When I was a little girl, I would spend the day at my grandparents house when I got sick. My mom was a school teacher, so off she went to work and off I went to spend the day with my grandparents.
If I'm honest, I didn't mind being sick because I loved nothing better than to be in the house all day with my grandmother! I would watch cartoons in the morning while on the davenport (what my mom mom called the couch) and then somehow I would miraculously get better and could open up the sewing machine and sew for the rest of the afternoon.
I never used a pattern. I just cut and sewed. I'm sure those projects were a unmitigated disaster, but I LOVED sewing anyway and it was a great many lessons in perseverance and trial and error.
My great aunt sewed custom window treatments for a local sewing center, so my grandmother had barrels (literally) of home decor fabric scraps that became the foundation of my obsessive love for those types of fabrics. I prefer to sew home decor items only. I do not make clothing at all, and in fact, I despise it!
All those years of sewing have led me to a very simple format when recovering pillows. It's a simple, yet effective way to get a "new" look in a room, and it takes only straight stitching (which even a beginner can do) and just a short amount of committed time.
So, let's get started.
I'm currently working on a porch refresh, and I've already shared my DIY table. Next, I wanted to recover a few of the pillows that were faded, plus introduce a new fabric and color to the space. The dark patterned and bird pillows were on their way out. I had a pair of each kind, purchased from Marshall's several year's ago. I knew I could cover them with my tried and true method.
Here's a tip - When buying pillows at a store, look for ones that have a zipper so that you can change the covers. HOWEVER, don't fret if you love the pillows and can't remove the cover. This method that I'm sharing can work just as well with a covered pillow.
Here's beautiful Waverly fabric I picked as my main fabric.
This was purchased from The Sewing Outlet in Federalsburg, MD. It's my go to place when purchasing home decor fabric, and I love the personal attention I get when buying there. They also have great reupholstering services as well!
This fabric had been in my sights for quite awhile, and I decided to pull the plug and buy their remaining 3 yards. Did I need all 3 yards? Nope. But, I will figure something out! (Thinking of making a set of napkins for my dining room.)
I loved the touch of terra-cotta in the fabric, knowing it will go well with the terra-cotta cushions on our porch couch.
Time to get to work.
First, I removed the cover of a pillow and used that as a raw template for my new cover.
I rolled out the fabric and lined the cover up near the cut edge. I give myself a half-inch or so seam allowance on each side. Then I "eyeball" down the opposite side and cut the entire length of the fabric. I now have a long strip of fabric just slightly wider than the finished pillow cover.
No, I'm not fussy about using a perfectly straight edge or measuring exactly. The pillow is plump enough that any non-square edges are hidden. It's pretty close to being square, but it doesn't have to be so painstakingly exact. It's only fabric and thread...
Now, I take the strip of fabric, place the pillow about in the middle, and fold over one side and then the other. You can see that the unfinished strip is about 6 inches too long. The bottom part of the strip is about 2/3rds of the way over the pillow. I want the top part of the strip to do that as well. I will cut off this 6 inch piece and iron it flat.
I use the selvedge as a guide for a straight pressing. I turn it over twice and then I sew a straight line over this edge to secure it in place.
You will do this with both ends of your strip.
Now, before I finish the pillow I want to cut out my 3 other strips for the remaining pillows. I will use this strip as my "pattern."
I choose this coordinating outdoor Waverly pattern as a companion piece to the floral fabric. I will also use this fabric to cover the seat cushion of an antique wicker chair on the porch. You'll see that when I reveal the porch refresh coming soon!
After I cut my remaining 3 strips, I sewed both selvedge edges so that I had 4 strips that were ready to finish on the sides.
Next, I used a cover (both pillows were the exact same size) to position the strips for sewing the side seams.
Here, you can see how I went almost to the edge of the cover. This will end up on the outside of my pillow on the back. Notice too that I am folding the right side of the fabric strip "in." Once it is fully sewn I will turn it inside out.
Then, I folded over the other side and pinned one of the open edges. This allows me to pull out the original cover before sewing the remaining edges.
I then took the cover to my machine and sewed down each side of the pillow covering making sure to backstitch at the ends.
Then, I just flipped it inside out and I had this...
A finished pillow cover.
It's commonly referred to as a "envelope" cover because the ends overlap on the back side. It's very similar to how pillow shams (that come with bedding) are constructed.
You stuff the pillow in under the upper flap and then carefully work it into the lower flap. Squish the pillow around to settle it nicely in your pillow case. Once the pillow is in, it looks like this from the back.
Here's the key - make sure that you create a substantial envelope flap by crossing the two ends over in a fairly generous fashion. If they are overlapped by a just a few inches, you will always have a gap. If they are overlapped almost to the edge of the pillow you will have a tough time getting the pillow in and out. I find that the 2/3rds mark is a good structure to shoot for. Constructing the pillow this way means you don't need any type of velcro or zippered closure. Which is great because I am not a fan of inserting zippers...
Turn the pillow over and you have a completed cover.
Now, I don't do fancy piping or anything like that. I like piping, BUT, I redecorate often, and it's a waste of time, money, and energy for me to add piping, ruffles, or tassel trim. This method requires 4 straight seams and you're done. It took me about 2 hours all told to make 4 pillow covers, and I was watching some HGTV while sewing.
We do actually use the decorative pillows in our home. They are not just for "show." This porch get's a lot of reading and relaxing action, so these pillows have to hold up to heads, legs, and doggie snuggles. Hubby likes pillows that he can actually sit on or near and "not get into trouble" for doing so.
Here's 2 of the pillows on our porch couch.
I will be revealing the porch refresh soon, so come on back and check it out.
Drop me a comment if you have another way to cover pillows. I'm always looking for new and interesting ideas!
Happy Sewing!
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