Easy Pillow Covers Tutorial

I'm very busy this summer making our rental house a home.  In addition to that I have been sick with sinus infections and such for over a month.  That has left me with little energy to blog.  I apologize!

The other day I had enough energy to do some sewing while the kids played.  Can I say how nice it is to have the sewing machine back out!  I love how quickly you can accomplish a project when working at the sewing machine.  A friend of my commented on Facebook about all that I was able to sew.  She said, "Most people can live on bread and water, but not Jill, she needs her sewing machine as well!"  I'm sure I am not the only one like that!

Today, I want to share with you my favorite way to make pillows.  If any of you have kids or pets and your pillows get dirty, it is nice to be able to take off the fabric and wash it without having to wash the entire pillow.  Another nice feature is you can change out your decor easily and not have to stuff another pillow and hand-sew the seam.

Here is a picture of the pillow covers that I made.

I made three (four if you can see the one on the hearth) pillows in just a little over an hour.

Easy Pillow Cover Tutorial


Supplies:

• Sewing machine (for ease)
• pillow form(s) any size
• fabric of your choice-length should be a couple inches over 2.5 times the length of the pillow (17 inch pillow needs about 43-44 inches in length 17 times 2.5 is 42.5.  I hope that makes sense)  The width of your fabric should be at least 4 inches wider than the pillow.
• coordinating thread for your fabric

1.  Start with a pillow form or an old pillow that needs to new life.  Measure and follow the fabric dimensions discussed in the supplies.  I used a 17 inch pillow.  Therefore, my fabric was 21 inches in width and 43 inches in length.

2.  Fold in your short side at least 1/4 of an inch and sew to finish off.  Repeat for the other short side.

3.  Turn your fabric right side up and place your pillow in the center.

4.  Fold in one side.  You want it to be about 3/4 of the way across your pillow.

5.  Fold over the other side where it overlaps.  You want it to over lap a couple inches and fit snugly on the pillow.

6. Pin the ends at both of the ends where the pillow overlaps.

7.  Take your pillow out and pin the middle as well.  Then place a pin at each in that goes through both sides of the fabric.  This will help as you sew.  Feel free to pin as much as you like.  Remember I hate pinning unless it is absolutely necessary.  Now, sew both sides to finish your pillow.

8.  Remove your pins and turn your cover inside out.   This is what the backside will look like and where you will slip in your pillow.

That's it!  You don't have to be an extremely talented seamstress to make beautiful pillows that fit your decor.

My new  pillows help tie in the black in our family room and add that extra bit of class to it!

I use this same simple pattern to make holiday pillow covers for added decoration!

I hope that you will try these simple pillows.  Let me know how you like them in your home!