I mentioned last week that I made a couple of new pillows for our master bed. My inspiration came from the quilt shop where I bought the quilt: they had dozens of beautiful decorative pillows in every shape, size, and pattern. I fell in love with some gathered pillows — the sales clerk called them “ruched pillows,” which I had to look up. It turns out ruched and gathered pillows are the same thing.
I discovered that buying just the gathered pillow slipcovers would cost over $100, so I decided to make my own. I searched for a tutorial but couldn’t find one that matched the exact look I wanted. With help from my experienced seamstress mom, we developed our own method. These instructions fit a 24″ pillow form.
Gathered Decorative Pillow Tutorial
Supplies:
1 2/3 yards of fabric
Thread
Measuring tape
Pencil
Fabric scissors
Iron
24″ pillow form
Instructions:
Gathered Pillow Front:
Cut a piece of fabric 30″ wide by about 44″ long (my fabric measured 43″ after washing and drying). You’ll need to mark the fold lines for the gathers. Along one 30″ edge, measure and mark at 6 1/4″, 12″, 17 3/4″, and 23 1/2″. Repeat the same marks on the opposite 30″ edge, then draw straight lines with a pencil to connect matching marks down the full length of the fabric.
Tip: Use a measuring tape; a yardstick won’t reach 44″.
Fold along each pencil line and press the folds with an iron. When complete, the folds should lie neatly down the fabric.
Next, sew a gathering (basting) stitch along each folded line. Set your sewing machine to the longest stitch length and sew a straight running stitch about 1/2″ from the folded edge. Leave thread tails of at least 3″ on each end.
After sewing all of the fold lines, the pillow top should measure roughly 26″ across. Then sew a gathering stitch down both long sides of the pillow top using a 1/4″ seam allowance.
Now comes the fun part: creating the gathered, ruffled look. For each of the six gathering stitches, gently pull one thread tail to gather the fabric evenly along the line. Adjust the gathers until the entire top measures close to 26″ across. Keep the threads long — don’t cut them yet.
Once all gathers are adjusted, set the pillow top aside and prepare the back of the pillow.
Pillow Back:
Cut two pieces of fabric 26″ x 16″. On one long edge of each piece, fold over 1/4″ and press, then fold over another 1/4″ and press again to create a neat hem. Sew close to the inner folded edge on both pieces.
Overlap the two hemmed pieces so the hemmed edges meet in the middle and the combined height measures 26″ from top to bottom. Double-check both sides to ensure even alignment. Sew a straight stitch along the overlap to keep the back pieces in place.
Assembling the pillow:
Lay the overlapped back pieces on the work surface with the right sides facing down. Place the gathered pillow front on top, right side down. Pin one of the straight edges first — you may need to ease and pull the gathered top slightly to line up with the back. Use the long gathering threads to fine-tune the gathers so the opposite straight edge matches the back. Pin the gathered edges in place in the order that makes the gathers fall evenly.
Sew all the way around the pillow with a 1/2″ seam allowance, catching both front and back layers. Trim any excess threads and fabric as needed, then turn the pillow cover right side out.
Insert a 24″ pillow form into the finished cover and adjust the gathers so they sit evenly. The result is a soft, ruched decorative pillow with a professional look that you made yourself.
You can call it gathered or ruched — either way, it’s pretty. I can’t wait to make more decorative pillows; choosing fabrics is the hardest part. Have you seen all the pretty bed pillows on Pinterest? I swoon.