HOW TO SEW AN EASY ZIPPERED PILLOW COVER

I’ve been going through my blog archives tidying up images old links and broken code. It occurred to me that I’ve got a lot of great tutorials deep in those old archives which you’ve probably never seen so I’ve decided to occasionally republish the best of them.

This week I’m re-sharing the instructions for making a simple zippered cushion cover – I hope you find it useful.

Inserting zippers are usually quite frustrating for me so I tend to avoid them where possible but the technique I’ll be showing you today is fool proof.

You will need:

• Fabric/quilted panel for front and back of cover
• Zipper longer than the width of the cover
• Pillow insert
• Zipper foot
• General sewing supplies

How to:

1. Gather your supplies.
2. Attach your zipper foot.
3. Front panel to size (same size as your insert) as you can see the zipper is slightly longer.
4. Back panel to match the front (I have used wool blanketing).
5. Align your open zip to the edge of the panel right sides together then sew as close to the teeth as possible with your zipper foot. Make sure the start and end of the zip overhang at the ends.
6. When you are about a third of the way down zip up the zipper to a closed position and continue to sew.
7. This is how it should look.
8. Align the front panel to the back one and pin into place, right side facing in.
9. Sew zipper as per step 5 & 6.
10. Zipper inserted without any swearing.
11. Now pin front and back together and stitch along the dotted lines.
12. Take note of how the zip ends are pinned this will ensure finished cover corners are neat where the zipper meets. Also make sure zipper is open about a third of the way to ensure you can turn inside out.
13. Reinforce the seam over the zipper ends by reversing over it a few times just being careful that the needle doesn’t hit the teeth as there may be a risk of breakage especially with a metal zip. It off the excess ends and trim any bulky seams. Serge raw edges if desired.
14. Now turn your cover inside out and insert your pillow insert. Time to make a cup of tea and enjoy your handy work.

Last week I had some fun Free Motion Quilting a pretty vintage tea towel. I was very happy with the result and this week I’ll show you how I made it into a zippered cushion cover (pillow if you are in the US).
Inserting zippers are usually quite frustrating for me so I tend to avoid them where possible but the technique I’ll be showing you today is fool proof.

FLOWER PILLOW WITH APPLIQUE TEMPLATE

I’m really trying to inject more colour into my home. I went through a very long brown/wood/teak phase which took over my lounge room making everything look a little drab. Because I can’t really afford to redecorate fully I’m slowly making brightly coloured accessories to lift the mood of the room.

So I present the very colourful Flower Pillow inspired by my big pile of felt scraps and a lovely piece of red wool cloth thrift ed a long time ago. It has quite a scandi folksy vibe which makes me happy. It’s fairly easy to make and I’ve created a template for the applique. You can construct the cover whichever way you like I’ve inserted a zip and have linked to a detailed tutorial showing you how.

You will need

Applique template – Free download from my Craftsy shop.
Wool felt in assorted colours – I’ve used felted knitwear, but commercially available felt is good too.
Thread to match your felt colours.
Fabric panels for front and back of cover – I’ve used a lovely thrifted wool fabric but an upolstery weight cotton is fine also.
Zipper longer than the width of the cover.
Pillow insert
Zipper foot
Sewing machine
Yarn for Pom Poms – Thickish is best
Pom pom maker or cardboard for templates
Tapestry needle
General sewing supplies