This is the easiest pillow cover ever. No measuring! No sewing! Just fold and tie. You need a piece of fabric 3 times as wide plus a few more inches and twice as tall plus a few more inches as the pillow. Place the pillow in the center, on the wrong side of the fabric.
I used pinking shears to cut the fabric so it wouldn’t fray. Start by folding the bottom half of the fabric to the center of the pillow.
Then fold the top down to the center.
Fold both ends like the picture. Sorry, I don’t know how to explain it.
Bring one side over the top of the pillow.
Then the other side.
Now tie the ends in a square knot. To tie a square knot you take the fabric over-under then under-over.
Ta-Da! Hey, I don’t sew much and this is the perfect no-sew solution.
I love the knot.
And it looks great on the loveseat.
It even looks great on the back if I want to switch sides.
I’m linking to these awesome blog parties:
Air Your Laundry Friday at Freckled Laundry
Tutorial Tuesday at Hope Studios
Tip Me Tuesday at Tip Junkie
Get Your Craft On at Today’s Creative Blog
Show Me What Ya Got at Not Just a Housewife
Tutorials and Tips Tuesday at The Stories of A2Z
Whatever Goes Wednesday at Someday Crafts
Transformation Thursday at The Shabby Chic Cottage
Hookin Up With HOH at House of Hepworths
How To’s Day at The Lettered Cottage
Point of View Pillow Link Party at Gwenny Penny
{ 80 comments… read them below or add one }
this is fantastic. And it looks so much cuter than if you sewed a square. Love it
I am soooo doing this! I LOVE it mom seriously i want to make some right now but i guess ill have to wait since it is 1 in the morning
LOVE this. I’m not very into sewing, so this is perfect for me!! Thanks for the great idea.
Oh my! I adore this – -so quick & easy…and perfect for someone fickle like me that wants to change pillow covers pretty much all the time. Thanks so much for sharing – - and for the easy to follow pictures.
Wow, this looks amazing, I can’t believe it’s that easy! I am going to try this for sure – thanks for the inspiration!
Visiting from the CSI Pillow party =)
Ingenious and cute!
Now this is a project I CAN DO! I love it- so simple and it really looks great! Can you share some tips on finding fabrics?
Wow! That was super easy. I just came over from the CSI project and I love this pillow! Thanks for sharing!
kristie @ making life a Bliss
This is brilliant. I’ve hated the pillows that came with our sofa for years. I think I know their fate now.
This is awesome! I can’t believe there was no sewing involved with this pillow! Stopping by from CSI
Brilliant! And beautiful! I cannot bring myself to buy nice looking pillows because they are so pricey. But we do have some cheap ones we’ve had for years now. This tutorial is the perfect thing for them! Of course I had to share! http://www.apurposedrivenhome.com/?p=923 Great thinking, Leanne!!
Really clever, thanks for sharing. Take care, Laura
i love this and that you didn’t even have to sew anything! lovely!
I love this! I can’t sew so this is great!
Brilliant! I may try this with some outdoor pillows that are looking tired. That knot looks great with the ends all tucked in!
I love it! I need to update my pillows but do not own a sewing machine. This idea is perfect!
I featured this on my blog! Thanks for sharing!
Friday Finds @ making life a Bliss
LOVE this! I’m so doing this! I love no-sews!
Blessings,
Lana
I’m such a sewing slacker! This solution is perfect for me. Thanks for posting. I can’t wait to share it with my readers on MeckMom.com.
What a great idea…especially if you are looking for a quick change!
Awesome…and I don’t need to sew…I’m sold!
Thanks for sharing!
The is great! I made a similar pillow for winter, but mine was sewn which stresses a lot of people out!
I love, love, love your way of doing it. (And, quite frankly, I think it is much prettier than mine!) Thanks for sharing this idea!
This is BRILLIANT!!! I’m going to be doing just this very soon! Thank you for sharing!!!
I’m following you from Tutorial Tuesday please follow me at:
http://www.daughterbydesgin.blogspot.com
Great minds think alike. I made something similar yesterday
I love the fabric you used!!!! Very cute.
What a cute and easy pillow! love how it looks and how easy it is to do!!
I’d love for you to link this up to my new link party, Your Whims Wednesday! http://mygirlishwhims.blogspot.com/2011/04/your-whims-wednesday-1.html
I can’t wait to try this! Love it. I”ll link back when I do!!
Love the idea! Will have to try this!!
Fabulous!! Will definitely be trying this. Thank you!!
I wrapped a birthday gift like this a couple of weeks ago, so it’s useful for more than just pillows!
