How to Ruffle a Pillow

Dress up plain pillows with a ruffled cover.

Adding a ruffled pillow cover is a great way to dress up a plain pillow, cover up stains or wear and tear, or coordinate a room. The cover can be made from upholstery scraps or from coordinating colors in a different fabric. The amount of fabric will vary with the size of the pillow. The secret to clever ruffling is to sew the ruffle into the seam of the pillow cover. The sewer can have some fun with mixing and matching colors and patterns.

Things You'll Need

• Pillow or pillow form
• Scissors
• Fabric
• Pins
• Iron
• Sewing machine
• Sharp sewing needle
• Thread

Instructions

1. Measure the pillow, and add 2 inches to both the length and width to allow for depth. Cut two pieces of fabric using these measurements. Add the inches for all four sides of the pillow, then add 2 inches to that total and multiply it times two. Cut a piece of fabric 6 inches wide using your computed measurement for the length.

2. Fold the long piece of fabric in half. Press the fold. Open the fold, then pin the ends with right sides together. Press the seam open so that it will lie flat. Fold the fabric in half again and re-press. Thread a hand-sewing needle with a thread the same length as the ruffle. Sew along the raw edge of the long fabric, using an evenly spaced running stitch. Pull the thread to gather it.

3. Pin the ruffled fabric to the right side of one of the two rectangles. Match the raw edges, placing the ruffle inside the perimeter of the rectangle. Top-stitch around the edge, sewing the ruffle to the rectangle. Do not change the ruffles position.

4. Hem a short edge on the remaining rectangle. Pin it on top of the ruffled fabric, with the right side facing in and the wrong side facing out. (The right side is the patterned side of the fabric; the wrong side is the dull side). Pin its edges to the edges of the first rectangle and the ruffle. The wrong sides of both rectangles should be outside at this point, and the ruffle should be on the inside between the two.

5. Sew around three sides of the pillow cover. Turn the cover right side out. The ruffle will now be on the outside of the pillow cover. Insert the pillow or pillow form. Stitch the open end closed.

References

• Sewing for Dummies, 3rd Edition; Jan Saunders Maresh; 2010
• Reader's Digest Complete Guide to Sewing, 8th edition; 1981