Making an envelope cover for odd-shaped pillows

024We have this foam wedge pillow lying around that needed a cover. I thought it might make a good tutorial to show how to make a cover for an odd-shaped pillow. I’ll show how I made this one, and you can apply the steps to make one for your funky cushion. I did an envelope opening for ease of access without messing with a zipper.

 

 

 

 

 

Supplies

Sheeting Taupe
Sheeting Taupe

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For this big wedge pillow, I used 1 yard of this extra-wide sheeting fabric (with some left over). Make sure you prewash so you don’t have any surprises after making your project.

 

The Process

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If you’re covering an odd-shaped pillow, it’s going to be more complicated than measuring out a few rectangles. You’ll trace each side of the pillow to make a pattern. Although in the photo, I’m lining up the edge with the edge of the paper, don’t forget you’ll need a bit of room to add seam allowances.

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Trace around each side using a pencil. Your lines will be a bit wiggly and imprecise. The front and back of my pillow are squares (well, they are actually slight rectangles. I made sure that I marked the side edges for later). The sides are triangles and the back is a rectangle.

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Using a clear, gridded ruler, add 1/2″ seam allowances. This is where you’ll get your lines crisper and cleaner. Cut out your pieces.

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For the side that will have an envelope closure, find the lengthwise center line (I just folded mine in half lengthwise to make a crease).

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I added 1.5″ to the center line and cut off the rest. This 1.5″ is 1″ for the overlap plus 1/2″ for the hem. Since the other side will be the same size, this will allow 2″ total of overlap. You can adjust this according to your preferences.

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I am pinning one of my side rectangle pieces to one side of one of my front/back squares (where I marked the side edges). I sewed it in place.

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Then I sewed the side triangle to the other front/back piece. It looked like this. I repeated with the other side triangle.

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Finish the interior edges if you’d like to prevent fraying with washing. I serged mine (can you tell I hate to change the thread? I just went with green since it would be on the inside!).

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Next I lined up the front and back pieces, centering and smoothing the triangle pieces underneath. (Folded open in the photo above so you can see.)

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Here I have the panels lined up and the triangle is hidden in between. I pinned the front edge of the wedge pillow cover.

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I sewed the front edge of the pillow closed. This is the pointy edge of the triangle if viewed from the side.

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All that’s left is the envelope opening. I did a small hem on one long edge of each back piece by folding 1/4″ and pressing, then another 1/4″.

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Then I stitched it.

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I overlapped the envelope pieces, making sure the total width was the width of the back of the pillow. Then I based the pieces together.

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The last step was to pin and stitch that back piece to the opening of the rest of the cover. I turned it right-side out and inserted the pillow.

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