Upgrade Your Living Room: The Ultimate Pillow Cover

by Amanda Whisman December 22, 2024

Transforming your living space can be as simple as adding a pop of color or a cozy touch with new pillow covers. An envelope closure pillow cover is a perfect project for beginners or anyone looking to refresh their decor without zippers or buttons. This blog post will guide you through the steps of sewing your own beautiful pillow cover with an envelope closure, and how to add binding to the closure panel for a fancy finish.

For this project, I'll be using pre-made binding from Bessie Pearl Binding Co. A small online business, Bessie Pearl offer pre-made bias quilt binding and bias tape made from high-quality fabrics to provide the perfect finishing touch for your handmade quilts, garments, or other handcrafts.

A PDF version of this pattern is available for purchase on my website or Etsy shop - click the button below to check it out!

Materials Needed

• Fabric of choice - about 3/4 yard. For this project I used Gather Together by Nicole DeCamp for Benartex Fabrics and Pre-Made Binding from Bessie Pearl Binding Co
• Pillow form - I used a 16" pillow
• Measuring tape or Ruler
• Scissors or rotary cutter
• Cutting Mat
• Pins or clips
• Sewing machine
• Thread
• Iron

Before you start: Some may wonder whether pre-washing your fabric is necessary. I never do, but have occasionally had a pillow cover that shrunk a little too much in the dryer. It's up to you. However, I do recommend ironing your fabric before cutting so your cuts are accurate.

Step-by-Step Guide

• Measure Your Pillow: Start by measuring the dimensions of your pillow. Typically, you’ll want a snug fit, so use the exact measurements for the width and add an extra inch to the height and width for seam allowances. For example, my pillow measures 16", so I cut 17" for the front panel.

• Cut Your Fabric: You’ll need one piece of fabric for the front and two overlapping pieces for the back. Cut the front piece 1" larger than the size of your pillow. I cut my front panel 17" square. For the back panels, I like a fairly large overlap, so I determine my 2 back panels using the following math:
  • I like to add 6" to the width of the front panel, so my total width is 23". Then, I divide 23" in half, and find my back panels should measure 11.5" w by 17" h. I cut two back pieces this size.

• Prepare the Back Pieces: With wrong side up, take the 17 inch or longer side of one back piece and fold over 3/8 inch of fabric once and press with an iron. Fold over once more so raw edge is no longer visible. Press again, and then sew a straight stitch using a 1/4 inch to 3/8 seam allowance. This creates a clean finish for the envelope opening. This piece will be inside the overlap when the pillow cover is turned, and will not be visible.

• Take remaining back panel, lay wrong side up. Place the binding along the 17 inch side, with the right side of the binding touching the wrong side of the back panel. Attach binding to panel using a 1/4" seam allowance. Cut any extra binding off.

• Fold over binding to front side, pin/clip. You may find it easier to press the binding up, then fold over.

• Sew pocket binding edge that touches back panel fabric at a 1/8" SA, with a long stitch length. Then, topstitch top of binding at 1/8" SA, with long stitch length

Sewing the Pillow Together

The following directions show you how to use pre-made binding for the pillow back. If you want to use your own, cut a strip 2.5" x 17". Fold the wrong sides together along the 17" side and continue with directions.

• Lay back panel with binding right sides together with front pillow panel, with finished binding edge in the center, and raw edges lined up. Lay remaining back panel, right side down, on top of other back panel, with finished topstitch edge in center and raw edge lining up with right raw edge of pillow front.

• Pin or Clip. Sew all sides together using a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Trim corners to cut down on bulk, taking care not to cut through SA. Turn pillow out, gently poke out corners with a turning tool and insert pillow form.

Your pillow cover is complete! Enjoy!

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