How to Sew a Ruffled Throw Pillow Cover
My oldest daughter has been redecorating her room a little bit and requested some fresh throw pillows! We went fabric shopping and chose a couple great fabrics that fit her color scheme and she ordered some pillow forms from Amazon and I got to work.
She wanted me to sew some ruffle-edged throw pillows, which I was happy to make because ruffles are just so pretty in home decor! I’m so glad ruffles seem to be making a comeback. I’ve been pinning a lot of bedding looks on Pinterest lately and am very drawn toward ruffly gingham sheets and pillow cases. They’re so pretty.
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Of course, I had to film a video tutorial for you of this easy pillow making process :) Not only that, I also made a printable PDF version of this project, which you can purchase for a few dollars in my shop! It’s just a more convenient way to access the tutorial without referring back to the video every time, plus it supports what I’m doing here at Pin Cut Sew. I so appreciate everyone who has purchased patterns and tutorials from my shop since I opened it last July!
Let’s get to the tutorial!
Here is the video version. This video will show you every step of how to make a ruffled throw pillow, including a gathering tutorial for beginners. You’ll also learn what size to cut your pieces, whether or not you should line your pillow (and with what), and how to calculate the length and width of your ruffle pieces.
Our pillow forms were 16” square, but with this tutorial, you can learn how to make covers for any size of pillow inserts.
We were working with store bought pillow forms for these, but you can opt to buy (or reuse) stuffing instead. If you do that, I recommend lining the front and back panels with quilt batting or flannel, to prevent a lumpy end result. I actually lined these pillows with flannel because my fabric was somewhat flimsy and I wanted to make them feel sturdier. It worked very well!
Speaking of fabrics, pillows really aren’t picky! I’ve made pillows out of everything from thrifted orange denim to a Virginia is for Lovers t-shirt, haha! Home dec fabrics are great choices, of course. If making outdoor pillows, you can even buy special outdoor fabrics with a waterproof coating. Our blue and white fabric is a crinkled cotton from the Spring garment fabric section at Hobby Lobby, so really, anything goes.
I hope you enjoy this project! Don’t forget you can grab the printable pattern version in my shop or on Etsy if you prefer!
Happy Sewing!
Nikki
