Ruffle pillow tutorial

Ok, so here's how I made that awesome ruffle pillow. First, I googled "ruffle pillow tutorial" and read several examples, then I adapted to meet my own needs. I still made several mistakes, which I will try to help you avoid with my helpful TIPS below. This is not the quickest project ever, but it's not really difficult, and it's so worth it!

Let me begin by apologizing: I thought I had been a lot better about taking pictures of all the steps than I actually was - sorry!!

I started with a pillow form, which is just a plain cotton pillow waiting for a slipcover. You can buy them at most craft or fabric stores. They are a lot easier, in my opinion, than stuffing a pillow yourself. Also, when you tire of the slipcover, it is easy to recover later. My pillow form measured 20" x 20". I wanted to cover it using red felt I had leftover from a previous project. I also wanted the cover to be removable for washing. Sooo...

Step 1: Pre-wash your fabric if there is any chance it will shrink. Cut 3 pieces of fabric.
    (a) One piece 21" x 21" (that's the 20x20 with 1/2" seam allowances)
    (b) One piece 10" x 21"
    (c) One piece 15" X 21"
    Piece (a) is the front, pieces (b) and (c) are the back.

Step 2: Cut strips of red felt for the ruffles. The length and widths of the strips will depend on the look you want. I cut 10 strips 2 inches wide and 36 inches long (if I remember correctly...). TIP: ONLY CUT ONE STRIP FIRST AND FOLLOW STEPS 3 AND 4 TO SEE IF YOU LIKE HOW IT LOOKS BEFORE CUTTING ALL YOUR STRIPS. If you have a rotary cutter and cutting mat, this is the perfect time to use it. If not, don't fret. It is ok to cut with scissors (I did). You won't see uneven edges once you gather the ruffles.

Step 3: Set your sewing machine to a normal straight stitch with the longest stitch length and low bobbin tension.

On my machine, I needed to turn this so that it was set to 6. I didn't (whoops), but I should have.

If you don't know how to adjust your tension, it will probably work to just do the long stitch length. Run a single long line of stitches down the center of each strip. Do not double back on the ends. You want the threads to hang free at the ends. 

I used white thread because I wanted the contrast.

 Step 4: Pull the bobbin thread only, which will begin to gather the ruffle. Gather until it is the width of your front piece (so in this case, 21"). You can play with the ruffles so the gather is even throughout. It's not crucial that it be perfect by any means.

 
TIP: Seriously, try this on just one strip first. Some threads are too weak and will break in step 4. If your bobbin runs out in the middle of the project, either replace it with the same thread or test the new bobbin thread to make sure it's strong enough.

Step 5: Pin the ruffles to the front piece, evenly spaced. The ends of the strips should come to the edges of the front piece. TIP: Use a lot of pins here. You don't want the ruffles sliding around while you sew in the next step.

Step 6: Adjust your stitch length to a medium length stitch. Stitch over the existing line of stitches up the middle of each ruffle. If you're using a thick fabric like I was, it can be hard for your machine. Don't worry about stitching EXACTLY on top of the old stitches, just be as close as possible. 

Action shot!

Step 7: On piece (b), fold over 2" on the long edge, iron, and sew. I sewed two lines of stitches for decoration (you can see it in the last pic later). You're piece will now be 8" x 21". (If you fabric is likely to fray, you might want to finish one edge of piece (c), too. I didn't need to with the felt.)

Step 8: Pin your pieces together thusly:
   (a) Lay your front piece down, ruffle side up.
        TIP: Pin back the two ruffles on the top and bottom edges so they don't get caught in the seam 
        in the next step.
   (b) Lay piece (b) on top of it, lining up the unfinished 21" edge to the top of the front piece.
         The "right" side should be facing down toward the ruffles. Or, in other words, the raw edge that you
         turned up and sewed should be facing up toward you.
   (c) Lay piece (c) on top of that, lining up an unfinished 21" edge to the bottom of the front piece.

Step 9: Sew all the way around all 4 sides. Tie off threads securely, and turn right side out. Tada!! You have a pillow cover!!

You can stop now. I decided to add a little decorative touch to the back. I cut two narrow strips of felt, folded in half the long way and sewed, and tacked them to the flap on the back. Then I added two cute buttons (they're paisley, you can't tell), and voila!