I can’t even tell you how long I have been working on these pillows! I bought fabric months and months ago!
I bought the fabric at a local shop that did a Groupon. So I got everything 50% off.
First I started with these. I love the texture and feel of these pillows and of course the colors.
I have made a couple of things with zippers in the past, but they still scare the bejezus out of me. So I thought I would try a zipper free pillow case that still allowed me to take it off and throw it in the wash, for the inevitable messes that come along with having a child in the house.
A way to get more for your money, when making pillows, to do the back in a cheap fabric that nobody is going to see anyway.
I also made some for Penelope and her big girl bed, in her own room, that she has been sleeping in for months, God bless her little heart.
And did the same opening, to be able to take it off and wash it.
This kind of pillow is more time consuming than a regular pillow cover that you sew shut, but to be able to wash it makes it worth the time. First you cut your cover piece. If you are making a 16×16 pillow, you cut your fabric exactly 16×16, so that corners and sides are nice and tight.
Then for the back, you cut two pieces that will equal 16×16 when all said and one. You want to roll the hem and pin. Sew the hem. Then you lay one piece over other. You don’t want the hem’s to line up exactly, but a little bit on top of each other.
Then you line both your square up, right sides facing, and sew all the way around. You don’t need to leave an opening to be able to flip it right side out, because you have already made an opening!
Be sure to clip the corners, so that you get a perfect 90 angle when you turn the pillow out and push the corners out.
I also made this little pillow and later had Dots and Damask embroider it with the Letter P for Miss P. I added pom-pom trim to it, and it is pretty easy. You pin the pom poms to the right side of the fabric, with the pom-poms going toward the center. Then you place your pillow back right side facing down, making a pom-pom sandwich. This way when you flip the pillow out, they are on the outside.
Her little bed turned out so adorable! Too bad, we totally xnayed the toddler bed for a different idea (more on that soon, I promise!), but we still use the pillows. Please forgive the small picture size, I can’t figure out how to resize pictures in WordPress for the life of me.
Lastly, I finally got around to making these pillows. I made them out towels that were my Grandma’s. I was super close to my father’s mother and loved every single thing her home. She was a world traveler and she had the coolest things. I was lucky enough to be given a lot of them. These towels are one of my most treasured. I stopped using them as towels years ago because I was afraid they would start to fray. I wanted to do something with them that got less wear, but that I could still enjoy them daily. What’s the point of having nice things if you tuck them away never to be used?
I also made this pillow. I love that I have a little Chevron stripe in my house now.
I think they all blend together really nice, what do you think? They are going in our master bedroom and I moved the other Pottery Barn pillows we had to our guest bedroom.
Have you ever made a zipper free pillow before than can be washed?
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I’ve always just sucked it up and put in a zipper, but this looks like a good idea for a bedroom. Beautiful fabrics!
Thank you! The fabrics make me happy!
Nice tutorial…I need to make our dog a new dog bed cover and I just couldn’t see going through the effort of sewing a zipper for a dog. And besides, she always manages to tear zippers out of dog beds.
That is a great idea!!
love the colors
I’ve been wanting to make some new pillow covers, too!
I’m thinking to use this idea for full sized bedroom pillows..I hate when the pillow slides out the end when I’m sleeping and this looks much neater. Thanks for the idea!
That is a good idea! I hate when my pillow case does that too!
Made these for my daughter when she was in college. Gave her a couple 18 inch pillow forms. Then just sent her the covers for a holiday touch away from home. A yard of fabric worked for 2.