How to Make Victorian Pillow Covers

The Victorian style home was a cluttered mix of textures, including ornately carved furniture, velvet upholstery and window dressings, and intricately designed fabrics.
Pillow covers made with Victorian type fabrics, prints and styling will bring a bit of this quaint period of history, the reign of Queen Victoria, to life in your home. The Victorian age was between the years 1837 and 1901.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric Scissors Thread Sewing Machine Pins Iron Ironing board Chalk

Make a Pillow Cover

1. Choose your fabric. This is the fun part. Vintage fabrics are available, but if you're making pillows for the busy areas of your home it's a good idea to pick out something new. New materials will hold up better for the long haul. Victorian pillow covers
   can be made of cotton, cotton blends, or linen fabrics. You might also consider upholstery fabrics for a more formal look. Victorian fabrics can be a mix of two colors that form an intricate repetitive pattern, or they can be repeating floral arrangements. There's an enormous variety out there. Look for some ultra-pretty pink on pink patterns, or red and cream toile for a feminine bedroom or salon, or ornate filigree of black over white or burgundy on pink, for a living room.

2. Choose your pillow form. Keep in mind that form should follow function. If you're decorating a collection of pillows for your bedroom, you'll want a cascading group of sizes, running from large to small. You might want to end with a roll neck pillow form or simple round form. Choose pillow materials that suit your taste and needs, from fiberfill to down or foam.

3. Decide on a design. Victorian pillow covers can be nearly any design. Have some fun looking around English interior design magazines, websites and pillow design books in search of a favorite one. They can be pocket pillows with tassles, heart shaped pillows with lace trimming, square pillows with coordinating ruffles, roll neck pillows with gathered ends or ruffle trims, envelope pillows with coordinating trim, piping or button closures. In some ways, the design of the pillow is less important than the choice of fabric.

4. Decide what type of closure you'll want. Will it be a zipper, envelope, button, or permanent seam? A permanent seam will require seam ripping and re-sewing with each washing, unless you plan to dry clean. The type of closure will influence how much fabric you'll need. Once you've decided, purchase an adequate amount of fabric, and measure it according to the size and pillow shape you're using.

Ready, Set, Sew

5. Cut, pin and sew. For square and rectangular pillows with a permanent seam, the fabric should be at least 1 1/2 inch larger than the dimensions of the pillow. Be sure to match the patterns at the edges before you cut.

6. Pin the fabric at the seam allowance mark, (use white chalk for a guide) and sew around the edges. You'll have to leave a gap on one side large enough to insert your pillow form. Iron the seams open with a steam iron. Trim bulkiness away from corners, and use a tool to push corners fully to their tips. Fold in the seams of the gap and press. Turn the pillow cover right side out and insert the pillow form.

7. Seal the pillow. Once the pillow form is inside the pillow cover, pin the gap closed. Sew as straightly as you can closely along the edge of the gap to seal the pillow cover. This seam should be as close as possible to the edge of the inner seam, to create a finished look without any gaps.

Resources

• Victorian Style Fabrics
• Pillow Patterns