I think this is a skill that a lot of people want to learn, but for some reason there’s something holding them back. Follow along to learn how to sew an easy pillow cover for beginners.
#1 Pick your fabric
This one seems super obvious, but I had to say it. Pick your fabric and go get it. I have been loving the black and white (beige-cream ish technically ;)) striped fabric from Hobby Lobby recently. It’s cute and goes with almost anything.
It’s also duck fabric so it’s nice and thick. Almost canvas feeling. The thing I don’t love about thin fabric is that everything sticks to it… No good.
If you go to Hobby Lobby for fabric, just remember to use the 40% off coupon from their website. It’s always there and it makes such a difference in price.
#2 Measure and cut
I’ve learned from a few of my fave bloggers to always get an insert that’s the next size up from your pillow cover. It’s genius, really, because then your pillows look nice and full, instead of floppy and wimpy. Nobody wants a floppy pillow, right?
So, keep that in mind as you measure for the size of your pillow cover. If you have an 18″ pillow insert, make yourself a 16″ or 17″ pillow cover, so it fits snugly. Keep in mind though, you’ll need to add maybe an inch to your final measurement to account for the seam.
This looks like cutting one square the size you decide.
#3 Cut 2 more pieces
So in order to be able to get a pillow in and out of your pillow cover without adding a zipper, you’ll want to cut 2 rectangles that are a few inches wider than your initial square. You basically just want these pieces to overlap each other on the back of the pillow cover.
#4 Sew a seam on all visible edges
This is an important step in order for the back of the pillow to look finished (however, this project is still fully functional without this step). You’ll want to take those last 2 pieces that you cut, fold over the edge on one side and pin (just 1/4″ in or so), and then sew just that one pinned edge so that it looks finished.
#5 Put the pieces all together and pin
The key part to remember here is to put the fabric together with the pattern facing itself. So all you should see is the back side of the fabric.
We do this so that once you sew it and turn it right side out, you won’t see the seams.
So piece it all together and pin it around the outside edge, so that it’s ready to sew.
#6 Sew
The last step here is to sew! Yay. Sew all the way around the outside edge of the pillow, turn it right side out and there you have it!
Thanks for reading, friends! As always, it helps me so much if you pin this for later below 🙂
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