Make This Adorable Envelope Pillow Cover

Envelope Pillow Cover

Today we are making a super easy envelope pillow cover! I love making these as they are so fast and fun.

The main reason to make these, is because you have a pillow insert and want to easily cover it. These are the easiest way to create new pillows in a short amount of time. I think these are also easier to make than zipper pillow covers.

A great thing about pillow inserts is that you can make amazing pillows for way less than you can buy them for.  This is an inexpensive way make new throw pillows. Today, I am making one for my living room. But these also work for outdoor pillows as well, just make sure to use outdoor fabrics.

The Supplies

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• Pillow Insert
• Cotton Fabrics
• Sewing Machine/Thread
• Cutting Mat/Acrylic Mat/Rotary Cutter

We are starting with Poly-fil Premier 12″ Ultra Plush Pillow Insert so that tells me that I need my fabric to be 13″ x 13″ with a 1/2″ seam allowance. You can do this with any size, just know the size of your pillow first. For a good fit, start with your pillow form size, then add an inch.

If you have no idea what that means, stick with me, we will be covering it all. I will start with the explanation of our fabrics and then will sum it all up with the exact measurements you will need for this pillow. But once you know the how, then you can make this with any pillow size!

Two Fabrics

I decided to use two different fabrics though, it's a few extra steps, but so worth it. If you want to use one fabric, stick with that. One reason I love to use two fabrics when I make pillows is because I can use up fabric scraps and no one knows that the adorable pillow they are holding was really from leftovers!!! It's a simple project where you can use great fabrics to make decorative pillows.

To make your envelope pillow cover from two fabrics you want your two widths to add up to 13, plus a half inch seam allowance on each piece.

So my red fabric is 5-1/2″ wide and my white fabric is 8-1/2″ wide, but they both need to be 13″ long.

The Back of The Pillow

This is where you need to do a bit of math. Our pillow is 12″, so our finished fabric size needs to be 12″, but we are using two pieces on the back that will overlap. For a 12″ pillow, I went with a piece that was 8-1/2″ and my second piece 9-1/2″, each will be the 13″ wide. 

All Measurements For Two Fabrics

So the pieces of fabric I used started with red: 5-1/2″ x 31″ and white: 8-1/2″ x 31″.

At this point, you can cut your lengths the right size, or you can take a shortcut like I did.

If you want your front and back of your pillow to each have red and white fabric, then I recommend sewing together really long strips of red and white together at once, and then cutting them into the lengths you need them to be. 

For best cutting results, I recommend using a cutting mat, an acrylic ruler, and a rotary cutter to help you cut straight lines.

Then we cut them to the right lengths:  13″, 8-1/2″, 9-1/2″

With our shorter pieces, these will be for the back of our pillows, and we want to make sure that we have nice finished edges. So on one end, turn your fabric at 1/2″ and press, then another 1/2″, press and stitch. Do this on one end of each of your shorter pieces. NOTE – make sure it's the right ends. Line up your pillow with your wrong side out and make sure you are doing this on your two parts that overlap, not the part on the outside edge. This will create your envelope flap.

Right Sides Together

I always mess this part up, I don't know why. Even as I am pinning and checking, I repeat to myself, right sides together, wrong sides facing out – and then mess it up. And then I get to do my least favorite stitch – The Frog Stitch – where you rriippiitt, rriippiitt.

With your right side of the fabric facing each other, pin and stitch all the way around. You can use your regular presser foot for this.

Trim off your corners and any excess raw edges.

Turn it right side out, press your edges, and grab your pillow insert to fill your fabulous cover.

Ta-Da!

Your basic envelope pillow cover is complete – AND you can do this now with two fabrics!!!

Dress It Up Or Keep The Same

For my pillows, once you have the basic envelope pillow cover complete, you can leave it as is or your “holiday-ify” it. Meaning you can make it work for different holidays or different seasons. This is a red and white pillow, so I can use it for Christmas, Valentine's Day and any patriotic holiday I am decorating for. With a strip of fabric and a cute embellishment pinned on, I can “holiday-ify” in minutes.

Making It a Valentine's Day Pillow

With just a strip of gray and white buffalo check fabric wrapped around and pinned to the back and a simple heart pillow with a blanket stitch around two felt hearts filled with Poly-Fil, you have an adorable little throw pillow for Valentine's Day!

Here it is all finished:

Your Turn

Since you can make pillows for way less than you can buy them, and since you know how to make them – and even how to use up fabric scraps to make fancy schmancy pillows with two fabrics, now it's your turn to make your own envelope pillow covers. And don't forget that they also make stunning gifts! I hope you do give these a try, I just can't even put into words how fun they are and how fast they are to make.

Pin It

Want to easily find this project?  Pin it to your favorite DIY home decor Pinterest boards!

If you are looking for more sewing project ideas, check out this idea here and here.

Thank You

Thank you so much for stopping by today for this easy envelope pillow covers tutorial.  This is such a fun and easy project, even if you only like to do a little bit of sewing. These don't take a lot of time and can give new life to any seating area. If you want to learn more about that amazing settee that the adorable pillow is sitting on, click here.

At Makeable Crafts, we are all about sharing ideas to spruce up your home to make meaningful decor pieces, so keep on coming by for more project ideas. XOXO, Meg