I have been meaning to get a proper bed set ever since we moved into our new house…that was almost 3 years ago now. But, as you know, sometimes life just gets in the way. Well, with all of the construction going on in our house (YES IT IS STILL GOING ON, YES I WANT TO PULL MY HAIR OUT, NO…I DON’T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT. Ha!!!), we ended up having to move the bed placement in our master bedroom. With the new bed position, I was completely inspired to finally get to work on that bed set.
Enter, my body pillow cover. I have been sitting on this lovely fabric since last Summer, when we visited the Cloth House in London. I fell in love with this hand dyed batik fabric, that cost me an arm and a leg in pounds nonetheless. So, trying to be cheap I only bought a yard. As a fellow seamstress, you can laugh at me now. We all know that one yard of fabric is almost never enough to make anything (except kids clothes). So this lovely fabric has been sitting on my shelves ever since. I would take it out and stare at it for periods of time, trying to figure out the ingenious way I could use it – and always eventually ended up placing it back on my shelves. The time had come my friends!!!! I finally found the perfect project for my hand dyed fabric. A handmade body pillow cover.
How to sew a body pillow cover
Body pillowcase DIY
Skill level – Beginner
Time needed – 1 hour
MATERIALS:
- 1 yard woven fabric
- 1 yard coordinating woven fabric
- Basic sewing essentials
HOW TO SEW A BODY PILLOW COVER:
*Please note – this is based on a standard 20″ x 52″ body pillow size.
Step One – Cut pieces of fabric as instructed.
Step Two – Fold larger main fabric in half right sides together, matching up the 46″ long outer edge. Pin and sew one side seam, and the long outer seam. Turn pillow right side out, push out corner, and press.
Step Three – Fold smaller fabric panel in half, right sides together, matching up the 16″ shorter edge. Pin shorter edge and sew. Press seam open.
Step Four – Fold smaller fabric tube in half, matching up the raw outer circle edge, enclosing the seam in the middle.
Step Five – Slip smaller tube over the main pillow body, matching up the seams and raw edges. Pin around and sew. Fold fabric out, and press seam in. Edge stitch to secure seam in place.
Step Six – Fold smaller strips in half right sides together, matching up the long outer edge. Pin one side seam and long edge, and sew. Turn strip right side out and press. Repeat for other strip.
Step Seven – Fold bottom raw edge of strip 1/2″ and press, fold again 1/2″ enclosing the raw edge and press. Pin folded strip edge to inside middle of open side of pillow, and sew to secure. Repeat for both sides.
Step Eight – Press pillow all around, and slip pillow form inside of case. Tie to secure in place.
And you are finished!
I am so happy that I was forced to wait to use that fabric. The bed space is still a work in progress, with wall light fixtures that need to be hung, and curtains, etc. But the fact that the fabric used to make the body pillow cover came from a romantic trip my husband and I took to London makes this so special. Paired with an 11th anniversary pillow I had custom made with our song’s lyrics on it. I can’t wait to sleep on this bed, every night.
Thanks so much for stopping by, and until next time…
Happy sewing!
To put ties on the end is just FABULOUS. I have tons of pillows (love them) and they are always falling out of case so I spend too much time putting them back in. I am going to put ties on ALL of my case now and from this moment on. Thank you so much for sharing
I was looking for a pattern to make a pillow cover for my body pillow. I love the fabrics You used!!! I”m off to make one of my own in spring colors. 🙂
Just curious as to how you cut a piece of fabric 41″ by 46″ when a yard of fabric measures 42″ by 36″.