10 Minute DIY Pillow Covers - The Creek Line House (2024)

You can make your own DIY pillow covers in just 10 minutes with this super simple method. Perfect for beginner sewers!

Can you believe it used to take me about an hour to make myself DIY pillow covers? I knew it wasn’t supposed to be considered a big, complicated project, but it kinda was. And you know I’m not a big fan of complicated. Back in the dark ages, I used to cut out three different pieces of fabric for each envelop pillow cover that I made, and that gave me three chances to mess it up on each pillow! And I did mess it up often, of course.

Until one day I got smart and realized there are actually quite a few steps in the pillow cover making process that can actually be eliminated altogether and the 10 minute pillow cover method was born.

The Best Method for Sewing Pillow Covers

I still use the original decorative pillows that I first made years ago, and they’ve held up perfectly-well even after being used all over the house and during many games of “the floor is lava.”Anyone who has kids knows exactly the game I’m talking about.

The blue toss pillow in the front in this photo was made using this easy sewing technique many years ago and it’s still looking great after all kinds of abuse.

I recently made a few new accent pillow covers in some lovely neutral fabrics to add to my collection, so I thought I’d share my simple pillow process for anyone else looking to give their decor a little refresh.

Here’s how I made them in (I’m not kidding) 10 minutes flat! Well, 10 minutes each, of course.

More simple home decoration inspiration: My Favourite Inexpensive Decorating Tricks

Making a 10 Minute DIY Pillow Cover

Here are some very ugly photos from a long time ago that actually do a really good job of illustrating how to measure, cut, and iron the fabric to make your covers, so I’ll leave them in this article and include some prettier, more recent photos of my newest pillows to show you the end results.

To make the pillows, I start out by cutting out just one single piece of fabric per pillow and quickly iron it in these few key places. The photo above shows the measurements to make a 16″ pillow. I just make sure the centre portion is 16″ across and don’t worry too much about the two outside pieces. The centre portion is what will end up becoming the front face of your pillow.

The 36″ inch length overall ensures a nice overlap, so as long at you get that middle portion the correct size, everything will fall into place. I didn’t mark it down on the image above, but the fabric is 17″ wide, which allows for a half-inch seam on the sides that need to be sewn.

I fold the fabric together with the wrong side facing out and sew only the two side seams, leaving a half-inch allowance. Sewing the folded over bits that make the envelop opening is completely unnecessary and leaving this part out cuts your sewing time in HALF! Trust me, they stay put and you’d never know they’re not sewn. I feel so clever.

Here are the fabric measurements for a few different common pillow sizes, just to make this extra easy for you:

• For a 16×16 pillow: Cut fabric measuring 17″ by 36″
• For an 18×18 pillow: Cut fabric measuring 19″ by 40″
• For a 20×20 pillow: Cut fabric measuring 21″ by 44″
• For a 22×22 pillow: Cut fabric measuring 23″ by 48″

The Resulting 10 Minute DIY Pillow Cover

Here are a couple of my newest pillow covers in a camel velvet and an ivory silk linen in my living room.

Here’s the back of the ivory pillow with the overlap for the envelope closure. As you can see, it’s quite tailored and tidy looking and you really don’t miss anything by not sewing those two little flaps that were ironed in place on either side of the closure.

The trick to making these cushions look great is this: If you’re going to go to all of this (sorta) trouble, you want your pillows to look their best, right? The thing that really makes the difference between really great professional pillows and just so-so pillows is the type of insert that you use.

A great down pillow form (or down feather alternative form) brings the pillows to life and makes them fluffy, comfy, and wonderfully chop-able. Please tell me you love a good pillow chop as much as I do.

Read next for more home decor tips: 5 Things to Know Before You Buy a Ruggable

A Little Bit of Pillow Decor Controversy

You may have heard the suggestion that, as a rule, you should always use pillow covers that are one size smaller than the pillow inserts that you’re using. That means that you should use a 22″ insert for a decorative pillow cover measuring 20″ across. After running our interior photography business for a few years and taking countless photos of rooms filled with pillows of all different shapes, sizes, and levels of quality, I have to disagree.

I find that generally the cheaper, lower quality pillows are actually the ones that are the most stiff and over-stuffed. You might not notice at first, but at soon as you pick it up, you can tell that the pillow is cheap. The ones that actually catch your eye as being the most stunningly beautiful are the ones with a bit more movement to them, that allow the fabric to ripple and dip just a little bit, allow the light to catch a bit, and really show off the beauty of the fabric that was used. They also look more custom-made this way and not like they’re plastic-perfect from a big box store.

So I’m suggesting that, for a higher-end look to your decor, you might consider using pillow covers that are the same size as your pillow inserts. I know some people won’t agree with me, but it’s worth a thought.

So that’s how you can make your own beautiful cushion covers in just a few minutes and with some very basic sewing skills. I hope this little decorating trick comes in handy for you in your home!