Pocket Euros. Not to be confused with pocket change. or hot pockets. or small europeans that you can stick in your pocket for entertainment purposes or to model small chic parisian clothing. no. Anyone that would think of such a thing is a weirdo. And could be engaged in human trafficing. Liam Neeson is watching. just sayin.
We are talking easy pillow covers.
The euro pillows on our master bed were a little lacking. First of all there were only two. And Ikea no longer sells those pillow covers. Darn those Scandinavians and their meatballs. So I couldn’t run out and buy a third. I tried.
Instead I decided to go the cheap route and make my own. I picked up three yards of fabric at my favorite discount place, The Fabric Mart (it’s in Stone Mountain for all you locals). The striped white and muted teal fabric was $2 a yard…so that brought my cost to $6 plus the $8 I spent on the new euro pillow. Together my supplies made this extremely easy project ring in at the astounding price of fourteen big ones.
Here’s how I did it…
First get out a very cute and happy baby with fuzzy hair. Important first step.
Secondly, get out your fabric and scissors and your old sham.
Jot down some notes on random wood.
Per the old sham, my final pillow cover needed to be 26″ square. So I added an inch on both sides to hem…making it 28″ x 26″….then I wanted an overlap to form the pocket adding 10″ to the 26″ making my final measurements – 28″x36″.
I cut out three different pieces at that final measurement. I love when I have striped fabric because it makes cutting so much easier…otherwise my lines look more crooked than a politician at a strip club. No offense hookers.
Then came the tedious part…ironing.
I like to iron all my hems before sewing. It makes the ends look really crisp and clean. You wanna fold over your narrow side of fabric and iron, then fold again and iron again to make it look the best. Do that on both ends.
After you sew the hems on both ends, you wanna lay your fabric over your old sham and make sure the size is right. Pin and then sew.
After you turn the pocket right side out, you slip your pillow inside and whambamthankyoumaam.
Granted…I am a super slow ironer…I’m paranoid about burning my fingers off…although the bleeding would be minimal. The heat might cotterize the wound…hmm…something to think about.
So slow ironer…right…this took me about thirty minutes a piece to make. Precious time if you ask me. But I love how they turned out.
Plus, they require no zippers or buttons which can take an eye out with a pillow-fight-loving two year old in the mix.
Have you guys been sewing anything lately? I must admit that I am one to put sewing projects on the back burner just simply because they seem so time consuming. And frankly, I can barely sew a straight line.
That’s all I got for today! Hope y’all have a great weekend! We are gonna be painting, cleaning, fighting off this mad cold, and preparing for our first ever photoshoot. Yes. I am not thrilled at the fact that my first one ever is happening when I have post-baby weight and bald spots but I am hoping that people don’t notice it while they drool over my new tile backsplash 🙂
p.s. I write for Wayfair too! Click here to read my favorite ways to whip a pantry into shape.
***UPDATE: The fabric store is called Fabric World.***
These instructions seem simple enough for me. I’ve been inspired! 🙂
BTW, what bald spot?
OMG…seriously…could Weston’s smile and fuzzy hair be any cuter? 🙂 THAT must be why my sewing projects always fail…no cute, fuzzy haired baby to get out while I work.
Looks great! I’m wondering if The Fabric Mart has a website….I live in Cumming and would love to make the trip over to check it out!
Love these! I have a bed similar to yours that I have had since before I was married and our bedding is cream and blue as well. I am always looking for a way to make it more masculine for my husband and these would be a great quick, cheap and easy solution.
Thanks for the inspiration!
I love it! My hubby bought me a sewing machine for our anniversary (I know, so romantic) and I have yet to try it. You have inspired me to try it!
XOXO,
Erica
Looks great! I need to break out the sewing machine this weekend. Have way too many pillows waiting for a cover. Thanks for inspiring!
Great tutorial! I’m going to be making some pillows for our new couch, and this will make it really easy!
Finished up sewing similar envelope pillows and new curtains for our basement “face-lift” project. I also am in need of a 3rd euro sham for our master bedroom…2 just looks so skimpy. Congrats on the photo shoot…can’t wait to here more.
