Priced a throw pillow lately? Window shopped for window coverings? Scanned the Internet for sheets? Then you know home decor items can take a big bite out of your budget. That's why making instead of buying can be both enjoyable and economical. You end up with something no one else will ever have and you can save enough money to expand the amount of decorating you do. Take a look at what we found when we shopped for comparative retail products for some of our Sew4Home.com projects.

Unlike garment sewing, which has to fit around a three dimensional body, home decor sewing is done with a lot of straight seams and square edges. That means it's easy to do. That means it's fast. That means you can save a lot of money and have cool new stuff before you know it. Your biggest expense in any home decor project is the fabric. There are many options for saving on fabric, but even if you decide to spring for an expensive cut, you're still likely to come out way ahead of retail home decor.

Fabric is expensive, but there are many ways to save:

• Make sure you know how much fabric you really need. Don't over buy.
• Watch for sales. Many fabric stores have huge sales several times a year where everything is on sale for a 30% to 40% discount. Sign up for the store's email announcements and in-store coupons.
• Look for remnants. Most fabric stores have remnant bins where the ends of the bolts of fabric are collected and heavily discounted. You probably won't find enough fabric to make full length drapes, but remnants are a great option for pillow projects. Upholstery fabric remnants make stunning throw pillows.
• Re-make and re-use. Prowl thrift stores and garage sales for vintage drapes and linens. Cleaned and pressed, this fabric is wonderful, unique and super cheap.

We took a quick comparison shopping trip online to see what it might cost to buy some of the projects you can make using our Sew4Home.com instructions. Keep in mind that our fabric choices are what we would consider "middle of the road" – not super cheap remnants, but not $40-a-yard designer home decor either.

• Embellished bed linen: Spotted online at Crate & Barrel, Anthropologie and Restoration Hardware at $140 - $165 for a queen sheet and one pillow case. We made ours for $50 - $75, and that included the plain fitted bottom sheet and two pillow cases.

• Pillows: Spotted online – some with embellishments, some just plain fabric, at Pottery Barn, Anthropologie, Horchow and Neiman Marcus at $39 - $245. Yes... $245 and that was for a pillow YOU could make yourself. There were plenty of very basic pillows out there around the $100 mark. We made our pillows for $8 - $80.

• Shower Curtains: Spotted online at Pottery Barn and Anthropologie for $49 to $118. We made ours for $25.

• Roman Shades: Spotted online at Pottery Barn and Country Curtains for $59 to $159. We made ours for $39.

• Embellished bath linens: Spotted online at Horchow and Pottery Barn at $18 to $55 for a hand towel. We made ours for $8 - $10.