Last week I mentioned making some new throw pillows for our guest room. It was a long overdue project and with some guests coming to visit, it was the perfect time to knock this out.
This time around with the pillows, I was ready to attempt cording again. Cording is deceptive. It seems so easy – wrap fabric around rope. Stitch. Pin to pillow fabric. Stitch.
Oh no. It’s difficult. I think I had a few very dark, scary moments where I screamed, ripped a part the stitching and threw the whole thing in the garbage. This happened, by my estimate, at least 3 times.
However, I was able to figure it out and successfully made a pillow with cording. Here is my tutorial.
Step 1: pin your fabric to your cording. If your fabric isn’t long enough, sew it together and iron out the seams to make a longer piece of fabric.
Step 2: Make sure your zipper foot is on your machine, and sew the fabric along the cording. It’s important to make sure your cording is flush against the needle to ensure as close of a stitch as possible.
Step 3: Pin cording to the edge of one side of pillow fabric. Make sure the cording is on the side of the fabric pattern you want to show. Check out the below image for clarification.
Step 4: Stitch cording to fabric – again, making sure you are keeping the needle tight against the fabric. If it is too loose, the fabric will gape and you’ll have to go back to rework the stitches. Work the corners slowly and deliberately, this is the most challenge part of the cording.
Step 5: Pin together other side of pillow fabric and sew together. As before, make sure the needle is close to the fabric. This time, only stitch 3 sides of your fabric so you can insert your pillow.
Step 6: Insert pillow and do a hand-stitch to close up the top. Here’s an external tutorial on how to work a hand-stitch.
I was pleased with the final results of all the pillows – even the ones that didn’t have cording.
For other fun ideas on pillow decor, embroider along the pattern in the same color as the design. It’s subtle, but a nice detailed touch.
I love them!
Thanks Jazz!
Wow. Can I just say you have some serious, SERIOUS talent!! These look better than any retail pillow I’ve seen! I’m seriously jealous of your mad craft skills. Can I buy pillows from you from now on!? Ill probably end up with Luke 40 on my couch
This is the beauty of photography and a blog. You didn’t get to witness me re-doing these pillows twice (yikes!) and my fits of rage over the cording.
However, as I learn and get better with cording I would LOVE to make you pillows. By the time we’d be done making pillows for your home your living room would look like a harem.
ok, YOU’RE HIRED!!! Great work. I can’t wait to see how you do on all of my throw pillows
You got yourself a deal!