadon green walls. And what happened to the pillows on your bed? Did the dog use them as chew toys, or what?

It's easy to inject new life into these tired pillows. And what makes these pillow make-overs so fast and fun is that you'll use cloth articles you probably already have around the house to make these covers. Instructions given are for the basic techniques to cover the pillows. Feel free to add your own additional touches, if you are so inclined.

If your pillows are still fluffy, but their covering is worn or stained, use them as is for any of these projects. To revitalize pillows that have become flattened, use two at a time inside a new covering. Or, wrap each one with a layer or two of quilt batting from the fabric store before recovering them

Scarf Trick

Simply center a 16"-18" square pillow diagonally on the wrong side of a 36" or larger square scarf. Bring two opposite corners of the scarf to the center of the pillow and tie them in a knot. Next, bring the two remaining corners to the center and knot them around the first knot. Tuck scarf fabric neatly into the folds, and fluff the ends of the knot out.

If your scarf is somewhat sheer and the pattern of the pillow shows through, use a plain white dish towel or pieceof muslin to wrap the pillow in before covering it.

If the scarf fabric is delicate, simply gather the corners together and instead of knotting them, secure them with a pretty hair elastic.

In addition to scarves, this treatment works well with small vintage tablecloths or other linens that you would like to use decoratively without cutting up.

Use Your Napkin(s)

The pillow cover shown here is made from two cotton napkins. Cloth napkins are usually about 20" square, which makes them the perfect size for covering a typical throw pillow, usually about 17" square. All you need is a pair of napkins, 4 yards of rayon seam binding, and a long needle with an eye big enough to carry the seam binding and a point sharp enough to pull the seam binding through the fabric. Loosely woven cotton napkins work best.

Simply measure the width of the pillow and the width of the napkin. Divide the difference by 2, and allow that much seam allowance all around the pillow. Place the napkins on top of each other, right sides out. Cut 1 yard of the seam binding, thread the needle, and sew the first seam, using a 1" running stitch and leaving a 6" end of the seam binding free on each end. Sew three seams, insert the pillow into the cover and sew the last seam, closing the pillow cover.

You will have two seam binding ends at each corner. Tie them into bows and trim the ends.

This pillow looks great on both sides. You might want to use two different types of napkins, a striped one with a checked one in the same colors, for example. The flanges of the pillow (the flaps outside of the seam) will move when the pillows are in use, so both patterns will show. Be sure to use napkins that have no discernable wrong side for this project.

Button-down Pillows

Magazines and catalogues often show pillows that have button closures. The easiest pillow cover of all can be made from the front and back of a shirt or blouse. Simply lay the shirt flat, and measure a rectangle an inch smaller all the way around than your pillow, not counting seam allowance. Make sure the buttons run down the center of the pillow. Be sure to make the cover slightly smaller than the pillow to ensure a snug fit.

Cut the two rectangles out, lay them wrong sides together, and sew a seam all around the edge. Reach inside, un-botton the buttons, turn cover right side out and press. Insert pillow, button buttons to close.

If your shirt pillow has a pocket, put a hanky in it or use it to store the TV remote.