How to Make a Ruffled Pillow Cover Step by Step
Join me as I turn a thrifted curtain and dress into a pair of ruffled throw pillows. I’ll break down how I did it step by step so you can make a ruffled pillow cover too!
I had been wanting to make some throw pillows for my bed for quite awhile. The poor bolster pillow that had been on there – a cheap find from a big box store several years ago – had seen better days. It was all lopsided and misshapen with tassels coming unraveled or missing completely. Something more cozy, feminine, and cottage-y was my desire, so when I saw this lonely curtain at the thrift store inspiration struck!
Before I cut into it I did try it out around the house to make sure I didn’t want to use it as a curtain first. But alas, being 100% cotton it had obviously shrunk in the wash and no longer fit a standard width window. Probably the reason it was donated! The beautiful light blue toile with country scenes made my blue and white toile-loving heart sing!
The dress was a bit of an accident.
You see, I bought it intending to try it on and wear it if it fit well. What I didn’t realize, however, was that it had slits up the sides that went all the way to the hips (how did I miss that?!). How one is supposed to decently wear that I am still unsure. “I’ll cut off the bottom and make it into a shirt!” I thought. So I cut off the bottom, but it still just didn’t look quite right. The beautiful soft fabric seemed to just beg to be made into something else. Once I noticed how well it complimented the toile I knew I had to make it into ruffles!
It always feels a bit funny using intact clothing as fabric, but I figure if it all gets used then it still serves a good purpose. I harvested the little metal buttons off the dress – all 9 – for a future project. The embroidered panels from the top were carefully cut out and set aside for yet another little project I have in mind. The tiny bit of fabric I didn’t use for ruffles has been set aside for a potential future quilt (maybe someday!). Nothing went to waste.
I’ll preface this tutorial by saying I am in no way a pro seamstress. I know some basics and am always learning, but still I wanted to share this project with you in case it proves helpful or gives you some inspiration. (I also happen to be quite pleased with the results so it’s fun to share!)
Let’s get to it!
How to Make a Ruffled Pillow Cover
Supplies:
Fabric – consider thrifted curtains, sheets, clothing, and more! Amount will vary depending on the size of your pillow inserts and number of pillows you are making. (Measuring details are in the instructions.) You can make the ruffles the same color as the main body of the pillow cover or something completely different but complimentary – get creative!
Measuring Tape
Rotary Cutter & Mat (scissors will work too)
Sewing Pins
Sewing Machine
Thread – coordinating color for fabric
Sewing Needle
Scissors for trimming threads
BIG TIP: When choosing a pillow insert, down feather pillow inserts always hold their shape and last longer than fiber filled ones! Consider some like these.
Instructions
STEP 1: MEASURING & CUTTING
You will want your finished pillow cover to end up not much larger than your pillow insert. This way it will look plump and not saggy. (This is also a trick for when you are purchasing pillow inserts and covers!)
Measure your pillow insert over the fullest part (mine was 16 inches square). We will be adding onto that number for seam allowance and an overlap of several inches on the back where the opening for the insert will be. (I generally stick to about 1/2 inch seam allowance so that’s what I will use here.)
Your first piece of fabric – the front of the pillow cover – will need to be these dimensions:
Pillow measurement + 1 inch vertically by pillow measurement + 1 inch horizontally
Your second piece of fabric – the back of the pillow cover – will need to be these dimensions:
Pillow measurement + 5 inches vertically by pillow measurement + 1 inch horizontally
(If your pillow insert is especially fluffy you may want to increase the 5 inches to 6 inches. This will be determine the amount of fabric overlap at the back opening.)
Iron your fabric on an appropriate setting to eliminate any wrinkles.
Cut the two pieces described above.
Take the back piece (the longer one) and cut it evenly in half widthwise (side to side).
STEP 2: SEWING THE EDGES OF THE BACK PIECES
We want a nice clean edge to our back halves where they will overlap. Be sure to keep your fabric’s pattern in mind when folding and sewing if it needs to be kept a certain direction!
Take the top back piece, fold the bottom edge under 1/2 inch (wrong side of fabric against wrong side of fabric) and pin. Sew a straight line the length of the edge to secure. Remove pins.
Take the bottom back piece, fold the top edge under 1/2 inch (wrong side of fabric against wrong side of fabric) and pin. Sew a straight line the length of the edge to secure. Remove pins.
STEP 3: CREATING THE RUFFLE
At this point we pause work on the main body of the pillow cover to create the ruffle. The ruffle can be as tight or loose as you want it and as wide as you want it, but your decisions will affect how much fabric is needed. I will share what I did and you can tweak it as you desire.
To create a ruffle you will cut strips of fabric which will be sewn end to end to create one long strip. The width of the strips will need to be twice the width of your ruffle. I wanted my ruffle to be about 2.5 inches wide when finished so I cut my strips of fabric to be 5 inches wide.
The length of the individual strips does not matter as they will all be sewn end to end in one continuous length. This is a reason scrap fabric is so great for ruffles because you can use varying lengths of strips! Your total length will need to be greater than the total border of your pillow but will vary depending on how tight you want your ruffles.
Measure around the border of your pillow (mine was 16in x 4 sides = 64 inches).