Oh my goodness, I just (literally) stumbled upon this post and I am in love! Awesome
I think I love you! Seriously, this is one of the best tutorials I’ve seen in awhile. There are so many of us out there that don’t sew, and are very jealous of the wonderful things people whip up with their sewing machines. Now I can change out my pillows with the season. Perfect. Thank you!
Camille
Geez, Louise, thank you for posting this! I have about ten throw pillows that I need to sew covers for. I have the pillow inserts. I have the fabric, just haven’t had time to get out the sewing machine and DO IT! This is a great temporary fix!
Oh wow!! I love a fabric project that I don’t have to sew!! And your instructions are great! I think the knot on the front looks so pretty. I’m having a giveaway on my blog of some zebra-print fabric, so if you’re interested I’d love it if you’d come check it out.
Great idea and fantastic tutorial! I linked this to my no sew pillows project post too, well done!
Inspire Me Heather recently posted..project- pillows – no sew
So lovely, I can not believe how easy it is! I am having a PILLOW FIGHT on my blog {contest for charity} and would love it if you would consider entering! Link below!
Carlee
http://www.ladybirdln.com/2011/05/pillow-fight-for-causepart-1.html
Carlee recently posted..Showing YOU off! Week 2 Features
This is GENIUS!
Megan
http://www.CutTheCraft.com
Great technique – I think I’m going to go with silk to give my old cushions a new lease of life!
This is brilliant!!! I’m going to be covering many of our pillows to match our new color scheme, this is such a great and easy idea! I am so excited to give our pillows a facelift!
Cara recently posted..Who doesnt love pinatas!!
wow, your idea is very impressive. in this time, when we have to save money, we can use ur way.
)
i will copy how you make your throw pillow looks cute and fantastic
but maybe not every fabric can be used like yours i think, maybe we will hardly get nice shape when we use light-weighted fabric such as silk and so on…. maybe it best made from thick fabric (of course, i can be wrong
i love your idea
found this on pinterest…i love it so much i want to cry! i’m going to go dig around through my fabric stash now…thanks!!!
sara @ it’s good to be queen recently posted..eye candy
This looks great! I’m on a hunt to find a no sew solution to cover a chair pad and stumbled onto this. I’ll have to pin it, I can think of so many places to use this! Thanks for the great pics and explanation : )
just wondering if this is strictly a deco pillow…. im thinking that if too many ppl touch or play with this pillow the fabric may separate in the middle… just wondering. very very cute though!
that is so easy, no sewing no any thing just fabric only.
Thank you for sharing Leanneja.
Dorria @ embroidery designs to download recently posted..Embroidery Design 099
This is perfect! I love this idea. The tied side is super cute!
Monica Robledo @ Everything Awesome About Food recently posted..Spreads & Other Snacks for "Grown Ups"
I love this idea …. so easy and simple Pillow Cover but really great … thanks so much
Dorria embroidery design recently posted..Embroidery Design 106
How do you tuck the knot for the finished look?!?!
Also I didn’t have a piece of cloth long enough, so I just turned my pillow and folded the corners over – still works!!
This is awesome! Seriously, so clever. I’m a new follower! I hope you’ll follow me back but no pressure
This is a great tutorial–thanks! I’m curious what fabric you used. I love it.
Can you show a photo of what the square knot looks like before and after tucking? I don’t know how to do one and make it look so pretty!
Could you clarify a bit more on how to tie the square knot? Do you just tuck them underneath? Thanks!
This is one smart idea. I have seen them but had no idea how to do it. Thanks. I am doing that with my cushions,
lI need more detailed instructions on how to fold the pilllow. Have not crafted in a long time, but I do know how to tie a square knot, but for some reason I cannot get the visual on this pillow. I would love to make it as soon as possible for a friend.
Thank you;
linda lindamattio@att.net
I love this! How did you do the knot. I’ve gotten to that point but I’m stuck.
I just made two of these pillows for my bedroom and I love them! It couldn’t get easier. Thank you for sharing the pattern and great tutorial.
how do you tie the square knot?
I have wolf fabric to make a pillow for my husband, but I am sewing-challenged! I can, however, tie a square knot and this is perfect…thanks so much!
What do you do with the ends after you tie the know? Any specific trick to tucking them in/away?
This looks awesome!!!! Please give me instructions on how to tie the square knot because I have not a clue on how to do it. I will be waiting with fabric and pillow in hand ready to get started!
