I don’t know about you, but I love finding a quick and easy way to update a room with as little effort as possible. With Spring right around the corner, I needed a change of decor in my living room to help me get over the hump of Winter. One simple way to update a room is to change the pillow covers. I decided to make my own no-sew pillow covers, and what better color and pattern to use than yellow and flower blossoms?
This entire DIY project from start to finish for two pillow covers took one measly hour. Below are the supplies I used: an 18 inch pillow insert, (I got mine at Pottery Barn– they have many different size pillow inserts there) non-knit cotton material, (my material is from Jo-Ann Fabrics) measuring tape, pins, scissors, “Heat n’ bond” iron-on adhesive tape from JoAnn Fabrics sizes 7/8 of an inch and 3/8 of an inch, and an iron.
First, measure your material. Since my pillow insert is 18″ square, I measured the width of my material to be 20″ (for an adhesive allowance) and the length of my material to be 40″. The first thing I did was iron a hem using the 3/8″ adhesive. Measure the amount of adhesive according to the width of your pillow cover. Fold over the material about 3/8″ and use your iron to seal the adhesive to the material. If it helps, pin the fold over first to ensure your fold is straight. Repeat this for the other side of the width.
Next, take your pillow insert and wrap the material around it right side in. You want the inside flap of the material to be about six inches from the edge of the pillow insert and the outside flap to overlap about 3 inches.
Next, use about 4-5 pins to temporarily secure the overlapping material to the piece below it, but be careful not to pin the material to the pillow insert. When the material is pinned together at the width, carefully secure the furthest side together using 2 pins. This will keep your pillow cover opening at the right place. See below:
Pull out the pillow insert, and lay the flat pillow cover on your ironing board. Take the 7/8″ iron-on adhesive and measure the length of the pillow cover. Remove the paper backing to the adhesive, and place the adhesive between the two edges. Use your iron to adhere the adhesive for about 15-20 seconds across the length of the pillow cover. Lift the iron off the material and wait about 1 minute to let the material cool. Then measure about a 3″ adhesive piece, and place it under the overlapping edge in the middle. Iron it on. Repeat for the other side.
After the adhesive cools, turn the pillow cover right side out, and insert your pillow insert inside. If you want to get fancy, sew some buttons on the outside to keep the two flaps together. For an easy button hole, make a cut the size of your button, and use super glue to keep the hole from fraying. Use a needle and thread to sew on the button.
And there you have an incredibly quick and easy Springtime decor update! Its really that simple! What are some of your quick and easy decor tips for Spring?
xo,
Maggie
