Cushion Cover with Piping

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Want to revamp your lounge room? A cushion cover with piping around the edge looks striking and beautiful and is easy to make. This tutorial uses the envelope back method so is suitable for beginners.

Table of Contents

Learn how to sew professional-looking cushion covers with piping on the edges with this step by step tutorial.

Supplies

You will need

Fabric – use decorator fabric or cotton quilting fabrics
Piping – you can use store-bought or make your own piping
Your square-shaped cushion insert. Purchase a new one or just recover one of your existing ones.
Regular machine presser foot (All-purpose foot) and Zipper foot
Ruler
Scissors
Pins

Supplies to Make a Cushion Cover with Piping

Cushion Cover with Piping Sizing

Start by measuring your pillow insert’s dimensions. Measure around the curve of the pillow.

Measure your Insert to Make a Cushion Cover with Piping

Cut your fabric with the following dimensions

FRONT – Cut 1 piece of fabric this size

HEIGHT – Add 1 inch to the height of your pillow for the seam allowance.
WIDTH – Add 1 inch to the width of your pillow for the seam allowance.

BACK – Cut 2 pieces of fabric this size

HEIGHT – Add 1 inch to the height of your pillow for the seam allowance.
WIDTH – Divide the insert width by 2 and add 5 inches (12.7cm) to the width of your pillow

Here are the cutting sizes for some common pillow inserts.

PILLOW SIZE	14 INCH (35.5CM)	16 INCH (40.6CM)	18 INCH (45.7CM)	20 INCH (50.8CM)
FRONT Cut 1	15” x 15” (38 x 38 cm)	17” x 17” (43 x 43 cm)	19” x 19” (48.2 x 48.2 cm)	21” x 21” (53.3 x 53.3 cm)
BACK Cut 2	H 15” x W 12” (H38 x W30.5 cm)	H 17” x 13” (H43 x W33 cm)	H 19” x W 14” (H48.2 x W35.5 cm)	H 21” x W 15” (H53.3 x W38 cm)

Cushion Cover with Piping – Cutting Instructions

If you have a non standard sized insert, here is what you will be cutting:

how-to-sew-a-cushion-cover-with-piping — Cutting Chart for Cushion Cover with Piping

Cushion Cover with Piping – Sewing

Step 1 – Backs

On the WRONG side of the back pieces press over the inner edges by 1/4 inch (6mm). Press them over again by 3/4 inch (2cm) and stitch across the hems.

If you have a fabric design that is one-directional, then make sure they are both facing up and that you are pressing in the edges that face each other.

Overlap the hemmed edges so the back becomes the same width as the front and baste the top and bottom edges to hold it in place.

Step 2 – Piping

Take the front of the pillow and start pinning the piping to the edge. Start at least a couple of inches from one corner or in the center of one side. If your fabric has a directional print the piping join will be the least noticeable at the bottom of the cover.

The stitching on the piping should be in line with our seam allowance which is 1/2 inch from the edge. The edge of my piping (tape edge to the stitching) was 3/8 inch (1cm) so my piping was pinned 1/8 inch (3mm) from the edge of the fabric.

Stop 1 inch before you get to the first corner. Piping won’t completely bend around a corner so we need to work it in. Carefully clip into the edge of the piping to help it bend.

Make sure you don’t clip into the stitching line of the piping. Notice how the inner edge of the piping wrinkles slightly. This is normal and it will straighten once you turn the finished cover the right way out.

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Keep pinning until you get back to where you started. Bend the first end down and then the second end down and over it as shown. Try to keep the ends at a gentle angle to get the neatest finish.

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Stitch around the piping with your zipper foot on top of the piping stitching. Use a small stitch length around the curves for greater control.

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You will stitch straight across your beginning point where the ends overlap. Once you have finished you can trim the ends.

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Step 3 – Join the Front and Backs

Put your back on top of your front with the RIGHT sides together and pin around the edges.

Sew the back to the front all the way around close to the piping edge. You will need to use your zipper foot again to get nice and close to the piping.

If you sew on the front of the cover you can just sew on top of your previous stitching line for greatest accuracy.