***EDIT***

Okay, so I know this project was complete before the most recent Pinterest Challenge, but I’m in the process of moving this week so all of my crafting supplies/tools are all packed up, but this project was inspired by this pin. Enjoy!

Yesterday I explained how to sew a basic pillow with an invisible zipper. So today we’re going to kick it up a notch and add a little welting, because welting basically makes your pillow look like a million bucks!

You will need:

1 yard of fabric

welting cord

scissors

straight pins

invisible zipper

sewing machine

I found a remnant of this Schumacher fabric and decided that it would be perfect for a lumbar pillow.

I recently found these two lumbar pillows at Texas Thrift for $2/ea and they’re filled with down inserts. What a find!

I had originally planned on making my own custom welting, when I came across this white maxi piping at Hobby Lobby for $2. Score!

First you’ll pin your welting cord along the face of your fabric.

You’ll want to cut slits in the tape around the corners for easier bending.

When you get to the end [aka the bottom of the pillow] you’ll want to overlap each end at an angle so that you can sew over both of them to prevent fraying.

Using your zipper foot sew along the welting cord, carefully removing your pins as you go. Tip: to get really close to the welting cord change your needle position by adjusting your stitch width.

Your welting should look something like this when you flip over the tape.

Now that you have your welting in place you’ll continue on to insert your invisible zipper, following the steps from the basic pillow. You’re going to sew the zipper onto the pillow before sewing any of the sides of the pillow. Turn your fabric faces toward each other [wrong side up] and sew 2″ toward the center of the pillow on both the right and left of one of the pillow sides. This is where your zipper will go. Leave the space in between open.

Lay your fabric flat face down with the new opening’s edges folded down. Pin one side of your CLOSED zipper to one of your folded flaps. You’re going to sew one side of the zipper at a time using your zipper foot.

Once one side of your zipper is in place, OPEN it and pin and sew the other side to your other open flap. For more details see our invisible zipper post.

Now that your zipper is in place, open it and sew the remaining three sides of your pillow as close to the welting as you can. Since your fabric is still inside out, you won’t be able to see the welting, but your zipper foot should easily glide along where the welting is, allowing the stitches to be nice and close.

When turning the corners be sure to leave your needle in the fabric and raise and lower your foot to easily navigate your turns without interrupting your stitches.

Once all three sides are sewn, turn your pillow cover right side out and your welting should look like a pro!

I seriously can’t believe I did this! My pillow looks super expensive now, and it only cost me $4 to make. This route takes a little longer than the basic pillow, but I think the detail is totally worth it. Plus if you still haven’t mastered the invisible zipper, your welting will hide it anyway!