I used printed duck cloth for this fabric because I wanted it to be sturdy since it was going to be a throw pillow and would be handled a lot. My pillow measures 20x20"; I did that so that I could get one of these inner cushions from Ikea. I bought two because I have another throw pillow in the works, but I was expecting the pillows to be fuller than they are (the picture makes it look pretty full). Maybe over time they fluff up more, but for now, this pillow case has two inner cushions inside of it.
Supplies:
1 yard of fabric
1 pack of piping (2.5 yard length)
inner cushion
I made a plan in Photoshop of how I was going to cut the fabric before actually cutting it. I'm a visual person, so doing it this way really helped me out so that I didn't make any mistakes.
Cut and iron your fabric. I gave myself an extra inch in both directions so that I had a half inch seam allowance on all sides. The first step is to hem along one of the long sides on both back pieces, that way your back end will look nice and finished, like the picture below.
After finishing the hems, I got to work on attaching the piping. I decided to attach it to the front piece first, and then go back and attach the back pieces one at a time. Pin the piping onto the front side of the fabric with the raw edges lined up.
To finish the ends of the piping, it's actually very simple. Just have them overlap at a slight angle and sew straight across the piping as it slopes down.
Trim the excess piping and then pin one of the back pieces on top of it, right sides facing each other. Make sure to have the hemmed side pinned in the middle, that way it will show on the outside when you turn your pillow case right-side out. Because I couldn't see the piping, the best way I could figure to make sure that I was sewing right up next to it was to keep the left side of my presser foot seated right on top of the piping. I used that as my guide and I was able to get a nice clean stitch right along the piping (that's also what I did when I sewed the piping to the front side, only I could actually see what I was doing). Pin the other half on and sew it together. Turn your pillow case right-side out and place your inner cushion(s) inside. Now admire your new, custom (and gentle on your wallet) throw pillow.
