How to Sew a Pillow with Cording
Are you ready to learn how to sew a pillow? This tutorial will walk you through stenciling a design on fabric then turning that fabric into a cute decorative pillow.
Equipment
- Foam cut into a square (a pillow form is also fine)
- Canvas drop cloth — cut two same-size squares (11 inches in this case)
- Canvas strip (the width of your foam plus 1/2 inch and long enough to go all the way around the edge of your square pieces)
- Ticking (I used two long pieces of ticking to do my cording. You can vary up the materials for different looks.)
- Cording (9-foot roll)
- Number stencil (I cut mine on my Cricut machine.)
- Fabric paint (You can also do an iron-on transfer instead of the stencil and paint.)
Instructions
- Use your Cricut machine to cut a number stencil and center on one piece of canvas. I just used cardstock to cut my stencil but there are a variety of ways to do this on fabric.
- Use fabric paint to fill in your number and allow to dry completely.
- While that dries, start sewing your cording. First, you will need to add the cording to a strip of fabric. Use your regular foot for this step as you don’t have to get it tight yet. Be sure to cut off any excess fabric when you are through.
- You will then want to add the cording you made above to both the front and back square for the pillow. Add to the right side of the fabric and this time use the zipper foot.
- You will be left with a complete front and back that is ready to be turned into a pillow.
- Now sew your long piece of canvas to the front. This time you are going to use that zipper foot to get CLOSE to that cording. Leave a little cording loose (about an inch) at the very start.
- Sew it all the way around the front. When you get to the end, trim the long canvas piece off to size.
- You can then sew those two ends together. Then go back and finish the cording in that area. Now sew that same long piece to your back using the same method and getting close to your cording.
- This time you are going to leave the bottom open. I went ahead and did the corners on the bottom but left the rest open. Turn it right side out through that hole.
- Now it is time to complete your DIY farmhouse pillow. Cut the corners off of the foam to make them look more rounded.
- Then stuff your foam in your pillow. Sew the hold closed and you are done!