Add on an additional 25% for subtle ruffles, 50% for more pronounced ruffles, and 75-100% for tighter ruffles. Mine looked like: 64 inches x 1.50 = 96 inches of length.
Cut strips of fabric twice the width of your desired ruffle, totaling the length you calculated above.
Sew the strips end to end, with right sides of fabric facing each other, to create one continuous length.
Now fold the long strip in half lengthwise with right side of fabric visible on the outside. You can do this as you sew – no need to pin the entire thing unless you want to! Sew along the length of it, as close to the edge as possible. to close it into one long tube.
Although we would usually put wrong side to wrong side when sewing and then turn the tube right side out, the seam along the edge will be hidden inside the pillow cover so there is no need to do this. Turning a tube that long right side out would be a serious pain!
Now that you have your long tube we are going to ruffle it up! We will do this by sewing a running stitch along the length of the tube – right along that straight line you just sewed. The pretty edge of your ruffle will remain pretty and the unsightly seam side will be hidden inside the pillow cover.
A running stitch is just a basic stitch that goes in and out of the fabric. We will pull on this thread to gather the tube into a ruffle. This can be done by hand with a needle and thread or on your sewing machine, whichever you prefer. If you use your machine, be sure to set your stitch length and tension to appropriate settings for a ruffle. I personally prefer doing this by hand and will show you that method. I find I can keep the stitch very long and loose and keep it running very close to the edge without worrying about going off the fabric.
Using a needle threaded with a very long length of thread (knotted at the end), start at one end of the long tube and sew a running stitch the length of the tube, working right along your previous straight stitch.
Pull the fabric gently into a ruffle as you go. Tie off at the end.
The ruffle will be tweaked before the final sewing into the cover, so don’t get too hung up on how it looks right now!
You may want to periodically measure your ruffle or hold it up to your pillow cover to make sure your length will turn out correctly and you are not gathering the ruffle too tightly.
STEP 4: COMBINING THE RUFFLE AND PILLOW COVER BODY:
With the ruffle finished, it is time to lay it all out, pin it together, and sew it! This is the fun part in my opinion – to see it all come together!
Lay the FRONT panel of your pillow cover right side up with the pattern facing you.
Arrange your ruffle along the entire border of the front piece with pretty edge of the ruffle INWARD. This means that the seam side of your ruffle will align with the edges of your front panel and you will be sewing the ruffle INSIDE of your pillow cover (for now). It will all work out when we turn it right side out at the end!
Tweak your ruffle so that the ruffles are spaced evenly and gathered how you desire.
Place the TOP BACK panel over the ruffle, right side of fabric facing downward toward the other panel. You should be looking at the wrong side of the fabric. (Make sure the raw edge of this panel is at the top and the nice finished edge of this panel is now towards the middle of your project.)
Pin this panel in place, catching the TOP BACK panel, RUFFLES, and FRONT panel with the pins so they are all sandwiched together.
Place the BOTTOM BACK panel, on top of the ruffles, right side of fabric downward, aligning the bottom edge of this panel with bottom edge of front panel and ruffles. The nice finished edge of this panel should be towards the middle of your project and will overlap the top back panel.
Pin this panel in place, catching the BOTTOM BACK panel, RUFFLES, TOP BACK PANEL (where it overlaps), and FRONT panel with the pins so they are all sandwiched together.
Sew around the entire outside perimeter of the pillow cover using a straight stitch on your sewing machine, with about a 1/2 inch seam allowance. It’s always a good idea to backstitch at the start and end of your sewing so it doesn’t come apart later.
Remove all pins and turn pillow cover right side out through the center opening. Shriek with joy at your beautiful creation!
STEP 5: FINISHING TOUCHES
Your pillow cover can be finished at this point if you wish, or we can add a final finishing touch!
The overlap on the back of your pillow should be fairly sufficient to cover and hide your pillow insert. If you would like to add a fun detail – or if your cover needs a little help in holding the bulging fluffy insert inside like mine did – then let’s add some ties!
The thrifted curtain I used had some thicker parts where the fabric was already folded and sewn into a rod pocket or hem. I cut apart one of these sections into strips – 8 of them for my two pillows, so 4 ties per pillow. You can add as many ties as you like or need.
You can use lengths of fabric folded over and sew for added durability and a finished look, or change it up and use some accent ribbon, preferably a sturdy one that won’t fray easily like grosgrain.
To attach your ties, pin the ties in place on the back panels so they are opposite one another. You want the end of each top tie positioned UNDER the top panel so it’s not visible. The end of each bottom tie will need to be attached farther down the bottom panel so that it can meet with the top tie. I recommend sewing on the top ties first, then positioning and sewing the bottom ties so you can see where they need to fall.
Use your machine – or a needle and thread – to secure the ties to the edges of the back panels. I ran two layers of stitches across the end of each tie for added security.
(Another fun variation on this would be to add button holes and buttons instead of ties! I won’t get into that on here though.)
All done! Put that pillow insert into your brand new pillow cover and enjoy it, taking pride in the fact that you made it yourself!
BIG TIP REMINDER: When choosing a pillow insert, down feather pillow inserts always hold their shape and last longer than fiber filled ones, which can start to look misshapen and flat with use. Try some like these.
I hope this tutorial was helpful to you and I’d love to hear if you make a ruffled pillow cover of your own! Drop me a comment below!
Blessings,
Melissa
