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One of the quickest ways to brighten or update a living room is to change out the throw pillows. But throw pillows can be pretty expensive, even on sale. So I just recover them. And my favorite way to make a cover is with an overlapping back, so there’s no need for a zipper.
I just so happened to have been wanting to make some new covers for our living room pillows, the ones I made after we bought the house (almost 2 years ago) are fine. Really, they are, so it’s not like I had to make new ones. I just wanted to. It’s just that the really looked better on the bolts than it did on my pillows. And, they were a little to matchy-matchy for my taste.
So, while I sewed up some pillow covers on Saturday, I went ahead and took some pictures of the process. You’ll need to adjust the measurements for your pillows.
You’ll need 3 pieces of fabric. They will all be the same length. Your front piece will be a square (if you’re covering a square pillow). The width of your 2 back pieces will be 1/2 the width of your front piece PLUS 2-3 inches. So, my front piece was 22″X22″ and my back pieces were 14″X22″.
After cutting your pieces lay your two back pieces out and pin a 1/2-1″ hem on each one on one long side. I just roll the hem twice, and eyeball the measuring. It doesn’t have to be exact.
Next, stitch along the very edge of the hem. Sometimes I stitch along both edges. It just depends on my mood.
Now, lay your top piece out right side up.
Put one back piece on top of the top piece. Line up the outside corners and sides and pin. The part you hemmed should be near the middle.
Now lay your other back piece on top of the top piece. Again lining up the outside corners and sides. Pin all around the outside.
You can see here how the back pieces over lap.
Now, stitch around the outside. I usually go over the overlapped area a couple of times. This will be where your seam gets tugged on when you are putting your pillow in.
Next I zig zag all around. This isn’t always necessary but I like to do it as it makes for tidier seams. Also, I used printed cotton duck and that tends to unravel.
You can sew on snaps to help keep the back closed. I’ve tried buttons but they tend to not hold up well in my home.
Oh, this looks like such an easy project and as it happens I have two Shabby Chic sheets that I’m no longer using, but I haven’t had the heart to throw them away, because the fabric could be used for another project. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them until I saw this. I found your blog post via the Farmgirl Friday blog hop 🙂 🙂 Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Heather. I’m an “vintage” sheet fanatic so I totally understand not being able to throw them away. Let me know how your pillows turn out. Another good use for sheets is pajama pants.
Oh, this looks like such an easy project and as it happens I have two Shabby Chic sheets that I’m no longer using, but I haven’t had the heart to throw them away, because the fabric could be used for another project. I just wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with them until I saw this. I found your blog post via the Farmgirl Friday blog hop 🙂 🙂 Have a great weekend. Love and hugs from the ocean shores of California, Heather 🙂
Thanks for stopping by Heather. I’m an “vintage” sheet fanatic so I totally understand not being able to throw them away. Let me know how your pillows turn out. Another good use for sheets is pajama pants.
This is one of my favorite ways to transform a pillow – marvelous tutorial! I am delighted that you shared with Home and Garden Thursday,
Kathy
Thanks, Kathy. I know, it’s so easy and makes such a big difference.