How To Make A Pillow With Cording
In the past, I’ve shown you how to use cording as an embellishment for pillows and window treatments, and also how to make cording. Today I’m going to show you, step-by-step, how to make a pillow with cording.
Be sure to check out our popular How To Make Pillows page for over 25 pillow ideas, tips & techniques.
Cording is an easy way to add a little extra oomph to a decorative pillow. The cording can be made in a contrast fabric which complements the pillow fabric. Or, a pillow can be self-corded, which means that the cording is made from the same fabric as the pillow.
Here’s a picture of two pillows made out of the same fabric. The pillow on the left doesn’t have cording, and the pillow on the right does. Taking the extra step of adding cording really does make the pillow look more custom, and adds a lot to the design of the pillow.
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HOW TO MAKE A PILLOW WITH CORDING
MATERIALS NEEDED
- Pillow form – I love these Soft Touch pillow forms from Fairfield
- Fabric
- Cording – you can find how to make cording here
- Scissors
- Straight pins
- That Purple Thang – tool used to turn out corners of the pillow
- Thread
INSTRUCTIONS
In this post I am not going to go over the basics of how to make a pillow and how to make cording. If more detailed instructions are needed, you can check out my How To Make A Pillow and How To Make Cording posts.
I’ve created a video that shows step-by-step how to make a pillow with cording. I’ve also provided written instructions under the video.
1. Cut out 2 squares for the front and back sides of the pillow. I like my pillow covers to be snug, so I cut my fabric the same size as the pillow form. For my sample pillow, the pillow form is 14″ x 14″, so I cut my fabric squares at 14″ x 14″.
2. Figure how much cording is needed by adding up the measurement of all 4 sides of the pillow form and adding 5″ for extra that will be needed for when you join the cording together. For this example – 14″ x 4 = 56″ plus 5″ for extra, for a total of 61″ of cording.
3. Make all of the cording needed for the pillow. (My how to make cording post is helpful for this step.)
4. Sew the cording onto the pillow face. Leave about 3″ of cording loose, then start sewing the cording onto the right side of the face fabric at the bottom center using a zipper foot. Clip the cording seam allowance at the corners, and ease cording in around the corners. Stop sewing the cording about 3″-4″ away from the starting point.
5. Join the ends of the cording. Lay the right side of the cording flat on the bottom edge of the fabric. Lay the left side of the cording on top of the right side. Cut the bottom strip (right side) 1/4″ away from the edge of the left strip. Sew the 2 strips together – at right angles to each other. Cut the two ends of cording so that they lay together nicely. Wrap the fabric around the cording and sew closed. Tip – go back over the bottom edge of the pillow with a cording foot to get closer to the cord.
6. Pin and sew the front and back sides together. Pin the front to the back, right sides together. Sew around pillow starting 2″ from bottom corner, and going around 3 sides to other bottom corner. Clip corners of pillow, and turn right side out. You can use a tool called That Purple Thang to help push the corners of the pillow out when you’re turning it right side out.
7. Close the pillow. My preferred method is to hand sew the pillow closed.
Enjoy your new pillow with cording!
Have you ever made pillows with cording? Did you love how applying cording adds a touch of custom to the pillow?
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More How To Make Pillows Posts:
How To Hand-Sew A Pillow Closed
I’m joining these parties!
Thanks for sharing experience !
Your welcome Lowell.
Excellent tutorial!! I learned a lot!! THank you 😉
I’m so glad the tutorial was helpful! Happy sewing!
Excellent post Jan! I sew a little, used to have an Etsy shop where i took apart coats and turned them into handbags. I’ve made many, many pillows, and your tutorial is incredibly well done. Thank you! I’ve pinned it!
Thanks Hillari! I love that you re-purpose coats into handbags, that’s a great up-cycle!
The cording really adds a nice, finished touch to the pillow. Wish I could sew a straight line!!
Thanks Annette!
Wow Jann. Thanks so much for the side-by-side pictures of the pillows. I had no idea how much cording could add to the look of a pillow. Thanks for making a video. I often need to “see” how to do something.
Thanks Sheila! I’m a very visual learner too.
This is amazing, now I know how to DIY the pillow covers and use them to decorate my home. Thank you for sharing experience!
Thanks, I’m so glad it was helpful!
This is incredible! You can literally choose any pattern that fits your style and you made it so effortless. Definitely pinning this. Great.
Thanks Joseph!
Terrific video. Hugely helpful. Thanks so much.
By the way, I would love to see one on making a case for a six-sided corded cushion (top, bottom, and four sides) for a couch. Having difficultly figuring out how to put in the sides strip, and not finding any videos as good as yours!.
Thanks Alison! I should make a video like that! I’ll put it on my list!