Ok..let me say a few things before I start this...first of all, I know pillows are not rocket science and I am in NO WAY an expert at sewing (rocket science on the other hand...). I had a couple people email me about making a pillow tutorial after I posted the last set of pillows which is why I'm doing this...mostly for Dana :-)
I am not claiming this is a new way of making pillows or anything...just what I came up with which I'm sure has been done before. Just don't want anyone offended that I "stole" an idea or something.
That being said - since I'm taking no responsibility for any of this - you can do whatever you want with these pillows - sell them, give them away, whack your kids/family...use them as shields :-)
Ok on to the tutorial...and this is my first one so sorry if I talk too much or am not clear about something - feel free to email me (about questions- not to tell me my tutorial is crappy - that would make me cry). Can you tell I'm nervous about all this?
First, pick out your fabric (ha ha). I just measured the pillows I was making and almost all of them were about 18" pillows so I'm going to use that as my measurement for this. You can adjust it by what size your pillows are.
Also - use coordinating thread - I used white to show you the sewing lines and because I was too lazy to change my thread.
Cutting instructions:
You will need two 18" square pieces of fabric. They can be the same fabric or two different ones - your choice. On this pillow I had the back and front be the same fabric.
You will also need two 3" x 18" pieces of coordinating fabric to attach to the back as accent pieces for the envelope closure (I'll explain this later on).
Also you need to cut a 2" piece of fabric that is long enough to get 4 ties out of (I make my ties approx. 12" long - so for 4 ties I would need a piece of fabric that is 2" x 48")
Let's make the ties first (since for me, they take the longest):
Take your 2" x 48" piece of fabric, place right sides together and sew a 1/4" seam along the open side lengthwise. You will be making a long tube.
Turn right side out when finished (you can also make four 12" tubes if this is easier). Iron.
Cut your tube into 4 equal pieces.
You will need one finished edge on each of the 4 pieces.
I usually just tuck the edge in one one side and sew a straight line to finish it. The other edge will be in the seam of the pillow and does not need to be finished.
I like to topstitch around each tie but they can be left plain. Set ties aside.
Now onto the pillow back:
Take your back piece of fabric and cut it into two pieces but not equally (you want one piece to be bigger than the other one so you have a top and a bottom for the envelope closure).
I cut mine at 11" and 7".
Take your accent pieces and back pieces and lay them right sides together.
Sew one accent piece to each of the back pieces.
If you have a pattern on your pillow that is one directional, you will want to make sure that they are facing the right way once they are sewn together.
I used my serger to have a finished edge but you can always just sew it with a straight seam.
Press and then topstitch along seam so that it lays flat.
If you are using a serger, you will want to serge the top raw edge of each accent piece.
Take the accent piece that is attached to the larger back piece and fold serged edge over and iron (if you didn't serge the raw edges, you will want to do this to both pieces).
Topstitch to make a finished hem.
You don't have to do this to the smaller piece since it will be hidden inside the pillow but you welcome to if you want to.
Now to finish the pillows:
Lay out back pieces right side up.
I lay them out on my cutting mat so I can make sure I have the measurements right when I line up the back pieces. You will want to overlap the back pieces so that the bigger piece is on top.
Next, pin ties to pillow back. I don't ever measure - I just place it where I think it would be good.
Pin two on the top and two on the bottom - they will overlap a bunch.
I usually pin them where they are overlapping so I don't end up sewing one of the ends into a side seam.
Lay pillow front wrong-side up onto back fabric. You will need to take out the pins (on the pillow back) and re-pin them to the pillow front. I always pin around the sides and where the envelope closure meets so it doesn't end up folding over while I'm sewing.
Serge (or sew) along all edges.
Turn right side out through envelope closure (removing pins from where you pinned down the ties in the middle).
Insert pillow form into newly-made pillow cover. You're done! Yipee!
