For this weekend’s project, I decided to make pillow covers. We have this huge sectional couch in our great room which required similarly huge accent pillows to match. We had old throw pillows from an old bedding set but the colours did not fit the sectional.
We went to our local Fabricland and browsed through hundreds of fabric… I have to admit that this store is overwhelming. Too many choices and if you know me, I am terrible at decisions. BUT, luckily, hubby was with me and spotted, tucked away in a corner, this beautiful dark damask print fabric. That was the one! (Should’ve checked the price first though… hubby has expensive taste at $16/metre). Regardless, I bought 2 metres of it for my 2 pillow project. (I still have extra fabric to make another pillow though.)
What you need for 2 Accent pillows:
- Scissors
- Measuring tape
- Sewing Machine
- 1.5 metres fabric
- 2 pillow inserts (29″x29″)
To start, I folded my fabric in half so it would be easier to gauge the proper length and cut afterward. The inserts I had were 29″ x 29″. My fabric was exactly 60 inches wide which made it perfect for the width needed for my project. For my project, I cut a 30″ x 60 ” piece for 1 pillow.
If you have a smaller pillow, just make sure you have at least an inch on the sides of your pillow and adding 2 to 3 inches to the length for your fold later. My cat is great help as you can see…
Once your fabric is cut to your desired length, sew in the top edges (This is why I added extra length). Some fabric may require ironing first, but the fabric I chose was heavy enough for me to just sew right away. To be honest, I really don’t like ironing at all so I skipped that step.
I only sewed in the top edges on my project knowing the sides would have to be sewn anyways, there is really no need (that I can think of anyways) to add the extra sewing.
Before sewing the sides, I grabbed my pillow to make sure the folded in pieces fit just perfectly. So what you want to do here is bring your top and bottom edges towards the middle to make sure they overlap in the middle once folded over. Be mindful that at this point your fabric should be inside out.
Also pay attention to the first inside fold – you want to make sure the fold is where you want it seen once the pillow case is turned outside in. You may want to see the insert part in the middle or near the edges… just a matter of preference I guess.
Once both sides of your project are sewn together, flip it outside in from the opening, insert your pillows in and voilà!! No fuss, no muss… easy, peasy… Brand new pillows to enhance any decor in less than 30 minutes!
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