Pillow Jackets are a S4H exclusive: a plain base pillow with a changeable sleeve. Like pillow paper dolls, they make décor swap-outs a snap! The jacket slips over a complimentary fabric-covered pillow to create a unique, layered look – a new outfit for your pillow. For our Romantic Bedroom Retreat series with Rowan and FreeSpirit, the Pillow Jacket was a great opportunity to bring together fabrics from two different collections into one lovely combination: Amy Butler’s Cameo in Forget Me Not for the inside along with Tula Pink’s The Birds & The Bees in Tree of Life for the outside. And… who can resist those romantic black velvet bows? 

Want to learn more about how we brought together four different collections into a cohesive design? Take a look at our tutorial: A Romantic Bedroom Retreat with Rowan & FreeSpirit Fabrics: How to Mix and Match Designer Fabric Collections. The Pillow Jacket is a great project to practice using your new-found tools, inspiration and confidence to mix and match designers, fabrics and substrates. One simple toss pillow has the flexibility to morph into a virtually endless variety of combinations. The resulting blend can create a special kind of beauty. 

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any sewing machine (we recommend the Janome New Home 2030DC)
• Concealed Zipper foot

Fabric and Other Supplies

• ¾ yard of 44-45″ wide cotton fabric for the inside pillow; we used Forget Me Not in Olive from Cameo by Amy Butler for Rowan Fabrics 
• 1½ yards of 44-45″ wide cotton fabric for the pillow jacket; we used Tree of Life in Pool from The Birds & The Bees by Tula Pink for FreeSpirit Fabrics
• 2 yards of 1½” – 2″ wide ribbon; we used 2″ black velvet ribbon (purchased locally)
• One 12″ x 22″ pillow form; we found ours on Amazon
• One 9-12″ invisible zipper
• All-purpose thread to match fabrics
• See-through ruler
• Tape measure
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Straight pins

Getting Started

1. From the fabric for the inside pillow (Forget Me Not in Olive from Cameo in our sample), cut TWO 13″ high x 23″ wide rectangles.
2. From the fabric for the pillow jacket (Tree of Life in Pool from The Birds & The Bees in our sample) fussy cut TWO 25″ high x 23″ wide rectangles.
3. Cut the ribbon into FOUR 18″ lengths.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Base pillow

1. Find the two 13″ x 23″ inside pillow rectangles. 
2. Center the invisible zipper along what will be the bottom 23″ side of each inside pillow rectangle. 
3. Pin and stitch in place, using a Concealed Zipper foot. 
   NOTE: If you are new to inserting invisible zippers, we have a great tutorial: Invisible Zippers Are Your Friends.
   
4. With the zipper open, pin and stitch the side and top seams, using a ½” seam allowance. 
5. Clip the corners.
   
6. Turn the pillow right side out through the open zipper. Push out all the corners with a long, blunt end tool (a chopstick or knitting needle works well) so they are nice and sharp
7. Insert the pillow form and zip closed. Set aside.
   NOTE: If you think you’ll be keeping the base fabric consistent, won’t need to do more than spot clean the pillow, and will only be changing out the pillow jacket; you could skip the invisible zipper. Instead, simply leave an opening in one seam, turn the pillow cover right side, insert the pillow form, and hand stitch the opening closed.

Pillow jacket

1. Find the two 25″ x 23″ pillow jacket rectangles.
2. Fold each rectangle in half, aligning the 23″ sides. Pin in place.
3. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch both seams. You now have two tubes. 
4. Press the seams open and flat.
5. Turn ONE tube right side out. 
6. On the right side, measure and mark the center of each side of each end opening. 
   
7. Find the four lengths of ribbon. Pin one end of each ribbon at each of the four center marks. The ribbon and the fabric should be right sides together.
   
8. Machine baste each ribbon in place, staying about ¼” from the raw edges.
   
9. Tie the ends of the loose ribbons tails together or pin them together. You simply want to keep them in the center, out of the way of the seams.
10. Find the other tube, which should still be wrong side out. This is the lining tube.
11. Slip the first tube, with the ribbons in place (the exterior tube), inside this second tube (the lining tube), so the two tubes are now right sides together and the ribbons are sandwiched in between the layers.
    
12. Match up the seams and align the position of the ribbons on ONE end only. Pin in place.
    
13. Using a ½” seam allowance, stitch around this one end. 
14. Turn right side out through the open end, folding the lining through to the inside so the two tubes are now wrong sides together. Unpin or untie the ribbon ends and pull the sewn ribbon tails out. 
15. Press well. Be careful to not press directly on the velvet ribbon unless you use a pressing cloth and low heat. 
16. Edgestitch around the sewn end.
    
17. On the open end, pull the ribbon tails free. 
18. Fold back the raw edge of both the exterior layer and the lining layer ½” all the way around. Press well.
19. Pin the folded and pressed edges together, keeping the folds flush with one another. 
20. Edgestitch all the way around.
21. Slip the base pillow inside the pillow jacket and center it side to side. 
     
22. Tie the ribbons into a pretty bow on each end. 
     
    

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Debbie Guild