No-Sew pillow covers!

I don't sew.  In fact, I can't even sew on a button.  I have been married for two and a half years, and still, I take my husband's pants to my Mom for her to sew the buttons back on when they fall off.  Someday, I would like to learn how to sew.  I think I *might* even be good at it if I knew how to use a sewing machine.  The problem is, the last time I used a sewing machine was in my 7th grade home economics class.  7th grade was a long time ago.  Since then, I have tried using just a needle and thread for quick "fix-ups", such as trying to help with a bridesmaid strap emergency a few minutes before the wedding was supposed to start.  It didn't work.  The strap popped off.  So I used a paper clip.  (We really couldn't find any safety pins... We were desperate).  And the paper clip worked.  Paper clips are pretty cool inventions - you can bend them, twist them, and reshape them to pretty much hold anything that you need them to.  They are so much easier to use than a needle and thread.  


That is why when I decided I wanted to try to make myself some holiday no-sew pillow covers, I made sure to have my trusted paper-clips handy.  If you are like me, and don't sew, or maybe you do, but you are a busy lady and don't have time to sew, these pillow covers are for you! (And I have been on a decorate-my-house-for-every-holiday kick, so this was a great way to be able make that happen without having to succumb to paying the inflated prices the home stores are asking, just because the pillows happen to have some hearts on them...  Sorry.  Rant regarding inflammatory pricing has now ended).


Start with any square or rectangular pillow that you'd like to cover.  Pick a fabric, and cut the fabric to be three times as wide as the pillow, and two times as tall.

Place your pillow in the center of the fabric:

Fold the bottom half of the fabric up toward the middle:

Fold the top half down to meet the first half in the middle:

Fold the sides to form a triangle, by pinching the bottom right corner of the pillow, and fold diagonally toward the middle of the right side.  Repeat by pinching the top right corner of the pillow, and folding diagonally down toward the middle of the right side.  It should form a triangle, or a V shape.  They will probably overlap, and not line up perfectly.  That is okay.








Repeat this process on the left side.





Bring the right folded side to the middle, followed by bringing the left folded side to the middle so they are overlapping:

Next, tie the two ends into a knot:

Tuck the bottom tail of the knot up over where the flaps criss-cross, and then tuck in front of top tail. Next, bring the top tail down over the center, and tuck behind the knot.  Pull the fabric to make it look like a square knot.  Use two paperclips to secure the "knot" in place:  

Tug on the fabric to make it lay flat and square with the pillow.  Toss it on the couch, and enjoy! Here is a picture of the finished pillow, plus a smaller one that I covered in a complimentary print! I think they look pretty cute!