Category: tutorials

I’m not going to lie, hidden zippers can be a little tricky.  But not to worry my dears. I’m going to show you a trick or two. Because that is what I am here for, tricks.
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Materials needed:

Tools that are helpful for this project:
Sharp scissors
Pins
Sewing machine

Begin by piecing your two pieces of fabric, right sides together.

Sew three sides of your fabric, leaving one side open.

You should be here.

Then take your zipper, open it all the way.

Iron the fold open. 

The top zipper is pre-iron, the bottom zipper is post iron. You are ironing to get a closer stitch. You want to sew right where the fold is + by pressing the zipper open you are exposing the perfect place to stitch.

Pin your zipper to the fabric, right sides together, leaving a little zipper off each end.

Using a zipper foot on your machine, sew your zipper down. Start about an inch away from the end + finish the same. Sew both sides of the zipper.

Like so. You should have your zipper poking out each end. 

Beginning at the edge, sew just above the zipper stitch, closing your holes.

Like so.

Trim the ends of your zipper off.

Turn + poke out your corners.

Stuff + admire your handiwork.

I started making exposed back zippers a last summer to add a little drama + flair to boring old pillows. I’m not sure if it worked or not, but I love the way it looks.

Don’t be afraid of the zippers, they are easy…I promise.

This is part two in a three part series on how to make pillows. Part one is here, envelope back pillow +  part three will be coming soon.

Materials Needed:
Pillow form, (not pictured) for this tutorial I used a 12 x 12 inch form
One piece of front fabric, cut 12 x 12 inches
Two pieces of back fabric, one cut 7 x 12 + one cut 6 x 12 inches
Contrasting zipper
Contrasting fabric cut 1 x 4 inches

Tools that are helpful for this project:
Sharp scissors
Pins
Sewing machine
Ruler
Bone folder

I start with the zipper + the contrasting fabric. Begin by folding the fabric in half, lengthwise. Using your ruler + starting at zero + ending at the desired pillow width, in this case – 12 inches, lay the pieces of fabric on top of the zipper.  Pin the pieces down, raw edges facing out.

Sew pieces to zipper. Make sure that your zipper pull is within these pieces of fabric.

Lay out one of your back pieces facing up.

Turn the zipper over + lay on top of fabric, pin + sew down.

Now take your other piece of back fabric + lay your newly sewn piece on top,

This is what your pillow should look like now.

Iron the two sides away from the zipper.

If you want to, top stitch along the zipper edge.

Trim your excess.  Pull your zipper half way open.

Now, lay your 12 x 12 piece of fabric on top of your zipper piece. Pin + sew around the edges. But, (!) before you sew, make sure that your zipper is half way open.

Trim your corners.

Turn project, use a bone folder to square out the corners.

Stuff + enjoy.