PinterTest: DIY Envelope Pillow Covers

I have been craftin' HOT. Making all kinds of checkmarks on my Christmas craft list. It's very gratifying.

It's also not like me. I am never great about making Christmas crafts. It just... sneaks up on me. And then, there we are, trying to get school wrapped up for break... who has time to craft? I always feel like a jumblebrain in December.

But this year?

I'm just doing it. We're hosting two separate family Christmases at our house, and I'm just doing it. I'm making the house Christmasy. As much as I can without going insane.

I mean are you feelin' the adrenaline or are you feelin' it?

My sister has expressed her concern that I might be becoming part elf.

So, I thought this might be a good month to link up with Jessica and her Pintertest dealy bop. Because I'm actually making stuff!

Jessica came up with a fun idea to get us all out from behind our screens and into the kitchen or craftroom to actually bake or make one of those pins we've been pinning. PinterTest!


I have been meaning to learn how to make a simple, envelope-style pillow cover for forever. Really. Forever. Years, even. I love to switch up colors in our house with pillow covers. They really give you instant change. I used to repaint rooms when I craved change, but after a few years of that behavior, Sam started to gently voice his disapproval. Pillow covers are much, much easier than repainting an entire room. And, theoretically, they should be cheaper. But, I kept buying mine on Etsy... because I still hadn't just learned how to make them. If I made them myself, I could make them for beans.

So, I've been meaning to learn.

Last Christmas, I even bought fabric. I had my supplies, I had a plan... sort of. Whatever. You know I never made the pillows.

The fabric sat.

But then... I found this tutorial from Tatertots & Jello on Pinterest.

Source: tatertotsandjello.com via Jacci on Pinterest

She made it look very, very easy. I had a pin. I had the fabric. I had a Pintertest challenge. My crazy elf adrenaline was still going strong.

Today was the day.

iPhone photos. Sorry. I was kind of in a mad rush. No time for the fancy pants camera. I wanted to get the fabric cut out before naptime, so I could then sew during naptime. And I wanted to make sure I had enough time left over at the end of naptime to eat chocolate alone.

I decided to make it easy on myself, since I had never made pillow covers before, to add pom pom trim, which I also had never sewn with before. So helpful to myself like that.

The pom pom gave me fits at first. But, after a little more than a quarter of the way around, we became friends and things went more smoothly.

Are you supposed to use a zipper foot with pom pom? I didn't, but I felt like I maybe should have.

I was concerned that it looked pretty... bumpy. Like it wasn't going to lay smoothly across the pillow.

And then I noticed that I got one of the edges twisted around when I was sewing the pieces together. Wonk.

So, I was a little nervous as I turned the cover right side out...

But it worked! It was CUTE! The envelope opening on the back laid smoothly and everything. SO pumped. And now that I've made one, I think others will go along much more quickly. And I will make others.

Woot woot.