0 whole cloth quilted pillow cover {a tutorial}

Do you remember these whole cloth (no patchwork) quilted  pillow covers I made a while back?  Some fabric, I think, simply looks better left whole rather than chopped up into little pieces. Plus, no patchwork and no seams makes for a lot more comfortable pillows for napping, too :)

This is my absolute favorite whole cloth pillow cover. I just adore this gorgeous fabric and I'm happy I found a way to admire it every day.

So, when I wanted to make new covers for two small pillows on our bed (which are my husband's favorite "sleeping pillows") I knew this whole cloth method was the way to go.

I so love this pretty coral color of the main fabric which I think works perfectly with gray background and striped binding. It really adds such a nice pop of color to our bedroom. (I try to keep crazy and girly colors to a minimum in our bedroom)

I really like how quick and easy to make these pillow covers are, and I thought some of your might enjoy a little tutorial.

Ready? Here we go. (my pillow covers fit 16" square pillow forms)

Materials needed: pillow top: one 16" x 16" square of main fabric

                                                  one 18" x 18" square of batting

                                                  one 18" x 18" square of fabric for pillow top backing

                               

                                pillow back: one FQ of fabric

                             

                                binding: 4.5" x WOF (width of fabric) strip of fabric

                               

                                1 nylon zipper 16" or longer

                                basting spray or basting pins

                                hera marker or disappearing fabric pen

                                pins

                                optional - walking foot for your sewing machine

Step 1: pillow top

a) Layer a pillow top backing fabric right side down on a flat surface, then batting on top and main fabric right side up on top. Pin or use spray to baste all three layers together, mark your quilting lines and quilt.

the second picture shows my pillow top backing and how I quilted it

b) Stitch all the way around your pillow top using 1/8" seam allowance to secure all the stitches. Trim all the excess backing and batting off.

Step 2: pillow back

a) Follow this tutorial to make a pillow back with a zipper closure or use your own favorite method to make a pillow back of your choice.

I added a strip of contrasting fabric to my pillow back for a little pop of color

Step 3: pillow assembly

a) Place pillow back (right side down) on a flat surface. Place pillow top (right side up) on top. Align all the sides and pin the two layers together.

b) Trim off extra zipper tape and backing and stitch all the way around using 1/4" seam allowance. (I like to use walking foot for this step as well as for attaching the binding as I find there's less bunching and unevenness this way)

Step 4: binding

a) Place 4.5" strip of binding fabric on your cutting mat and cut into two 2.25" x WOF strips. Prepare a double fold binding as you would for a quilt (there's lots of binding tutorials online if you need help with that).

b) Bind the pillow your preferred way. ( I like to attach binding to the back of the pillow first and then flip it to the front and attach it by machine)

Step 5: finishing

Press your pillow case to make it nice and smooth, stuff the pillow form inside and admire :)

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Please let me know if you have any questions.

And, as always, if you make a project using any of my tutorials please add it to my Flickr group. I always love seeing all your amazing creations.

Detail: whole cloth quilted pillow cover {a tutorial}

0 pinwheels pillow {plus a tutorial}

Look, I made yet another pillow. I'm seriously turning into a crazy pillow lady :)

I used a heavier, home dec weight fabric for the backing (tutorial on how to install a zipper here).

I then bound this pillow cover the same way I would a quilt. Oh, I don't think I can ever get enough of scrappy projects and striped binding.

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Now, I thought it might be fun to write up a quick tutorial on how to make this pinwheel pillow cover in case someone would like to give it a try. Here it goes:

You will need nine 5" squares of light colored fabric and nine 5" squares of brighter, more saturated fabric. 

Take one light and one darker colored fabric square, place them right sides together, and sew all the way around using 1/4" seam allowance.

Press, then cut diagonally in both directions as shown in the picture.

Press the seams towards the darker fabric, arrange in the shape of a pinwheel, and stitch together.

 
Trim your pinwheel to a 5.5" square. Make 8 more 5.5" pinwheels using the same method.

Arrange your pinwheels in a pleasing manner. Cut six 1.5" x 5.5" rectangles from the sashing fabric to join three pinwheels in each row. Then join rows using two 1.5" x 17.5" strips of sashing.

Attach fusible fleece to the wrong side of your pillow top and quilt as desired.

Make your preferred quilt backing (I usually install zipper closure - tutorial here). Cut fabric for your binding to measure 2.25" x 80", use the same method of attaching the binding as you would on a quilt.

Give your pillow top a good press and stuff using an 18" pillow form.

Fun, wasn't it? And pretty quick, too.

Hope you enjoyed this quick tutorial. Please let me know if you have any questions. Svetlana

Detail: pinwheels pillow {plus a tutorial}

0 crochet edge pillow covers {take two}

I just could not help it. I had to give crochet edged pillow covers a try once again. I made my first one a few weeks ago and as soon as the fabric for the new pillows arrived I was cutting into it and making burrito style pillow cases. 

I used Flower Sugar giant rose dot in grey and turquoise for the top parts of the pillows and coordinating striped fabric for the backs. Eeeek, I do love this kind of fabric and colors very, very much right now.

 

I followed the same tutorial for crochet edge as I did last time. This time, however, I used blanket stitch for the crochet base which in my opinion worked so much better, and was much gentler to my poor fingers.

I made these pillow cases for our bedroom, even though I knew they would clash "slightly?" with our bedding. But now I really like them there and I think they actually bring a very welcome pop of color and make the whole room a lot brighter.

Yay!!!! insert a very happy dance in here!

Thanks so much for stopping by. Svetlana

Detail: crochet edge pillow covers {take two}

0 a touch of crochet

I've been admiring all those beautiful pillow cases with crochet trim for quite some time. I just love how pretty and romantic they look. So, I had to make me some the other day (well, I actually made only one so far, but I'm planning on making more).

I paired my all time favorite Bari J. fabric with this lovely green stripe by Michael Miller and got to work.

I sort of worked out my own way to make this burrito style pillow case. It took a little bit but I managed to figure out how to make french seams that are not peeking out.

I then used this tutorial to make a base for my crochet trim, and another tutorial for the trim itself. Both of these tutorials are fantastic and I will be using them again for sure. I'll just have to come up with a better way of making a base for the trim without so much struggle. I think my yarn was too thick to go through the fabric easily so there had to be a lot of tugging and pulling, plus really sore fingers, too.

I must say though, even with sore fingers, it was totally worth is. I do love how this pillow cover turned out, and, as I said, there's more of these in my future. I even ordered some adorably sweet fabric to make my next set extra girly.

Thanks for stopping by.

Linking up to AmandaJean's Finish it up Friday.

Detail: a touch of crochet