Sunday, October 25, 2009

Sew Something Sunday! Halloween Pillow Cover Tutorial

I know I'm a day late in posting my "Sew Something Saturday" project, but I'm hoping I'll make up for it by giving you this great tutorial on how to make slipcovers for your pillows.

I was at Hobby Lobby and picked up these Halloween Bandanas for .60 cents a piece! I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them, and for once, the idea in my head actually turned out just like I wanted it to! This is a SUPER easy way to make a cover with a zipper, and is great for switching to other covers for different seasons, or for washing.

Here are the Halloween Pillow covers I made. I LOVE the spider web print.

You will need:
Two Bandanas for each pillow you want to make
Zippers to match about 1-2 inches longer than the pillow you are making
Black Thread and Bobbin
Scissors
Sewing Machine

Cut the bandanas to the size needed to cover your pillow with seam allowance.
My pillows were 16" x 16", so I cut my bandanas into 16 1/2" x 16 1/2" squares, so I can use a 1/4 inch seam on each edge.

A tip that I used was when cutting my bandana I left the top edge the way it was. It is already finished, so I used that edge to sew to the zipper so I wouldn't have to worry about fraying.

Next, pin the right side of the zipper to the right side of the fabric at the top, so it looks like the photo above. ( I use my zipper a little longer than the fabric so it is easier to work with, I just trim off the excess later at it's sewn into the seam, as shown below)

Sew zipper to bandana, and then unfold to look like this. Now just repeat for the other side (pin right side of other side of zipper to the right side of the second bandana and sew together).

When unfolded it will look like this. With the zipper between the two bandanas and should be able to zip and unzip.

Now pin the sides of the two fabrics together with right sides together. And pin the sides together. Then you just need to sew both sides. Have the zipper unzipped about 2 inches so you don't accidentally sew it shut. Make sure to backstitch a few times over the top where the zipper is.

This is what it will look like with the zipper on top and both sides stitched together.

Now open the bottom of the cover, and reach in and unzip the zipper all the way across the top.

This is what the top will look like unzipped.

Now pin the bottom two layers together and sew it up.

Trim up the excess zipper and thread.

Turn your cover right side out and your almost finished.

And stuff the pillow into your cover and zip it up.


Ta Da!!! Easy Peasy!!!

1 comment:

  1. The alphabets fabric is very nice and suits a cushion cover idea.It could be well suited to a serious decor with a reading personality owning the place.

    throw

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