Nancy Zieman The Blog - Sewing Pillows 101

How to Sew Pillows by Nancy Zieman | Sewing With Nancy

Sewing Pillows 101

August 1, 2017

As the calendar turns to August, it’s time to start thinking back to school. Show your support by making a pillow for a special student in your life. Pillows are a go-to project for any skill level, they’re quickly sewn in most any size, and they can be made in multiple styles!

Tutorials Included

Wrapped Pillow Corners
Boxed Pillow Corners
Envelope Pillow Backs
Embroidered Pillow Wraps
Recycled Button-up Shirt Pillow
Throw Pillows Made from Quilt Blocks
Pillows from Quilted Fabrics

Wrapped Pillow Corners

WrappedPillowCorners Nancy Zieman First

Pillows, collars, and cuffs are just a few of the areas where corners need to be sewn. Cast aside the traditional technique and incorporate Nancy Zieman’s “absolute easiest way” to handle sewing corners. Learn to make crisp pillow corners using this tutorial.

Boxed Pillow Corners

Boxed-Corner Buttonhole Pillow Tutorial/How-To by Nancy Zieman

Give your living space a breath of fresh air by sewing new pillows. These boxed-cornered pillows are almost effortless to make. Learn how to add a nice boxy edge to each of the four corners. Learn how to make the boxed-corner pillows here.

Envelope Pillows

You can, of course, make any pillow design you wish. I thought I might share this easy pattern to spark your creative juices. The Lattice Pillow features four machine appliquéd strips of fabric interlaced on a solid square. The pillow back is created in an envelope style and uses a hook-and-loop closure.

Embroidered Pillow Wraps

How To Make A Pillow Band Wrap by Nancy Zieman

You can easily change your home décor with a little fabric and a great embroidery design with this pillow wrap project. Embroider a seasonal motif on fabric or choose an elegant fabric design to complement your décor. Then, follow these simple directions to create a pillow wrap, or two! We’ve made this pillow wrap two-sided, which will save time, fabric, and add a splash to the family room all year ’round. Find the embroidered pillow wrap tutorial here.

Recycled Button-up Shirt Pillow

Lumberjack Pillow—from a flannel shirt: I call this recycled-garment project my Lumberjack Pillow, although you could make this from a loved ones’ shirt and sew a memory pillow as well. The technique used to fit the shirt around the pillow form allows for many shirts and pillow sizes to be created easily.

Throw Pillows Made From Quilt Blocks

Along our quilting journey, we try new techniques and test interesting ideas. Sometimes these valuable lessons and attempts yield “orphan blocks” or leftover quilt blocks that don’t belong to a larger quilt. Take one or more of these treasured quilt blocks and sew them into throw pillows. It’s an easy idea that doesn’t require any additional quilting! See how easy it is to convert your quilt blocks to pillows using this tutorial.

Pillows from Quilted Fabrics

Making pillows from double-sided prequilted fabrics is easier than you think! I was smitten with the quilted eyeglass frames and polka dot duo from Riley Blake, knowing that a trio of pillows were destined for this playful fabric. Learn how to work with this fabric type in the Pillow Trio Tutorial.