Thursday, January 27, 2011

How To: Sew an Envelope Pillow Cover

I told you I had a very easy way to sew pillows it's called an ENVELOPE pillow cover.
Here's how it looks:

or this:  (excuse the sleeping Max :)


Here's how easy it is:

1) Here's how much fabric you'll need:
  • 12" Pillow - Fabric 12" by 28"
  • 14" Pillow - Fabric 14" by 32"
  • 16" Pillow - Fabric 16" by 36"
  • 18" Pillow - Fabric 18" by 40"
2) Marking:
  • For a 12" pillow mark your fabric 8" in on the longest edges.
  • For a 14" pillow mark your fabric 9" in on the longest edges.
  • For a 16" pillow mark your fabric 10" in on your longest edge
  • For an 18 " pillow mark your fabric 11" in on your longest edge 
*Note: Don't add any fabric for seam allowances, it's better to sew a 1/2" seam allowance and STUFF the pillow inside the cover. I like an overstuffed looking pillow.

3) Fold each end under 1/4 inch, IRON and sew a nice neat hem (see above diagram).


 4) Fold your fabric, right sides together. There should be a 3 1/2" overlap for the back side of your pillow.
 5) Sew the sides with the raw edges, using 1/2" seams.

 6) Turn the pillow case inside out, IRON and stuff your pillow inside! No need for Zippers, buttons or anything of the sort. 
And that's how I make . . . . . All the pillows I've ever made! :) A pillow with only 4 lines to sew (and you could even get away with 3 lines of sewing if you only hem the side that shows, although one more line of sewing isn't going to kill you :)
I hope that helps all you other simple sewers like me!

Please excuse my crude drawings I tried to make it super simple, as my direction giving is sub-par (at best).

17 comments:

  1. Sorry!!! I Forgot to hit the publish button this morning!!! Here's the How TO: I hope you enjoy it! and it didn't come too late :)

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  2. I have this fabric in my living room! I love it. And, it's made into a envelope pillow cover. The first I ever made.

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  3. Great tutorial!! The pillows look great.

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  4. Thanks for the tutorial. Even though I am not much of a seamstress, I can sew straight lines, so this looks like a good project for me. :) Thanks for sharing.

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  5. That is just the tutorial I have been looking for! Wonderful! Thank you! :)

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  6. Thank you so much for this. I've just started sewing and this is so helpful. I'm making some pillows this weekend!!!

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  7. Great tutorial! I am wanting a simple project to try for my first attempt at sewing. I'm actually sewing machine shopping this weekend. I look forward to trying your pillows! I love that fabric you used for yours.

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  8. Thank you for this post, I never know/understand how you and folks like you do what you do. But now I feel I can at least try. I can't wait to get a place of my own. Looking forward to seeing your place come together.

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  9. I never knew this could be so simple! Thanks! Also, where is the paisley fabric from?

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  10. I'm so glad you found it useful!
    The Fabric came from Jo Ann Fabrics, It's a Waverly print, so you might be able to find it online :)
    Hope that helps
    Lots of Love
    A

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    Replies
    1. These are lovely. Where do you buy your pillow forms? And what would you consider a good price? Thanks!

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  11. Brilliant!!! My life has changed forever!

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  12. Webbygrrl-
    I always buy my pillow forms from IKEA! I like to do the "chop" (when you chop the pillow at the top in the middle after your done fluffing them) and I think that Feather pillows work best! I don't like how poly fill pillows are too stiff,
    Anyways,
    Ikea makes great feather throw pillows for a great price i think the large ones were $16 and the small ones where like $8.
    And if you don't mind poly fill pillows Ikea sells those for Even cheaper!!
    Hope that helps
    Ashli

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  13. THANK YOU!!! For helping me to redeem some of my favorite fabric that I thought I couldn't use for a pillow cover! I had tried to use it before and cut it wrong, but when I saw your very simple method, I was able to just put two pieces together and finally make a pillow cover out of my wonderful fabric! AND, I made this in under 20 minutes! It was such an exciting day for this novice sewer! :-)

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  14. I made it!! I finally made these envelope pillows! Of course, I've blogged about it and sent a link to this tutorial because you rock! Come and have a look at them and tell me what you think! http://cathhasablog.blogspot.com/2012/03/spring-pillows.html

    :) Cath

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