How to Sew a Throw Pillow

Throw pillows look great on sofas or beds. They can be very expensive to buy, but can easily be made at home for a fraction of the cost. Here are some instructions to make basic throw pillows with corded trim or piping around the edges. Adding corded trim is one way to give pillows a professional look.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• 1/2 yard of fabric
• 2 yards of purchased corded trim
• Sewing thread to match fabric
• Purchased stuffing
• Sewing machine

1. Using a yard stick to carefully measure, cut 2- to 18-inch squares out of the fabric.
2. Begin pinning the corded trim to the right side of one of the squares at the edges. Line up the cord closest to the inside of the square and the edge of the seam edging with the raw outside edge of the fabric. Start and end the trim on one of the sides and not in a corner.
3. When attaching the trim, hang a bit of the beginning and end of the cording off the edge of the square. This will hide the raw, cut edges of the trim.
4. Use a zipper foot on your sewing machine to sew as close as possible to the edge of the cord. Sew carefully, all the way around the square to attach the cording.
5. Pin the other side of the pillow to the side with the cording, right sides together. Using a regular foot on your sewing machine, sew all the way around. Follow the stitching lines left from attaching the cording. Leave a 4-inch opening on one side of the pillow to turn.
6. Turn the pillow right side out through the opening. Use your fingers to pull the corners out as far as possible.
7. Stuff the pillow until it is the desired firmness. Using a needle and thread, make small stitches to close the opening in the pillow.