Thursday, November 14

Easiest DIY Pillow Covers

Today we're going to look at a super quick and easy way to refresh a space... that also happens to be a great way to increase your holiday cheer factor. I'm talking about swapping out your pillow covers! And today I'll even show you the easiest way to make your own.


Pillow covers are one of my favorite ways to refresh a room, but did you know they're also one of the best secret weapons in seasonal decor?
  • They take minimal effort to switch out, but make a huge impact.
  • They take almost no space to store in the off-season.
  • They are easy and affordable to make!

Want to see just how much pillow covers can change your couch? I normally go simple and neutral (to quote my sister, "I like plain."):

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3h6-TnHLs9/

But when Christmas rolls around? I love to mix things up! Here's the same couch with my Christmas pillow covers and a simple evergreen garland:


You can use this basic pillow cover technique to make your own Christmas covers, make neutral everyday covers, make a set for every season, or to just refresh things when you're feeling bored with your space. It's so simple and versatile! Here's all you need to make your own:

Supplies:
  • 1 1/2 yards fabric (makes two 20" pillow cases)
  • thread
  • pillow form
**I used 1 1/2 yard each of a red suede and a black buffalo check to make four pillow covers. If your pillows are larger than 20" you won't be able to get 2 covers - you'll need a full 1 1/2 yards for each cover.

I do recommend splurging for nice down pillow forms that will stay looking fresh for a long time. They fluff back up and keep looking new long after a polyfil pillow has fallen flat. The down pillow forms at Ikea are only $6! 


Start by cutting a piece of fabric for each cover. You need a piece that is:

pillow height + 1"    x     pillow width x 2 + 8"

So for my 20" pillow form, I needed a piece of fabric that was:
20" + 1"  =  21" height
20" x 2  =  40"      40" + 8"  =  48" width
21" x 48" piece of fabric

For my 16 x 26" pillow form:
16" + 1"  =  17" height
26" x 2  =  52"      52" + 8"  =  60" width
17" x 60" piece of fabric

If you're making more than one, you can use your first piece as a pattern to cut the rest of the pillow covers faster without measuring.

After your fabric is cut, hem the short ends of each pillow cover. Fold each edge under 1/2", then 1/2" again and sew along the folded edge.


Then lay the pillow cover face-up and fold one end in toward the center.


Fold the other end in over top of the first edge until the total with of the cover matches the total width of your pillow form (so I folded mine in to be 20" wide). You should have about 6" of overlap. Too much overlap will make it difficult to get your pillow form in, and too little can gape open. Pin through all three layers, then stitch along the top and bottom edges with a 1/2" seam allowance.


Flip the cover right side out, push the corners out nice and crisp, and stuff in your pillow form.


You're done! And you're ready to add comfort, coziness, and Christmas cheer all in one neat little package. That's a pro move, guys. These pillows are great on a window seat:


And they're great on a couch:


I even used leftover fabric from my DIY kitchen curtains to make a pillow cover for our bedroom with the same technique:


I'm all about pillow covers + garland. And I'll definitely be adding some twinkle lights. It's my Christmas-decorating trifecta! Plus wreathes. My Christmas quad-fecta? I'll work on the name.


Check out the rest of our bedroom makeover including this sweet little headboard shelf here.


But how much did it cost?

I'll break it down for you. I bought both of my fabrics at Hobby Lobby, and I took Nathan with me so we could each use a 40% off coupon on one of the fabrics (just have them put each fabric on a separate ticket).
  • 1 1/2 yards of red suede = $12 w/ 40% off coupon
  • 1 1/2 yards of black + white buffalo check = $14 w/ 40% off coupon
Which brought my total to $26, and averaged $6.50 per pillow cover. Even cheaper than Ikea pillow covers, and I got to choose exactly the fabric I wanted!

Like I said, you can do this for any kind of pillow cover (not only Christmas covers)! A couple years ago I made a star wars bedding set for my sister using this same pillow technique plus my favorite fleece blanket tutorial


That's it for today! I'd love to hear your favorite simple + low-budget Christmas decorating ideas. Leave them in the comments and let's get inspired!

Want more inspiration right now?

Check out some more of my favorite low-budget Christmas decor hacks here!
Check out all of my Christmas projects and tutorials here. 

And you can find my full DIY Guide here (including handmade toys). 

https://www.morelikehome.net/p/seasonal-decor.html

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the tutorials round up!! I will definitely need those:)

    ReplyDelete

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