DIY Ruched Pillow Cover

This DIY ruched pillow cover is a cute piece of decor that will add charm to any room! This simple sewing project uses 2 fat quarters and only takes a little over an hour to finish, making it a fun and quick craft.

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Decorative pillows are an easy and inexpensive way to add style to your space, giving you the perfect excuse to spend your afternoon sewing. 🙂 With gathers and buttonholes, this project is intended for more experienced seamstresses, but you can change it by using snaps instead of buttons if you prefer. I adapted this pattern from Creations by Kara.

To make this pillow cover, I used a fat quarter from Annie’s Kit Clubs, and I love how it turned out! With Annie’s Kit Clubs, you receive a craft or sewing project in the mail every month. While they have a variety of subscriptions from paper crafts to knitting to sewing, I chose to sign up for the fat quarter club and was thrilled to get six matching fat quarters for the first month. If this sounds like something you’d enjoy, visit Annie’s Kit Clubs website here to get 50% your first kit!

What is the best material for pillow covers?

Cotton always gathers well and is easy to sew with, so I would definitely recommend using it for this pillow cover. You could also use silk or linen since they will gather nicely to make the ruches on the cover.

Tips for sewing this DIY Ruched Pillow Cover:

• If you don’t know how to sew buttonholes, you can replace them with snaps. Simply sew the snaps along the edges of the back of the pillow where the buttons would have gone.
• You can easily adjust this pattern for different sized pillow forms. For the front rectangle, cut it to a length 1 1/2 times as long as the pillow form and add 3′ to the width of the pillow form. If I wanted to sew a pillow cover for an 18′ x 18′ pillow, I would cut one rectangle 21′ x 24′. For the back rectangles, add 1′ to the length of the pillow form and subtract 1′ from the width of the pillow form to make a larger rectangle. Cut out a smaller rectangle by adding 1′ to the length while using a width of 4′. For an 18′ x 18′ pillow cover, this would be a 19′ x 17′ rectangle and a 19′ x 4′ rectangle.
• Make sure to wash your fabric ahead of time so that it doesn’t shrink if you need to wash it again later. It would be so sad if your pillow cover didn’t fit the form anymore!

Materials you will need

One of the things that makes this project so great is that it doesn’t require much fabric! Here is what you’ll need:

• 1 fat quarter print for front
• 1 fat quarter for back
• Matching thread
• 4 buttons
• 12′ x 12′ pillow form

Finished dimensions: 12′ x 12′

Tools you will need

To sew this pillow cover, you’ll need a few basic sewing tools:

• Sewing machine
• Scissors
• Rotary cutter and board
• Pins
• Iron and ironing board
• Seam ripper
• Buttonhole presser foot

How to make a DIY Ruched Pillow Cover:

Use a 1/4′ seam allowance for all seams.

Cut a rectangle of fabric 15′ x 18′ from the fat quarter you want to be the front. Cut another rectangle 4′ x 13′ from this fabric.

From the fat quarter you want to be the back, cut one rectangle 11′ x 13′. Take the larger rectangle of the front fabric and fold it in half lengthwise with right sides together. Use the iron to press along this fold. Open up the fold, and press each end of the fabric towards the center fold. Press along each of these new folds. You should now have a rectangle with three equally spaced folds running lengthwise across it.

With a gathering stitch, sew along each fold using a 1/4′ seam allowance. Make sure not to cut the thread right next to the fabric once you finish sewing along the fold, but instead to leave a tail of thread long enough for you to pull.

Starting at the top fold, pull the gathering threads to gather the rectangle until it measures 13′. Pin the gathers, then on the wrong side of the fabric, stitch along the gathering thread to secure the gathers. Repeat for the next two folds.

Run one line of gathering threads lengthwise across the top and bottom of this larger rectangle.

Take the smaller rectangle of the front fabric and fold it in half lengthwise with wrong sides together. Press with an iron. Topstitch along the fold to secure.

Put the buttonhole presser foot on the sewing machine and place one button in the back of it. Along the top-stitched edge of the rectangle, pin where you want the 4 buttonholes to go. Sew the buttonholes using the presser foot. Change the presser foot back to the regular one to continue the project.

Hem one of the 11′ sides of the 11′ by 13′ rectangle using a 1/4′ hem.

Place the 11′ x 13′ rectangle of fabric right sides up on the work space. Place the smaller rectangle along the 11′ hemmed edge, overlapping it by 1/2′. Take the larger rectangle, and place it right side down on top of the other 2 rectangles, with the gathering threads along the 11′ side of the back rectangle.

Pull the gathering threads along the top and bottom of the larger rectangle to fit to the edges of the 11′ x 13′ rectangle overlapped with the 2′ x 13′ rectangle. Secure with pins.

Pin around the other 2 sides of the pillow cover. Carefully sew along each side of the pillow. Turn it inside out and check to make sure the gathers are secured and the fabric is lying how you want it to. Next, turn inside out again, trim the seams, and use an overcasting stitch along each side to finish the raw edges.

Turn right side out. Sew the 4 buttons along the open edge of the back rectangle of fabric so that they match with the button holes. Put your pillow cover on the pillow insert and enjoy your new decorative pillow!

Still feeling crafty?

If so, make sure to check out some other simple sewing projects at the Craft Corner! Here are a few ideas for inspiration:

• DIY Tote Bag
• How to Make a Scrunchie
• How to Sew a Drawstring Bag