Technique Tuesday: 5 Minute Simple Pillow Tutorial

photo credit lisa clarke

I know most of you probably know how to cover a pillow but I did have a few tips that might help your pillow look better and made faster.

My friend Abi is trying to save money everywhere she can for her upcoming wedding in June. She is making the ringbearer pillows....errrr I am making them. But she came over yesterday and I took about five minutes to recover two she had bought at the Salvation Army for $2. She had also bought the brown satiny material for 25 cents. We'll be doing something else to the pillows later to make them look really 'wedding worthy'. I'll have a tutorial for you then.

So I thought I'd get a good post out of it and documented the very simple process. In case you are a newbie to sewing, this is about a simple a project as you can get. But I also give some handy tips for recovering a pillow in case you have trouble with certain things.

1. Take an old pillow.

2. Lay pillow on top of two pieces of fabric about two inches larger than your pillow.

3. Place your pins directly next to your pillow. Here's a tip: DON'T TRY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE THICKNESS OF THE PILLOW. Unless it's a box pillow or oddly thick. Just place the marker pins right next to the edge. Another thing you can do which is easier is use chalk just be sure that you are drawing on the wrong side.

4. Make markers on three sides of your square.

5. Sew on those three sides, taking the pins out as you sew over them. Trim excess.

6. Turn inside out. Iron seams flat.

7. Stuff pillow inside new case. It should be very snug.

 8. Note where the pillow seam for the fourth line of the square should be. Either use pins or chalk. Then push the pillow far down into the case. TIP: THIS IS SO WHEN YOU ARE SEWING THE CLOSING SEAM YOU ARE NOT WORKING AGAINST THE BULK OF THE PILLOW.

9. Pin the pillow so that it stays pushed to the bottom of the pillow.

10. Fold the raw edges inside to where you made your seam line.

11. Pin folded edges in place.

12. Now sew down the folded edges keeping the bulk of the pillow on top of your sewing machine arm so that it isn't pulling your stitches. This assures you make a straight line.

13. Take out the pins that are holding the pillow down in the case and push the pillow out and into the corners. DONE!

Now with 13 steps maybe it seems like this took a long time but I promise once you know it by heart it only takes about five minutes. So simple. Now go out to your local Sal Val and redo some pillows! But do please be wary of bed bugs....yikes!