DIY Pillows with Piping and a Zipper

When I decided to tackle the living room pillow project, I had no idea where to start. Since I had never sewn a pillow in my life, I decided to consult my favorite resource, google. I found lots of blogs with helpful hints, but not one that combined every step to creating a pillow like I wanted (one with piping and a zipper) in detail with close-up pics (I'm a visual learner). Long story short, I documented pretty much every step of my 3rd pillow so that others could essentially recreate without confusion (something I had quite a hard time with), even if they've never sewn a pillow in their life. Also, I must give a special shout-out to my MIL for many helpful tips over the phone. I think my first pillow took about 6-7 hours and by my fourth, I had it down to just about an hour.

Supplies for two 18x18" pillows:

• Fabric: I ordered 2 yards and had lots extra. This included enough fabric to making piping, cutting on the bias (aka. 45 degree angle). You could still probably get by with a bit less, especially if the repeat on your fabric is on the smaller size.
• Cording for piping. I used 76" of a 9/32" size for each pillow (again, a bit longer than you probably actually need, but it never hurts to play it safe).
• Two 18x18" pillow inserts (also known as pillow forms) - I used a 95% feather/5% down mix from Crate & Barrel. They also sell them at West Elm, Calico Corners and other places too. 
• Invisible zippers. I used one rated for 12-14" - I read to use one that is 3-4" shorter than your pillow (18-4=14). I got mine from JoAnn's and it seems to be pretty cheap quality. You may want to invest in a more sturdy zipper from elsewhere. 
• Sewing machine (duh)
• Zipper foot for sewing machine
• Thread that matches your fabric
• Cutting mat (optional, but sure makes cutting your fabric much easier)
• Rotary cutter (again, optional, but makes cutting your fabric much easier) Alternatively, just user scissors
• Cup or other tool to dog-ear corners of squares
• Fabric marker
• Tape
• Ruler
• Scissors

1. Determine what part of the fabric you want to use for the fronts and backs of your pillow. To make it easier to visualize, I made an 18x18" square by cutting and taping a piece of printer paper together. I moved around this paper square until I was satisfied with the pattern that would make the final pillow.

October 2013 update: I recommend actually using 19"x19" fabric for 18"x18" pillows so they aren't so squashed.

2. I used the same edge for the front and back of my pillow to make it easier (one less cut). Once you have decided what squares to use for your front and back, use a fabric marker to mark the corners. This makes it easier when it is time to cut.

If you are using a pattern with vertical stripes (like my first set of pillows), you will want to make the front and back the same so the stripes line-up when you are looking down at the pillow.

3. Roughly cut a rectangle about 1-2" on the outside of the markings (this just makes it easier to handle as a smaller size on your cutting mat, if using). Place rectangle on cutting mat. Line-up with straight lines on mat and use a rotary cutter to cut out the two 18x18" squares.

I read many varying opinions on what size to cut your fabric squares. Some blogs said to add an inch to each side, so for an 18x18" pillow, they suggested using 19x19" squares. I wanted a nice, snug fit though, so went with the same size as the actual pillows (nobody likes a soggy-diaper look to their pillows). My MIL had some good advice: take into consideration the size of your pillow insert (you can just take a tape measurer and measure the circumference circumference of the pillow). Some pillows are more full than others. Mine was right at 36" in circumference, so I went with 18x8" for the squares. If it wasn't quite as full, I probably would've used 17x17" squares.

October 2013 update: I think these pillows are actually a bit too snug after all. I just made a pillow for our nursery and added an inch to the top and bottom of the pillow size when cutting the fabric. I like the outcome better, so I now recommend using a 19"x19" square for an 18"x18" pillows so they don't get too squashed.

A cutting mat and rotary cutter make this step pretty easy (since you can use the lines on the mat to be sure you are cutting straight across), but you can just use regular old scissors too.

A willing husband always helps for those incapable of cutting a straight line.

Now you should have two 18x18" squares.

4. Using a paper made specifically to dog-ear the corners, use fabric marker to mark each corner of both fabric squares. Alternatively, you can use the bottom of a cup, which I have seen done on another blog. The purpose of this step is to eliminate pointy corners on your finished pillow. If you don't mind pointy corners, you can skip this step.

5. Following above marked edges, round all corners by trimming off marked fabric with scissors.

6. Prepare your piping. You can buy pre-made piping, or make your own. I cut mine on the bias, which is quite a lengthly process, so that'll be another post tomorrow (post here). As noted in the supplies section, I used 76" for each pillow (but probably could've gotten away with about 72"). 

