No-Sew Pillow Covers: A Naptime DIY Project

I’ve asked this question before, but I’ll ask again: how many of you actually TRY some of the things you pin on Pinterest? Recipes, books to read, DIY projects galore….that bright red “P” stares me in the face every time I turn on my smart phone, reminding me that I have 7000 projects hanging there in limbo, waiting to be that new go-to dinner recipe, or that new favorite book, or even the latest “Pinterest fail”.  Regardless, the key word remains the same: limbo.  All of those pins, stuck there on that virtual pinboard, waiting for me.

Let’s face it:  if you are on Pinterest as often as the average woman these days, there is not enough time in a lifetime to finish (or even start) all of those projects.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t try!  I have been challenging myself lately to just try one.  Maybe one a week, or maybe one every two weeks.  Or maybe you get super-ambitious or you hit up a clearance rack at the fabric store and you knock out two or three pins in one day.  No matter how it happens, you will be so excited to say that you actually did it!  And then you can snap a pic, upload it, and pin your own project.  Wow!

One of those projects I’ve been wanting to try for a while was the no-sew pillow cover.  We recently bought new furniture for our living room, and the new set did not come with pillows.  However, I still have the pillows from our old, worn-out set, and I saved them because I knew that someday I would try some of the DIY projects I had been meaning to try for months.  Now, I’d like to say that I found the perfect fabric to match our new couch, whipped up some super cute, super coordinating (but not in an annoying way) pillow sets and share a photo with you right now.  But, alas, that is not the case.  I did, however, finally try my hand at the no-sew pillow covers, and I anticipate that my living room will be coming together soon!  (For now, you can enjoy these patriotic and monkey pillow examples…neither of which will be going on my couch!).

I didn’t want to go out and buy fabric without practicing first, so I used something I’ve had lying around for a while: red, white and blue.  It actually turned out to be great timing, because I tried this project right around the 4th of July.  I watched the YouTube video, laughed at myself for even having to watch a video on something so simple, and then got to work.  About five minutes later (or less), I was done.  Literally, that fast.  And I was obsessed already.  I snapped a pic, sent it to my mom and all my friends, and they were instantly asking how I did it.  I had to laugh as I explained to them how easy it was.  I took the super-cute patriotic pillow, set it on my rocking chair on my front porch, and posted a pic to Facebook.  I got a huge response, and that’s when it hit me:  we are all just sitting here, waiting to try these things, and watching other people do it, and praising them, and then commenting things like “oh my gosh I love that! I wish I could do things like that! you are so creative!”

pillow1

Well, folks, I’m here to tell the truth.  You can do things like that, and you can do it in about four minutes.  In your living room. Or in your kitchen.  Or heck, in your bed with your baby sleeping next to you.  Because sometimes, the projects that you pin and pin and re-pin and favorite and like and follow and whatever, those projects are really just something that you (yes you!) can do without any special skills, special tools, or long period of free time that we moms do not have.

 

So here you have it:  how to make a n0-sew pillow cover.

pillow collageStep 1:  Pick your fabric (1.5-2 yards should be enough for the standard accessory-size pillow; if you are unsure about how much fabric to get, just take the pillow to the store with you).

Step 2: Iron fabric (unless it isn’t too wrinkly to begin with..then you can skip step 2 altogether).

Step 3: Fold fabric until it takes a square shape (instead of a rectangle; see photo).

Step 4: Place pillow (new or used…in this case, I used some of my old pillows) at a diagonal on one corner of the fabric.  Fold the corner of the fabric over to the middle of the pillow, and then fold the whole thing over itself.

Step 5:  Fold top corner in, and bring two sides up to the middle.  Tie those two sides together tightly, and voila.  You are done.  And there are still 45 glorious minutes of naptime left.

Step 6:  Place your brand new, super-trendy, super-adorable pillow on your couch.  Place yourself in front of the pillow, and slowly sit (or lay) against it.  Turn on your Netflix (or better yet, grab a book from that list of books you pinned!) and enjoy this post-DIY bliss.

*Note:  After tying the two ends, you can also tuck them under to make a slightly different looking pillow.  Also, if you have lots of pillows on your couch/bed/etc., I would suggest mixing it up a bit.  Don’t do every single pillow in this fashion. Even if you just turn a few of them around to the “flat side”, that would help a bit.

*Note:  If you completely fail steps 1-5, just grab a store-bought pillow and enjoy Step 6 anyways.  And while you’re at it, post a Pinterest fail pic and have a good laugh at/with yourself.

 

So…which pins are waiting for you on your boards?!  Which one are you going to try TODAY?  Be sure to follow our boards HERE!

Sara
Sara and her husband Matt (sweethearts since they were just 16) got married in 2007, and since then have welcomed four beautiful children (Sam in 2008, Cooper in 2010, Nora in 2012, and Adam James in December 2015). A born-and-raised Iowan, Sara received both her Bachelor's and Master's Degrees (in Spanish Literature) from the University of Iowa. She's still teaching Spanish wherever and whenever she can, but her true passion is owning Iowa City Moms and building this community alongside her amazing team. Sara is also the Community Engagement Coordinator for City Mom Collective, and the owner of Cowork Collective downtown Iowa City. Common denominator in all of these jobs: community, community, community.

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