In this tutorial I'm finally making pillow or cushion covers for my couch! More than three years ago I shared a video on quilting Undulation on Minky fabric. I mentioned my plan to create quilted pillow covers and now I've finally gotten around to sewing them!
Quick links to the tools and info used in this tutorial:
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Yes, I'm Covering the Existing Pillow Case!
I'm covering a couch pillow that measures 18 inches sorta square. It's honestly more like 17 x 18.5, but it's close enough to square that I decided to make a square 20-inch pillow cover for it.
I decided to make my cushion covers extra big so I could slip the pillow directly into it without taking off the blue case that's already in place. These pillows have raw fiberfill inside so this saves me a big step and possibly a big mess!
20-inch Cushion Cover Cutting
Cut 1 - 21-inch Square for pillow cover front
Cut 2 - 13 1/2 x 21 inch rectangles for pillow cover back
*Yes, these sizes are slightly different from the video above. I decided while sewing that a 1/4-inch seam allowance on this quilted fabric is a bit too narrow.
These sizes above reflect a 1/2-inch seam allowance added to all pieces.
How to Sew a Quilted Cushion Cover
The only finicky step is to finish one long edge of both pillow cover backs. Because I was working with Minky fabric, I decided to stitch 1/8-inch from the edge first, then fold the fabric over 1/2-inch and stitch. Then I folded over one more time and stitched to fully encase the raw edge.
I used the DualFeed Foot with the AD base that came with my Janome Horizon 8200. This foot worked the best on these thick layers and kept the Minky from sticking to my machine (which it really likes to do).
Once both backs were prepared, I layered the pillow cover pieces:
Cushion cover front, right side up
Cushion cover back, right side down
Cushion cover back, right side down, overlapping the first by 4 inches or more. If you like one back piece more than the other, make sure to layer the one you like LEAST last!
Follow along with the video above to see how I made this stitching easier by stitching one back piece on at a time. That is MUCH easier than trying to hold all three pieces at once.
I sewed an additional line all around the outer edge of the pillow just to reinforce it because pillows in my house tend to get lots of wear and tear.
Once the sewing was done, the rest was very fast and easy! Just turn the cushion cover right side out, poke at the corners to get them to fluff out, and slide your pillow inside.
I'm super pleased with how this project turned out and I can't believe how easy it was to create. I think this would be a great way to use up quilted scraps, practice quilting sandwiches, and even old quilts that have gotten damaged in many places.
Now that I consider all these possibilities - I have so many more pillow covers to create! Have fun making many covers for your cushions as well.
Let's go quilt,
Leah Day
Don't forget to check out the awesome quilting equipment used in this tutorial:
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1 comment
I love this idea! Looking forward to making me some of these. Thank you for sharing!