DIY Pillow Cover and Upcycled Pillow Form

We have so many pillows around our house – sooner or later, it is time to get rid of old pillows. Perhaps they have become flattened or lumpy, or you want a clean, new pillow. This is an easy project to upcycle old bed pillows into an easy throw pillow and a good beginner’s sewing project if you are learning to use a sewing machine. I am fairly new to sewing, and this was very doable for me – not everything came out perfect but for a kid’s pillow, it came out great.

This is a fun project or gift for a child, especially if they are really into a character and you can find the matching fabric.

Materials needed:

~ Bed pillow

~ Fabric

~ Scissors, measuring tape, sewing machine/thread

Directions for Pillow Form:

Cut your bed pillow, which will become your pillow form (typical square pillow forms you buy at the store measure 20″x20″).

The bed pillow I used measured 20″ wide by about 25″ long, so I cut the pillow to make it square.

I recommend cutting a little bit larger than 20″ (at least 21″) to allow enough space for you to be able to sew the pillow shut – simply trim the extra fabric afterwards.

While the pillow is cut open, you may want to fluff the contents and re-shape the filling as it might be lumpy or flattened. If you want to add some more volume, you can add the stuffing that you cut/took off the end, which is a great way to reuse all the material from your original pillow.

Sew your pillow so that it measures 20″x20″, trimming any extra fabric once you have sewn the pillow shut. You might need a hand doing this step – I had my daughter hold the pillow up while I held on to the edge and sewed the edge, as it was a tight fit in my sewing machine.

You can see my seam along the bottom of the pillow in the photo below – this is the finished pillow form.

Directions for Pillow Cover:

Cut the fabric that you want for your pillow cover.

~ Pillow front: 21″x21″

~ 2 back pieces, each 13.5″ x 21″

Sew one long edge of each of the 13.5″x21″ fabric pieces. To do so, fold over your edge once, and then again, to create a folded edge. Iron and/or pin in place, and then sew along the edge.

Lay your fabric with the finished/right sides facing each other (inwards), since you are going to turn the case inside out when you are done. You want the hemmed edges in the middle, overlapping.

Pin the layers together on all 4 sides. You can round off the corners if you like, with something round (like a CD), but I have had no problems just sewing a square without beveled edges.

Sew around the edges, leaving 1/2″ seam allowance. Mine is a bit crooked from too many distractions from the kids!! Fortunately, my daughter was so excited about her new pillow with this owl fabric, she didn’t mind the uneven seam on the back!