How To Line A Pillow

Hello again!  Wow, it’s really been a while since I’ve written a blog post.  I’m finally feeling like things are getting under control from our house being torn up.  (You can read about our house renovations here and here.)  Amid all of the chaos I have been trying to get some sewing projects done for clients.  Today I’m going to share with you a technique I recently used for a client’s project – how to line a pillow.

Be sure to check out our popular How To Make Pillows page for over 25 pillow ideas, tips & techniques.

I don’t line every pillow that I make, but some fabrics are so thin that lining the pillows adds a lot of body to them. Adding lining can also help give the fabric some stability so that it won’t tear at the seams.  The fabric that we used for this client’s pillows was a beautiful striped silk.  Silk fabrics are very thin, and so lining the pillows was the best way to go to make them look their best.

I have already shared how to make a pillow, and adding lining to a pillow is only a couple of additional steps.

I used a flannel lining called interlining to line these pillows.  Usually I use this lining for draperies in between the drapery fabric and the regular lining, but it works great to add body to silk pillows too.

After you have cut out your front and back sections, cut out the lining pieces.  I just lay the face fabric on top of the lining to use as my pattern.

I like to glue baste my fabric and lining together.  You can try serging the two layers together, but I find that my layers like to shift when I serge them.  Glue basting them ensures that they aren’t going to shift.

I apply drops of the fabric glue ( I like to use Rowley’s Fringe Adhesive)  onto the lining, making sure to apply the glue about 1/4″ to 3/8″ away fromt he edge of the lining so that the glue won’t be in the stitch line.  You can sew over dried Fringe Adhesive, but sometimes the drops of glue will show on the face fabric.

Lay the face fabric back down on top of the lining.  I also like to iron the glued edges.  It helps to dry the glue and set it.

You can see how the glue shows through on the face fabric.  That’s why you want to keep it close to the edge.

 

If your fabric frays easily, I would also serge around the edges of the pillow too at this point.

Now that your layers are together, you can finish making the pillow as usual.

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