Zipper-Closed Pillows
Don't you find it annoying when you buy designer pillows to dress up your living room or children's room - and then when they get dirty, the only way to clean them is to sponge them gently by hand? It drove me nuts until I found the perfect solution - sewing knife-edged pillows with a zipper running along one seam. These are great for kids rooms and other rooms where you know that the pillows will get tossed, pushed, and even slept on by a child who fell asleep on the couch! All you have to do is unzip, take out the pillow form and throw the cover into the machine. And the best part is that they're not difficult to sew!
The materials and instructions are for a standard 14" square pillow, but you can easily adapt them to any pillow form you choose.
YOU WILL NEED:
14" square pillow form
1/2 yard fabric (for first-time pillow makers, I recommend a firmly woven fabric of medium weight)
Matching thread
Basting tape
Transparent tape (like Scotch tape)
7" zipper (convention, not separating)
Fabric marking pen or tailor's chalk
The 7" zipper is for a 12"-14" pillow. If your pillow is 16"-18", use a 9" zipper; if it's 20" or more, use a 12" zipper.
INSTRUCTIONS
First you're going to cut your squares. Because you need to take a 1" seam allowance into account, you'll need to measure two 15" squares of fabric. Align the sides to the fabric grain lines, and cut the squares.
Decorator fabrics can be loosely woven, and others tend to unravel easily with wear and tear - and with repeated washings. Since you want this pillow to be able to sustain a certain amount of abuse, and numerous trips to the washing machine, it's worth taking the time now to finish all the edges with a zigzag stitch.
Place the pillow front on top of the pillow back with right sides together.
Pin the side you want to use for the zipper.
The lengthwise grain of the fabric is more stable, because it has less tendency to stretch while you sew. So the best side to choose for the zipper is one that was cut on the lengthwise grain.
Center the zipper alongside the pinned edges.
Mark the seam allowances just above and below the zipper stops (those are the little metal bars at the top and bottom of the zipper coil so that the zipper doesn't slip right off the end).
Stitch a 1/2" seam from the upper edge to the upper mark. Backstitch at both ends.
Repeat for the lower edge.
DON'T FORGET to leave the center section open - your zipper will go here!
Machine-baste on the seamline, between the marks.
(In order to machine-baste, set the machine for the longest possible straight stitch - these stitches are temporary, and the longer they are the easier they'll be to remove).
Using a seam ripper, clip the basting stitches every 2" or so (this will also make removing the stitches easier).
Press the seam flat, and then press the seam allowances open.
Get your basting tape, and run a strip along both outer edges on the right side of the zipper.
Turn the pull tab on the zipper down, and remove the backing on the basting tape.
Place the zipper over the seam, facedown, with the zipper coil positioned directly over the machine-basted part of the seamline (it should be centered between the areas that you backstitched).
Press the zipper with your fingers to secure it to the seam allowances.
Spread the pillow pieces flat, with the right sides up.
Insert pins in the seamline, just above and below the zipper stops.
Cut a piece of transparent tape 1/2" wide, and long enough to fir between the pines, and place it down the center of the seamline.
Attach the zipper foot to your machine, and adjust it to the left of the needle ) if your zipper foot isn't adjustable, then just adjust the needle to the right of the foot.
Stitch along the outer edge of the tape, all the way around and pivoting at the corners.
Adjust the zipper foot to the right of the needle (or your needle to the left of the foot).
Stitch over the previous stitches at one end, down the opposite side, and over the stitches at the other end.
Clip the threads.
Remove the transparent tape.
Using a seam ripper, carefully remove the machine-basting stitches.
Open the zipper.
Pin the pillow front and back along the remaining three sides (right sides together).
Stitch 1/2" seam allowance all around and press.
Turn the pillow cover right side out, inert pillow form through the zipper opening - and you're DONE!!!!