The CaiterBlog: Envelope Pillow with Piping

This my first "real" sewing project. I say that because my previous projects consisted of simple hand sewing, and my relationship status with my sewing machine was, well, complicated. I always wanted to learn to sew, and I was given a Viking sewing machine (who I have affectionately named Mjolnir) Christmas 2009. However, he didn't see much daylight until I graduated college, for more reasons then just living in sun-less Ohio. Mjolnir and I were definitely in the friend zone, poor guy. And, for a while I wasn't sure if things were ever going to work out between us. After finishing school and moving, I finally had some time to dedicate to our relationship. I'm glad he waited around for me. Love ya, bud.

I decided to make these envelope pillows for my first project for two reasons...

1) They looked easy.

2) My husband is OBSESSED with pillows and we didn't have any.

Needless to say, they were on a high priority level.

I didn't originally plan to make Star Wars or Marvel pillows for my living room, but let's be honest, I had probably day-dreamed about it. And when I saw the fabric on sale for 50% off, how could I resist?

I looked up several envelope pillow tutorials and settled on this youtube one. Except, I decided to be a little adventurous and add piping to mine. So I gathered my supplies...

I was making six pillows (three in each pattern). My pillow form was 18x18 inches. Following the tutorial's instructions cut 6 sets of the following measurements...

(1) 19"x19" (1) 19"x13" (1) 19"x14"

(the larger is your 'front' piece, and the two smaller ones overlap to create the 'back')

These measurements actually didn't end up working for me. I thought they were too big and they made my pillow look sad. Many pillows later, I have found that sewing the covers to the exact measurements of the pillow or smaller actually work best. But that's my preference, because I like a tighter fitting cover.

After I had carefully cut (Step 1) my pieces, I ironed them (Step 2). I then took the back pieces and made a double folded (Step 3) and double stitched seam (Step 4). We are all about the doubles here.

I must have been feeling really confident, because then I just went straight to it with the piping. I skipped about 100 steps... lined up my back pieces with my front piece, and carefully sandwiched the piping in between. In theory, my method made sense, but the execution not so much. My present self gives past Caitlin an 'A' for effort. But I will definitely be getting some points off for all that gapping, oops. Lessons learned.

After some adjustments, I was able to make it look presentable.

However, this is when I realized that the original pillow measurements were going to be just a bit big. So for my next pillow, my objective was to sew the piping more expertly and cut the size down.

For the rest of the pillows, I pinned my piping down on the front piece. I pinned it about an inch in from the edge so the case would be smaller. Wanting to make my piping edges cleaner, I was more thoughtful about cutting the corners, and making the overlap of the ends smooth. I then sewed the piping on to the front piece only. Doing, this you have a much better view of the piping, and it will get you much closer to seam and reduce the gapping issue I had before.

After that, I placed the back pieces on top, and pinned them into place. I then stitched all the way around the pillow following the seam I had made on the previous step. Following that stitch kept me right in line with the piping. Therefore, no gaps!

After I got the hang of it, I started adding fun details to the pillows like ruffles and bows. Because I'm a lady and have a passion to make all things cutsie. I also made some of the pillows with the wrong side of the fabric out. I thought it introduced some needed variety to the set. Full disclosure: The first inside-out pillow I made was a mistake, ha. But I rolled with it. I liked the way it turned out so much that I made three other ones like it (on purpose).