Sew an Envelope Pillow in 7 Steps

A while ago I showed you the first envelope pillow that I ever made.  I was figuring out the process as I went and did not take photos along the way; I was too excited and anxious to see how it would turn out.

Since making that first pillow, I have made two envelope pillows for the patio chairs on my deck.  I love them and am very happy with how they look.  

Today I would like to share with you the steps I follow to make an envelope pillow so that you can make your own.

Let's begin:

Step 1: To make a 18x18 inch pillow, I began by cutting 2 pieces of fabric, one 19x19 inches for the front of the pillow, and the other 19x27 inches for the back.

Helpful Tip: My fabric had a distinct pattern that repeated and I wanted to make sure that the pattern would be centered on the front of my finished pillow. Because of this I needed to measure and cut my 19x19 inch piece of fabric carefully to ensure that the pattern was positioned correctly.  The positioning of the pattern on the larger piece of fabric (19x27 inches) which was used for the back of the pillow was not as important as you will soon see.  To eliminate the need for this additional fiddling, you could choose a fabric with a more random pattern - one that no matter where you cut, it will look the same.  But if you do choose a fabric with a repeating pattern, consider the position of the pattern before you cut.

Step 2: I then cut my 19x27 inch piece of fabric in half.

Step 3: Taking the two halves that I just made, I folded the fabric about 1 inch to the wrong side along the 19 inch edge, pinned it, and then sewed it in place using my sewing machine.  I did this on each half.

Step 4: Next I laid my 19x19 inch square on the table right side up. I took both of my halves and laid them on top, right side down, matching the outer edges to the outer edges on the smaller square, and overlapping the halves in the center.

This is what your pillow will look like from the front:

And from the back:

Step 5: I pinned everything in place and then sewed all the way around, 1/2 an inch in from the outer edge.

Step 6: Next I trimmed my seams and corners. I also over-edged the seams using the zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine to keep them from fraying.

Step 7: I turned my pillow cover right side out and stuffed in my form.

Here is the finished pillow from the front:

And from the back:

Helpful Tip: You may want to press your pillow cover before you turn it the right way and/or before you stuff in your form.  I did not press mine because I was using a fairly sturdy outdoor fabric and there were no wrinkles, but a lighter weight fabric may look more finished after a pressing.  

I hope you find this tutorial helpful.

If you have any questions, please ask?

Happy Sewing!

My First Envelope Pillow

Last weekend I made this pillow.

I love this fabric.  It is called Tulip Dawn.  I bought it online from Tonic Living - an absolutely amazing fabric store. 

This was the first time that I made an envelope pillow - the kind where the back looks like an envelope and the pillow form slides inside through the opening.

I used to make pillows by sewing the bottom seam together once I had put in my pillow form.  This made it impossible to wash the cover when needed without ripping open the seam.  

I have also made pillows by putting a zipper in the bottom seam and then zipping it closed after my form was inside.  This made it possible to remove the cover for washing, but putting in a zipper always causes me considerable grief and frustration.  Plus, a zipper is a little bulky on the bottom of a pillow.    
Now that I have made an envelope pillow, I am never going back.  It was so easy to do, the finished pillow looks smooth and sleek, and I can take the cover off easily for washing.

Since I was figuring this out as I went, and was so excited to give it a try, I don't have any pictures of the process to share with you.

But I have bought some gorgeous outdoor fabric to make pillows for my deck chairs, and I will document that so to share the wonder and ease of making an envelope pillow with you all.

Something More: How Fabric Flowers Transformed my Pillow from Done to Detailed

I recently finished off a project that has been on my list of "Things to Do" for quite some time.

Pillow Front

Pillow Back

I made this 14x14 pillow using leftover flannel from little blankets that I made for my daughters' doll beds. When it was done, I propped it up, stood back, and thought to myself "It's done, but it needs something more."

With scrap fabric and random buttons in hand, I made fabric flowers following this tutorial from The House of Smiths http://www.thehouseofsmiths.com/2010/09/fabric-flower-tutorial.html.

For the petals, I used scraps of striped flannel (the same as I used for the pillow back) and scraps of white flannel.  Coordinating buttons finished off the centers of the flowers quite nicely.  The flowers were so easy to make.  To attach them to the pillow I just tacked them down using sewing thread.

They are the perfect 'something more' that my pillow needed to take it from done to detailed.

And here she is all finished up and sitting on the chair in my daughter's bedroom.  

Wouldn't these fabric flowers look amazing on a picture frame, a lamp, the cover of a scrapbook album, a tote bag?

How would you use these flowers to take your project from done to detailed?