DIY Bow Pattern Pillow Case

Since I'll be moving into a new apartment in just a couple of weeks, I was inspired to spice up my old bedding to give my living space a slightly different look than last year. I decided to take a old (& unbelievably ugly) pillow + case that we had lying around and create my own case customized to the color scheme and pattern of my old bedding. 

I went to my local fabric store and fell in love with this cute gold and white bow patterned fabric. I actually brought the pillow into the fabric shop in order to measure exactly how much fabric I needed, and ended up only needing 3/4 of a yard since my pillow is slightly smaller than standard sizes. I highly recommend bringing the pillow with you in order to make sure you get exactly how much fabric you need (not too much or too little!) 

Note: The employees at the fabric cutting counter were more than happy to help me measure how much fabric I needed, so don't be shy to ask for help if you're unsure! :-)

Then it was time to transform the fabric into a new and improved pillow case! I began by laying out the fabric on a flat surface, and placing the pillow on top. I wrapped the fabric around the pillow and cut off access fabric. I twisted back around 1/3 inch of fabric on all ends in order to hide frayed edges and the store logo. 

Note: I used white nylon string, which is a bit thicker and stronger than regular string and worked well for this project!

Next, I used sewing pins to pin the fabric down in a straight line and sewed two of the three sides together. Be sure to sew the fabric with the pattern facing inwards in order to hide the stitches! 

Once I was left with just one side open, I turned the fabric right side out so that the bows were facing the outside and touched up any areas that were stitched too loose. You can either stitch the last side closed or simply tuck one end of the fabric into the other (I chose this last option, which is good if you aren't the best at stitching since stitches on this last side will show!)

I simply folded one side of the fabric and tucked it against the pillow, and took the other side of the fabric and tucked it on top of the previously folded fabric. Since this leaves the pillow unsealed on one end, I put 5-8 stitches on the two right and left corners and 2-3 in the center. I recommend linking the part of the fabric that has been folded over to the inner fabric in order to hide your stitches!

PS here is a look at the before and after transformation of this pillow:

                       BEFORE                                                                                                   AFTER

                 

And it's truly as simple as that! I can't wait to add this cute accent pillow to my bedding in my new apartment :-)