How to sew a zipper in a pillow cover

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I finally decided I was going to learn how to sew a zipper in a pillow cover this weekend. I was wishing my grandmother, who passed away almost two years ago, was here to help me. The sales associate at Joanne Fabric talked me into purchasing the zipper by the yard and adding the zipper slide separate. I had never done this before so we (the zipper and I) had a few battles.

Start by cutting your fabric for your pillow. I typically place the pillow on the fabric and leave two inches on either side.

You will need fabric, zipper chain and zipper slides. I chose the Urban Blosson Berry and Checkered Past Berry fabric by HGTV Home purchased at Joann Fabric.

Sew your hem where your zipper will be. My hem was about 3/4″.

Split your zipper chain to the length you need. Leave about one inch on the end so you can add your zipper slide later.

This is how your zipper will look on the fabric. The “flat/soft” side of the zipper chain faces the backside of your fabric (the inside of your pillow).

Note below, I left one inch overhanging.

Sew your zipper chain to the fabric. Be sure to sew the zipper chain on top of your hem. Otherwise, you will not have a clean edge when the pillow is finished near the zipper.

You can see above, the zipper chain is sewed to the fabric (at the hem) on the inside of your fabric.

Place your two pieces of fabric on top of each other with the outside of your fabric facing each other. You are essentially sewing inside out.

Add your zipper slide.

You can add a stopper to the end or sew across the zipper chain. I just sewed across to stop the zipper from falling off the end.

Here is another example (the other fabric) of how to add the zipper slide.

Once you add your zipper slide, sew the remaining three sides leaving about an inch on the ends.

Once you finish sewing the three sides, turn your fabric inside out. Be sure to sew straight across each end of your zipper chain or add a zipper stop. You can trim any excess that may be left. Once you flip your fabric inside out to expose the finished side, add your pillow and you are done! You now have a new fresh pillow cover.

I love how the Checkered Berry and Urban Blossom fabric coordinate together. Learning how to sew a zipper in a pillow cover wasn’t that difficult. Although I did struggle adding the zipper slide to the zipper chain. It’s much more economical to purchase the zipper chain by the yard and the zipper slides separate. They do sell the zippers completely assembled as well. They are more expensive but if you are in a hurry or don’t want to deal with adding the slides, purchasing the assembled zipper set is the way to go.

The pink, orange, yellow, brown and blue/gray  coordinate perfectly together.

Ironically, the blue/gray color in the pillow is almost identical to the color of this chair.

I am also pleased with how they look with our DIY burlap curtains.  The curtains are so versatile and go with just about anything.

So what do you think? Are you comfortable that you know how to sew a zipper in a pillow cover now? This was my first time sewing a zipper in to a pillow cover and I’m sure it’s not the correct way but after three pillows, (yes, I practiced on my mom’s pillows before I finally did these)  I got the job done. I still have about two yards of each fabric left so I think I see some more pillow covers in the future. Have you seen the new fabric over at HGTV Home? Which patterns and colors do you love? Be sure to check out our post featuring 24 of my favorite coordinating HGTV fabrics plus a 10% off coupon at Joann Fabrics for any HGTV fabric or trim. Click here to view the coupon.