This was the best trick for covering pillows I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much for sharing. I will be covering several of my pillows. I wasn’t sure what a square knot was but thought it may be similar to the way you tie your shoes, and it is. I found this site that has an illustration but there are several of them online. Here it is:
http://meritbadge.org/wiki/index.php/Knot
It is a nice idea, thanks for share it.
Ale
Costa Rica
I LOVE the look of this pillow!
I am redecortating my bedroom right now and I have a pink throw blanket on the foot of my bed and I needed an extra pop of pink at the head of the bed. I looked and looked for premade pillows but nothing matched.
I found the perfect fabric and I have been trying to make my knot look as good as yours but I am unsuccessful! Do you have any tips for us? I know the square knot but I don’t understand what you are doing with the ends.
Thanks,
Alecia
How much fabric do you use?
Amazing! Thanks for the great idea!
Just made this tie pillow……Love it so easy!!!!!
I also want to know how much fabric per pillow??
Thanks
While this is a great idea and I love an easy no sew project…the directions could use a little help. I under bought my fabric to start with- it’s not just 3times and 2 times the height and width of the pillow you are using. You have to include the curve of the fabric around the pillow. So you will need enough fabric to wrap all the way around your pillow for the height and enough fabric to wrap around one and a half times around for the width. For my pillow that was standard-ish at 16 inches square I needed 45 inch x 55 inches for my fabric.
Lots of people have had trouble with the knot, including myself. I did the first step of the knot like tying your shoes (like shown in her pictures above) and then just wrapped and tucked in the two tails around the knot to make it look like the finished product. To keep the tails tucked in, I used safety pins to tack in it place on the underside of the knot. My finished product looked great, just a little frustrating to get there. Hope these extra tips help you!
I tried this using outdoor fabric for some pillow to use outside on the patio. Perhaps it is because the fabric is thicker and sturdier than most decorative fabrics, but it didn’t work! The knot ended up being way too bulky and wouldn’t stay intact. Time to break out the sewing machine…
Great idea — thank you! I tried it and was short on fabric (the tails weren’t long enough to tie), so I started over and turned the pillow diagonally and it worked! Obviously, this only works if your fabric looks OK going diagonally.
I tried this pillow cover and it and it was SO easy and cheap! Thanks for a great idea. You can see where I blogged about it (and linked to your post) here: http://thesoulfulhouse.com/2012/08/a-diy-living-room-in-progress/
you are a genius!!!!
Loved making this pillow!!
A FEW TIPS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO MAKE IT!!!
Use a little bit more fabric for the long side, I used a few extra inches and even that was a little less than I liked.
If you don’t know how to tie the square knot (which I did not) then tucking the edges under and SAFETY PINNING them looks really great!
I tried with some upholstery fabric and had the same results as the commenter who used the outdoor fabric – it was wayyyyy to bulky to get the cute final product shown here. I improvised and still ended up with something cute – but I would definitely recommend using a thinner fabric to be able to get the cute knot!!!
A “Square” Knot is one of the simplest to tie.
You take an end of your rope (or in this case fabric) one end in each hand. Tie the left over the right and under; and the Right over Left and Under. I imagine for the sake of the neatness of the finished product the ends would simply be tucked inside the fabric out of sight.
Very cute! I love the fabric! Where can I find it?
This is the most FRUSTERATING pillow cover EVER! I bought two different fabrics in the specifications listed, and in your pictures, when the fabric is folded and brought over the top of the pillow; it looks very flat and neat, but when I am doing it, regardless of how I try to fold it, I have a ton of fabric that is at the ends where it’s supposed to be tied for te finished product. I FINALLY figured out how to tie that knot, but it’s impossible to get a clean finished pillow with so much extra fabric, regardless of how much I iron it down. HELP!
I’m sorry it’s frustrating you. I just fold it how it shows in the post. Try to make the fabric on the ends as narrow as possible before you try to tie the knot. Tie the knot over under, then under over (it’s a square knot). That will make it flat in the front then just tuck the ends under the side fabric. Make sure your fabric isn’t too think or it makes it a little harder to work with.
Hi, I am a contributor for The Lovely Project, a lifestyle blog. I would like to include a link to this tutorial in my next blog, due to post Dec 19. This is great and easy!
I love this idea. The knot makes it! Can’t wait to try this. It looks “sew” easy. Thanks for sharing!
This is so clever. I featured it here:
http://sewprettysewfree.blogspot.com/2013/03/bow-pillow-tutorials.html
NEVER SAW ANTHING SO EASY…….THANKS I WON’T BE SEWING….LOVE THE WAY THE PILLOWS LOOK
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