{envelope throw pillows}

I know, I know…there are hundreds of tutorials out there for making pillows!  Trust me, I’ve looked at a few!  The nice thing about writing another tutorial though is, sometimes how someone words something just doesn’t make sense to a reader.  So hopefully, if something just didn’t click with you on another tutorial, mine can be of some guidance today. 

Before I begin, let me take a moment to talk about my bed.

Ahhh….my wonderful bed!

We recently were able to purchase a memory foam mattress.

Yes.

The rumors are true.  It is a little slice of heaven.on.earth!  I urge you to save that moolah and get yourself one ASAP.

Well, we also have switched to an “all white” bed as well.  White sheets, white pillowcases, white down comforter.  I love the crisp, clean look that all that wonderful white brings, but wanted to add a bit of color in the form of three throw pillows.

So I scurried to Hobby Lobby and found two gorgeous prints that I fell in love with.  Hubby isn’t quite feeling them, but hey, maybe he’ll get used to them? That’s the beauty of an envelope throw pillow though.  It’s simply a slipcover.  I can easily make another one if he happens to wander into Hobby Lobby and find fabric that he likes better, right?

So, this was what I was working with:

I made three pillows total with two yards of fabric (one yard of each) and three pillow forms.  Two were brand new 18″ square pillows and the third we already owned and it was about 20 x 16.

To start, iron all of your fabric.

Then, you’ll need to determine the amount of fabric you need to cut for each pillow.  This will obviously vary from pillow to pillow according to the size of your pillow form.  Since I had an 18″ square pillow, I cut my fabric 18″ x  42″ (to allow for both seam allowance and overlap).  I like a large overlap, so for the long edge, I multiplied 18″ x 2 (to account for both sides of the pillow) and added 6 inches.

Next, hem one of the short sides (this will be the overlapped “envelope” you see on the backside of the pillow).  Lay the fabric right side down.  Measure and iron a 1 inch hem, pin it, and sew.  You can choose to hem the other short side the same way, however, my thinking was that it wasn’t going to be seen by anyone, so I left it raw.

I also ironed a 1/4″ hem along both long sides of the pillow before folding and overlapping the raw edged, short side on top of the hemmed one, about 3 inches.  Before sewing, double check the that the pillow still measures at 18″ square.  Once everything measures out okay, sew the two side seams.

Now carefully turn the slipcover right side out, and topstich around the entire slipcover.  I like to use the edge of my presser foot as a guide.  Some people prefer not to sew a topstich on pillows, but I like them.  I think it gives a nice, finished look!

The topstich does make the slipcover a bit smaller than the actual pillow form, but it also provides a nice, tight fit, giving the finished pillow a full look.

Here’s the grey and white chevron pillow (my favorite).

And finally, the finished look.  I LOVE the pop of color against all the white bedding!

One of the next things I’d love to accomplish in our bedroom is…

…a gallery wall above our headboard!  I’m not sure how I want it to look yet, so you can bet I’ll be pinning ideas!

What do you think of the fabric choices?  Love or hate?!

I’ll be linking up at these fantastic parties!