Here’s the link to the basement if your interested:
http://monogramsnmud.blogspot.com/2013/02/basement-reveal.html
Do you guys still use your land line a lot? Noticed the phone on the nightstand 🙂
Hi! I am actually going to try and make pillow covers this weekend. I found some king pillowcases on clearance at Tar-jay that I plan on taking apart and sewing. I will try my best (I do not like to sew, am not very good) and post on my accomplishments this weekend. Thanks for the tips!!
P.S.-Love the blog!! And you have the most handsome boys!
I agree that ironing is the most annoying part! I always want to skip that step but know I can’t.
These turned out great and make me want to add some pillows to our master bedroom!
We’ve been whipping up infinity scarves. Soooo easy, creative, and cheap. We can make three scarves from 1 3/4 yards of material. That means one to keep and 2 to swap or share. Love it.
I’ve taken a bit of a break from sewing lately, but a few months ago I sewed all the items for my little man’s nursery, including 3 crib sheets, 1 crib skirt, 2 changing table pad covers, 2 Boppy covers, and 6 throw pillows! (Oy vey- I needed the break!) I loved how his Nursery turned out though, and how nearly everything in the room was hand made by his mama. He’s 4 months now, and his Nursery, (even at 2 in the morning) is my favorite place in the house! http://oneprojectatatime.blogspot.com/2012/09/sewing-nursery-decor.html
I’m amazed at how much Weston looks like Will! It’s his mini me! Also, when do we get to hear the next part of Weston’s birth story? I can’t wait to hear the end!
Did you pick up the pillow forms at the Fabric Mart too? I’ve really been struggling with where to get cheap yet comfortable pillows. (Why do the ones from Ikea and Crate and Barrel feel like they’re filled with shredded paper?)
Yep – I’m excessively intimidated by the whole sewing prospect as well. I really, really want to tackle some curtains soon though, so I think I need to follow your lead and just do it. 🙂 The pillow cases look really great, good work!
On behalf of Hookers everywhere, I am totally offended. I am also very offended that you offend us then steal our tagline “whambamthankyoumam”…. unnacceptable! JK!!!
I had no idea pillows could be this simple. I’ve had a sewing maching sitting on my desk taunting me for over a year now… maybe I should dust it off and learn already!
Those are super cute!
I have been putting off finishing my daughter’s quilt due to student teaching.
I also have a shirt that I will be turning into a dress for my oldest daughter. It shrunk and is too short on me, but I wore it today anyway and caught it in my zipper, leaving a small hole at the bottom. Time to become a dress for Buggie.
speaking of those darn scandanavians and their meatballs, did you hear about this? HORSE meat found in the meatballs! say it aint so, ikea!!
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/world/europe/ikea-recalls-its-meatballs-horse-meat-is-detected.html?_r=1&
They don’t come much cuter than that Katie. Just look at that smile. Love the easy pillows too!
I am doing this exact project this week! Except for couch pillows. And I always have to draw things out too.. If I don’t I regret it! LOVE the smiley pic of Weston. And I am so jealous that you got fabric for $2 a yard!
Weston’s smile just kills me. I WANT TO PINCH HIS CHEEKS.
xo Jill
http://lovebythemooon.blogspot.com/
Love the mirror above your bed!
It looks like a CIY I plan on doing in the future.
http://happinessiscreating.com/
YES! I heard!
xo – kb
Soon hopefully!
xo – kb
I got our pillows at a place in Chattanooga called Southeastern Salvage…but I’ve seen cheap ones at a variety of places. I do think that the fabric store has them too!
xo – kb
No but we have it for our security system!
xo – kb
I loose my hair after having babies…right now I got two big ones in the front on the sides. ergh. hormones.
xo – kb
I doubt they do. It’s a very discounty type place.
xo – kb
Hi Katie ! I love them, the whole bedroom looks great ! The bench also is beautiful. I’ve just tackled a similar project very recently but it did use zippers (in fact, I’m just too lazy to sew hems, I hate that !). Here’s the link if you want to take a look : http://frenchhappynest.blogspot.fr/2013/02/bedroom-makeover-with-coastal-vibe.html. Cheers from France !
I love the fabric you picked. Thanks for your clear directions, I am totally going to make some pillow covers soon.
Also, Weston is too cute. Hands down the happiest baby on the interwebs! xx.
