WE’RE STITCHING UP SOMETHING SIMPLE AND STYLISH WITH THIS EASY JELLY ROLL PILLOW COVER!
A Jelly Roll Pillow Cover is one of the quickest and most satisfying sewing projects to make, especially for beginners. In today’s tutorial, I’m walking you through how to turn those colourful pre-cut strips into a gorgeous envelope-back pillow cover.
I’ve chosen to use Christmas fabric for my version, but you can easily adapt this project to suit any season, holiday, or decor style. Let’s dive in!
Jelly Roll Pillow Cover Supplies
Before you begin, make sure you’ve gathered all your materials. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Jelly Roll: This is a pre-cut bundle of fabric strips that measure 2.5 inches wide and come in coordinated designs. I used a holiday-themed jelly roll, but you can use any fabric you love. And depending on the size you want your pillow cover, you’ll only use a small portion of a 42-strip jelly roll!
- Coordinating fabric for the envelope backing: Choose something that complements your strips. For one 18-inch pillow cover, you’ll need two pieces of backing fabric that measure 18 ½” x 15″.
- Sewing machine
- Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
- Pins or clips
- Ruler
- Iron
- Pillow inserts
TRUSTED TOOLS FOR EVERY STITCH
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How to Calculate the Measurements of Your Jelly Roll Pillow Cover
Making a pillow cover from a Jelly Roll really takes the guesswork out of your measuring. Keep in mind that when you sew together the full Jelly Roll strips, you can make two Christmas pillow covers! Here are some basic measurements:
- For a 14-inch pillow, you will use seven jelly roll strips. You will need two pieces of backing fabric per pillow cover that measure 14 ½ inches wide by 10 inches long.
- For a 16-inch pillow, you will use eight jelly roll strips. You will need two pieces of backing fabric per pillow cover that measure 16 ½ inches wide by 12 inches long.
- For an 18-inch pillow, you will use nine jelly roll strips. You will need two pieces of backing fabric per pillow cover that measure 18 ½ inches wide by 15 inches long.
Remember that if you are sewing with a ¼-inch seam allowance, your jelly roll strips will be 2 inches wide when sewn. This will allow you to adjust for cushions that are smaller or bigger than the sizes listed above.
You can see here how I’ve made my own Christmas pillow covers in my YouTube tutorial. Continue reading below for step-by-step instructions.
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Instructions for your Jelly Roll Pillow Cover
Start by unwrapping your Jelly Roll. Carefully remove the packaging and unroll the fabric strips. You’ll want to flatten the strips by giving them a gentle press with an iron to remove any creases or wrinkles. I suggest NOT using steam at this stage.
Play around with the order of the strips to create an appealing pattern or colour gradient. This is where your creativity shines! Once you settle on a pattern you love, it’s time to put your pillow cover together!
FABRIC + NOTIONS FOR EVERY PROJECT
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Working from the top of the pillow front to the bottom, place two strips right sides together and sew them along the long edge using a ¼-inch seam allowance. Repeat this process until all the strips are joined together. Press the seams open or to one side, whichever you prefer.
Once all the strips are sewn together, it’s time to create the pillow-front squares. Use a ruler and rotary cutter to trim any uneven edges and create a rectangular panel. For our 18-inch pillow, your rectangle should measure 18 ½ inches high. Cut your rectangle to create two 18 ½-inch squares.
Next, cut your backing fabric. The envelope backing is a convenient way to insert and remove pillow forms, and it is so easy to make! Following the measurements above, for an 18-inch pillow, we’ll be cutting two pieces of 18 ½-inch wide fabric measuring 15 inches long. Note – you can use narrower pieces of backing if you like – say 10-12 inches by 18 ½ inches – but I prefer to have a lot of overlap on the back.
Fold and press a ½-inch hem on one long edge of each backing piece. Then, fold and press another ½-inch hem and stitch it in place.
Align and sew the backing pieces by placing the front panel right side up and positioning the backing pieces on top, right sides down. Align the raw edges and pin or clip them in place. Sew around the entire perimeter using a ¼-inch seam allowance.
Turn your pillow cover right-sides out and give it a quick press.
And that’s it! You’ve made a simple and stylish pillow cover using jelly roll strips — no zipper, no stress. It’s the perfect project for beginners, stash-busters, or anyone who loves quick sewing wins.
Looking for more pillow ideas? You might enjoy these:
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