DIY Pillow Covers

Changing out pillows is an easy way to decorate seasonally. However, who really has room to store that many pillows when they're not in use? These pillow covers are space saving and simple to make.

I bought quilter's cotton since these are seasonal and won't face as much wear and tear as my regular pillows. If you want to make covers to use all year, I recommend a stronger material like upholstery fabric (or duck cloth for a cheaper option).

Measure your pillow. You will need 2x the amount of fabric plus 6 inches for the overlap. Ex: Since my pillow is 19.5 inches, I needed (19.5x 2) + 6 inches= 45 inches. Even though that is the width of the fabric I purchased, I went ahead and bought 1 yard and 6 inches of fabric (better safe than sorry!). You will need coordinating thread.

Tips:

Iron your fabric before measuring and cutting.

Always measure twice, cut once!

1. Keeping your fabric folded in half lengthwise (the way it was folded on the bolt at the store), add 1.5 inches to your pillow measurement to determine where to cut your fabric.

2. Mark this measurement on your fabric with a fabric marker or chalk.

3. Make sure your pillow covers are cut evenly. Trim off any excess.

4. With wrong sides together, fold one side of the selvage back 1 inch (or your desired hem width).

5. Pin in place. Repeat on the selvage edges on each pillow cover. You should have two selvage edges on each piece.

6. Sew this hem at 5/8 inch (or your desired hem width).

7. One pillow cover should look like the picture above. Find the middle of the entire piece (21 inches on my piece) and mark it with a pin. Your hemmed edges should be perpendicular to what you are measuring as seen above.

8. Divide your pillow size in half(mine was 19.5 ÷2=9.75). Mark this measurement on the left and right sides of the center pin you placed in step 7. Repeat steps 7 and 8 on the top of the pillow cover.

9. Fold right sides together so that the pins you placed to the left and right of the center pin are now at the folded edges (see above).

10. Pin to hold all layers in place. Sew at 5/8 inch.

Your cover should look like the picture above after step 10 is complete.

11. Turn your pillow cover right side out. Poke the corners out and place your pillow inside!