7. Starting at the bottom middle of the right-side of the square you will use for the front of the pillow, attach piping by pinning in place. Line up the raw edges of the piping with the edge of the fabric square. This step is important, as you want to make sure you sew the piping the same distance in from the edge of the fabric all the way around the pillow to make for a square pillow. The goal is to have 1/2" (aka. seam allowance) from the piping stitching to the end of the fabric. Mine actually ended up being a bit over 1/2", but it was the same all the way around, so it seemed to work out. 

8. When you come to the corners, cut about 3 snips in the fabric, being careful not to cut the stitching in your piping. This makes it easier to smoothly turn the piping around the corners.

9. Once you have pinned the piping all the way around the front of the pillow, sew in place using a zipper foot on your sewing machine. You want to sew as close to the original stitching in the piping as possible (aim for sewing exactly on-top of piping stitching).

10. When you get back to the bottom of the pillow, you will need to join the two piping pieces. This is a tricky step that you don't want to mess-up (or you might end-up with something like my first practice pillow). If you have a lot of extra piping, go ahead and trim some off.

Peel back the fabric around both ends of the piping (you will need to snip the stitching). Mark a line with your fabric marker to indicate where you need to trim the excess piping for the two ends to exactly meet.

Cut off extra piping from one end.

Tape the two ends together (after peeling back fabric from bot ends). Thanks to MIL for this tip.

Fold extra fabric from one end to make a nice, clean edge (I actually took this picture before I tapped the ends together in case you are confused as to why the two ends aren't attached):

Wrap the folded fabric piece over the top and bottom of newly taped-together piping. Sew in place (again, following the original piping stitching closely). I did not allow for enough extra fabric, so it was hard to stitch together without showing frayed edges. I recommend leaving a bit extra fabric to fold over than shown above.

This site was a pretty helpful resource if you want to read more about attaching piping ends.

11. Now it is time to attach your invisible zipper! Warning: this is also a tricky step, so take your time.

Line up your two fabric squares together, with the right-sides facing each-other. Pin just the bottom in place (remember, the bottom of the pillow is where you started and ended your piping). Mark 1 1/2-2" in from both corners with a fabric marker. Stitch just this small area in place on each bottom corner. This step is optional. I actually tried it two different ways (the second being just attaching the zipper without first sewing together the two fabric pieces), but I think it makes it easier to accurately attach the zipper in the middle when the fabric pieces are attached at the ends.

Sew just that 1 1/2-2" on each bottom corner:

This is what it looks like if you flip it over (just the two bottom corners are sewn together):

12. With the right-sides of the fabric facing each-other, prepare to attach the zipper to the side with the piping first. Line-up the zipper (facing down) in the middle of the fabric, secure in place with pins.

13. Sew in place with zipper foot, removing pins as you go. You want to sew close to the zipper teeth, but not so close that you are actually sewing into the teeth. I did this on accident and it took Michael's genius to fix it for me. Unless you have a Michael sitting around waiting to help, be careful or you might end-up breaking your zipper.

Below is how close my stitching was to the zipper teeth on the second go-round. 

I sewed it on with the zipper open. You can't get the very end this way because the zipper is in the way. After my initial pass, I closed the zipper a couple of inches, then went back and sewed just the end to secure it in place.

14. Now it is time to attach the other side of the zipper. I made a flange (fancy new sewing lingo); I think this essentially means a fabric fold that covers and hides the zipper. To do this, you just align the backside of the zipper with the non-piping fabric square and fold down. Crease in place with your hand and secure in place with pins.

Move your sewing needle to the right side of the zipper foot. This time, you want to sew close to the edge of the zipper (rather than close to the teeth like you did when attaching the zipper to the piping side of the fabric). Remove pins as you sew.

15. Almost done! Now all you have to do is attach the two squares. First, pin them together, right-sides facing each-other and matching the raw edges. Important: make sure your zipper is unzipped before you beging sewing! Then, you'll want to sew along the same stitch-line that attached the piping to the front square. This step is important: follow the line as closely as possible to ensure your pillow turns out perfectly square and so you can't see stitching when the pillow case is turned right-side out. Make sure you move your needle back to the left side of the zipper foot before beginning to sew this step.

Once you're done, you may find that you need to go in a bit closer to the zipper on the bottom of the pillow if the end of the zipper sticks out when the pillow is flipped right side out. This is easy enough, just sew along the piping line as above to make sure the ends of the zipper are hidden.

16. Once you've sewn all the way around the pillow, clip all of the corners off. This step just makes the pillow less bulky in the corners once you stuff in the pillow.

17. All done! Turn the pillow right side out and stuff with your insert!

If you see any stitching showing on the outside of your pillow, this just means you didn't sew close enough to the original piping line. Easy enough to fix. Just flip back out and sew again over that section, this time closer to the piping line. I had to do this to most of my corners (it's hard to get close to the original piping line on the corners).

18. Place your creation on its excited new home!

 Pillows with piping and a zipper - easy as that. =)