Lol no offense hookers!
oh good night i am loving your bedroom! i’ve always been a bit of guy when it comes to extraneous pillows on a bed, but this post is making me come around. and i have to ask, where did you get that rug?! i’m always on the lookout for pretty rugs that won’t make my baby and i break out into hives and your’s looks like a winner.
Ok- I haven’t even read the whole post yet and I had to comment. Weston is the very cutest baby! Oh my goody goodness, what a smile! Squee! Going back to read the rest now…
Not to be creepy – but I live in Alpharetta! Wahoo for North Fulton/Forsyth folks! 😀
Shouldn’t the final measurement be 28×62 not 28×36? 28 + 28 for each side + 10 for the overlap.
*cauterize the wound
cute pillow covers!
I love your ironing board! What’s its story?
Great minds think alike! I just took a break from sewing a euro pillowcase to catch up on some of my fave blogs and look what I found! Yours look great! I’m making mine from two different fabrics (one on each side), but it’s for a dog bed, so I’m not being quite as careful on the sewing end as I usually am. I mean, it’s only a dog bed :). It’ll be up on my blog this week!
I just ordered fabric for curtains! Even easier than pillows I hope … just sew a rectangle!
I never had the desire to learn to sew from my Mom, so all things requiring a sewing machine are sent with a polite e-mail request to her or a phone call with the “you do what’s best for you, Mom. We understand” points emphasized.
Fortunately, my Mom is more than eager to receive these calls and make things for her only granddaughter (born a few weeks after Weston).
We’re equally as blessed that my hub’s mom an make anything by hand or machine. (She used to own her own fabric store.) She randomly puts stuff in the mail when she feels inspired and it’s completed on her check list.
I dream of spending a week with my hub’s mom learning from her, and maybe her 7-year-old granddaughter who lives nearby. 🙂
ah, the joys of motherhood! last time i just had breakage around the edges, but this time i have it the same as yours. parting my hair in the middle helps disguise it a bit. 🙂
It was Jer’s before we got married…I have no idea where he got it 🙂
xo – kb
And that is why I am not a teacher 🙂
xo – kb
That is our carpet. It’s Martha Stewart from Home Depot.
xo – kb
Do you have a tutorial you could share? Thanks!
I have a great example of thinking a home repair was going to be huge, and it turned out to be tiny, financially and otherwise. I’ve always left garden hoses connected to outdoor spigots all winter long. (I live in Kansas-it gets cold!) That whole busted pipe thing happened to other people, as far as I was concerned, but about 7 years ago in the Spring, when I turned on the spigot and my basement had a minor flood, I discovered that it happened to me! I called a plumber out who looked everything over and told me that to get to the pipe and replace it, part of my (finished) basement ceiling would have to come out and most of the built in bookshelves & lower cabinets (courtesy of the previous owner) would have to be torn out, AND it would cost a minimum of $700. I would then have to put everything back together (or pay someone else to do it-NOT!) I couldn’t bring myself to do it. Fast forward to this past fall when I had a guy install a new front door for me. He seemed to know just about everything house-related, so I asked him to take a look. He looked outside where the spigot is, then looked in the basement and said “It should be right up in there (pointing). We’ll just take down that board up there and see.” It was! We only had to remove ONE piece of the bookshelves (none of the nearby ceiling!) for him to get to the pipe. He cut out the bad part, soldered in a new piece and charged me $70, and & $40 of that was for the part itself! I put the shelf back together, did a little spackling & touch-up painting and it looks like nothing ever happened. Now I can water my grass & flowers this summer, without carrying water in a watering can! Thank God! I thought this was all nothing short of a miracle.
Weston is soooo cute! I live fairly near Weston, MO–a charming little town on the Missouri River 🙂 Great name!
The pillows look great! What do you do with all the pillows at night while you’re sleeping?
Throw em on the floor 🙂
xo – kb
Oops, I put my plumbing story on the post about pillows, instead of gutters! Oh well :/
I’m digging the pillow set up. We’re really lost on our king bed with pillows (3 regular across is too many, 2 is too few). Euro’s x three would be a good solution, plus you have your regular 2 too!
Aloga! The pics for the tutorial were great! I used different measurements though since I had 2 long pieces of fabric (I used curtains) and was able to just use one piece (28in x 72in). Mahalo for posting! I was able to get 4 shams for $14. Yay!