How to Make a Throw Pillow With Zipper

X-HT-300738

Learn how to sew your own throw pillow with a zipper opening in this easy tutorial. This is known as an invisible zipper pillow as the zipper is sewn into the bottom of each panel, resulting in an almost invisible zipper. Perfect for beginners, this simple zippered throw pillow project will add a touch of style to your décor in no time! This pillow also features reduced corners to avoid that "dog ear" look. This technique helps fill the empty space in the corners of the cover, resulting in a tight fit. Watch our beginner-friendly video to learn how to sew a zippered pillow cover.

Chapters List:

Intro - 0:00 min.
Calculating Fabric Required - 00:41 min.
Cutting Plates - 1:59 min.
Reducing Corners - 3:47 min.
Sewing Zipper - 5:08 min.
Sewing Pillow Perimeter - 14:18 min.
Inserting Pillow Form - 16:33 min.

Materials List:

Indoor/Outdoor Square Pillow Insert 18" x 18" #122148
Outdura® Rumor Midnight 54" Upholstery Fabric (6672) #124489
Tex 70 (V-69) Derby Navy UV Bonded Polyester Thread 4 oz. (1,000 yds.) #103795
Seamstick 1/4" Basting Tape for Canvas & Upholstery (36 yds.) #122065
Lenzip® #2 Black Continuous Coil Zipper Chain #126080
Lenzip® #2 Black Style A Single Locking Metal Zipper Pull (Coil Chain) #126085

Tools List:

Deluxe Tape Measure 120" #123120
Sailrite® Clear Acrylic Ruler 6" x 24" #102400
Chalk Pen White #123131
Sailrite® Edge Cordless Hotknife 18V Package #122177
Precision Cutting Blade & Foot for Edge Hotknife #125495
Gingher® 8" Scissors Right Handed #19104
Wonder Clips Red (10 pack) #121900
Sewing Gauge Ruler 6" #102995
Left Zipper Foot for Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LSZ #896
Suisei Magnetic Sewing Guide #102983
Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LSZ Walking Foot Sewing Machine (110V) #311602
Seam Ripper Deluxe #18104

Let's discuss your fabric options

First, let's discuss your fabric options. Pillows are the perfect opportunity to bring a fun pop of color and pattern to your space. If you're making a throw pillow for your sofa, armchair or anywhere in your home, Magnolia Home Fabrics is a great choice. These economical, indoor-only fabrics offer tons of colors and patterns to choose from.

Our pillow, however, is destined for a boat cabin. That means we needed to select an indoor/outdoor performance fabric that could handle tougher environments. We chose Outdura® for our invisible zipper pillow. This solution-dyed acrylic upholstery fabric boasts high water, UV and mold/mildew resistance. It's a great choice for both indoor and outdoor marine, patio, home and RV applications. It's also incredibly easy to clean and a joy to work with and sew.

Tapering the pillow corners is an optional step. But we like the look of 90-degree pillow corners instead of the floppy, flat corners known as dog ears. If you'd like a more in-depth tutorial on how to remove the dog ears, as well as a visual comparison of the two types of pillow corners, check out our blog "How to Taper Pillow Corners."

We hope you enjoyed this easy pillow tutorial. If you're looking for more free DIY sewing content, head to our DIY Projects page where you can browse hundreds of projects for your home, patio, boat and more.