DIY- Ruffle Throw Pillow Cover

You will need two different fabrics of your choice for this project – one for the case itself, and one for the ruffles. I chose grey chiffon and taffeta. I bought 1 yard of the chiffon (used for the case) and 1 yard of the taffeta (used for the ruffles). My pillow was approximately 12”x24” and there was plenty of fabric left over.

Using a sewing machine, make a simple rectangle (or whatever shape your pillow is!) cover. Make sure to only sew three of the four sides so you can slide the pillow in.

*Once the case is finished, you may choose to hand sew the fourth side to make the case permanent. I chose to make a regular hem along the fourth side in case I wanted to take the original pillow out of the case.

The next step is to cut your other fabric into strips for the ruffles. Cut them about twice the height of the pillow. Make the strips as wide as you would like (mine were about 3.5 inches). Also, cut as many as you’d like – I was going to cover the entire case but decided to only go with three strips down the center of the pillow.

Next, cut thread that is about the same length as the strips that you just cut. Thread your needle.

Fold your strips “accordion style” and pinch together using your hands.

Poke your needle and thread through the center of the gathering (make sure the thread is knotted on the end!)

Pull the needle all the way through the fabric, knot the other end, and then pull the fabric to the length of the pillow.

*Note: The above photo is just a small sample of fabric – your ruffles should be as long as the pillow. (I finished my case prior to making this tutorial so just used scraps).

Once you have all of your ruffle strips threaded, the next step is to tack them to the top and bottom of your case.

To prevent the ruffles from being loose, tack every few inches down the ruffles to the case.

Above is how the case will look from the inside.

All’s that’s left is to slide your pillow in and enjoy!

My name is Taylor. I’m a student at the University of Delaware studying business management. I had seen variations of this pillow in stores and online, but couldn’t bring myself to spend over $20 on a pillow that would only be used as a decoration. This project only cost me about $8, since I already had the pillow and only needed to purchase the fabric. I hope you enjoy and feel free to leave your questions and comments! J