Want to make your sofa or bed look extra special and cozy? Imagine having beautiful, puffy pillows that look like they came from a fancy store, but you made them yourself! Well, you can, by learning how to make trapunto style pillow covers. It sounds a bit fancy, but “trapunto” is just a cool way to make parts of your sewing pop out, giving it a lovely 3D look.
This guide will walk you through making your own machine embroidery cushion with a gorgeous trapunto effect, step by step. We’ll use a neat feather quilt block design as an example, but you can use other designs too. Get ready to create something amazing for your home! This diy pillow tutorial will make it simple.
What Are Trapunto Style Pillow Covers Anyway?
So, what makes a pillow “trapunto style”? Think of it like a mini quilt where some parts of the design are extra puffy and stand out. We do this by adding an extra layer of soft stuffing, called batting, behind certain areas of the fabric before all the decorative embroidery is done. When the embroidery machine stitches around these areas, it makes them look raised and wonderfully textured.
These quilted pillow tutorial projects are great because:
- They add a touch of elegance and texture to any room.
- The puffy designs feel soft and luxurious.
- They look really impressive, and you’ll feel so proud saying, “I made that!”
Learning how to make trapunto might seem tricky, but with a little guidance, especially using your embroidery machine, it’s a really rewarding skill for sewing cushion covers.
Getting Your Supplies Ready for Your Pillow Project
Before we start sewing, let’s gather all our tools and materials. Having everything ready makes the whole process smoother and more fun. Think of it like getting all your ingredients out before you bake a cake!
Here’s a little table of what you’ll generally need for your trapunto style pillow covers:
| Item | Why It’s Important | Notes for Beginners |
|---|---|---|
| Embroidery Machine | Does all the fancy stitching for you! | Make sure it has a hoop big enough for your design. |
| Embroidery Hoop | Holds your fabric tight while stitching. | An 8×8 inch hoop is used in our example. |
| Embroidery Design | The pattern for your trapunto effect. | We’re using a “feather quilt block” from Creative Kiwi. |
| Main Fabric | The pretty fabric for the front of your pillow. | Scuba knit works well for good stitch definition. |
| Batting | The soft stuff that makes the design “pop.” | A thin quilt batting is perfect. |
| Stabilizer | Supports the fabric during embroidery. | No-show mesh is a good choice. |
| Embroidery Thread | The colorful thread for your design. | Choose colors you love! |
| Bobbin Thread | Thread for the underside of the embroidery. | Often white or a neutral color. |
| Scissors | For cutting fabric, batting, and threads. | Sharp fabric scissors and small snips are handy. |
| Rotary Cutter & Mat | (Optional) For cutting straight edges on blocks. | A quilting ruler helps with this. |
| Pins or Clips | To hold fabric pieces together. | Both work well. |
| Masking Tape | To temporarily hold batting in place. | Easy to remove. |
| Hand Sewing Needle | For basting (temporary stitches). | Useful for keeping layers aligned. |
| Zipper | To close your pillow cover. | A lace zip can be easier for beginners. |
| Fabric for Pillow Back | For the back of your cushion. | Can match or contrast with the front. |
| Pillow Form | The pillow insert that goes inside your finished cover. | Match this to your planned finished pillow size. |
Don’t worry if this list seems long! Many of these are basic sewing supplies you might already have if you’ve done other projects.
Let’s Make the Trapunto Quilt Blocks! (The Fun Part)
This is where the magic happens and your trapunto style pillow covers start to take shape. We’ll focus on making one quilt block first. If your pillow front needs more than one block, you’ll just repeat these steps.
Setting Up Your Embroidery Machine
First things first, let’s get your machine ready.
- Hoop your stabilizer: Take your no-show mesh stabilizer and stretch it in your embroidery hoop. You want it to be tight like a little drum. Some people like to pin the stabilizer to the hoop edges to keep it extra taut.
- Load your design: Turn on your embroidery machine and load the feather quilt block design (or your chosen trapunto design). The design we’re talking about has an “all-in-one” file, which means it stitches everything with minimal thread color changes, making it simpler.
Stitching Step 1: The Batting Outline
Your machine will now stitch the first part of the design. This is usually a simple outline. This outline shows you exactly where to place your batting for the trapunto effect.
Adding the Batting for That Puffy Look
Once the outline is stitched:
- Take your hoop off the machine (but don’t unhoop the stabilizer!).
- Place a piece of batting over the stitched outline. Make sure it covers the whole area.
- Use a few small pieces of masking tape to gently hold the batting in place.
- Put the hoop back on your machine.
- Now, the machine will stitch another round. This stitching will go through the batting, holding it down.
- Carefully take the hoop off again. Trim away the extra batting from around this new stitch line. Get as close as you can without snipping the stitches or your stabilizer. This is key for the trapunto technique.
Adding Your Pretty Fabric
Next up is your main fabric – the one everyone will see!
- Place your main fabric (like the scuba knit, which gives great definition to the stitches) right side up over the batting and stabilizer.
- Try to get it as smooth and square as you can. This will help when you trim your block later. You can use a little tape at the edges if it helps keep it from shifting.
- Put the hoop back on the machine.
Stitching Step 3: The Magic Embroidery!
This is the most exciting stitching part! Your machine will stitch a line to secure the fabric down, and then it will stitch the beautiful feather quilt block design, going through the fabric and the batting. This is what creates that lovely raised, puffy trapunto look.
Quick Tip: It’s a good idea to start this main embroidery part with a full bobbin. These designs can use a surprising amount of thread!
Finishing Your Quilt Block
Once the machine has finished all the embroidery:
- Hooray! Your block is stitched. Carefully remove the hoop from the machine.
- Gently take your embroidered block out of the hoop.
- Now, you need to trim your block to the correct size. The video mentions using a quilting ruler and rotary cutter. Aim for about a 1.5 centimeter (or 5/8 of an inch) seam allowance from the outermost stitch line of your block. Do this on all four sides so your block is a neat square.
You’ve just made your first trapunto quilt block! It already looks amazing, doesn’t it?
How Many Blocks Do You Need?
The number of blocks you need depends on the size of your pillow form and the size of your finished blocks.
- For example, if you’re using 8×8 inch blocks and want to make a front for a 16-inch pillow, you might stitch out four blocks and join them in a 2×2 square.
- The goal is to make your finished pillow cover just a little bit smaller (maybe an inch or so) than your pillow form. This makes the pillow look nice and full, not saggy.
Take a moment to plan this out before you stitch all your blocks for your machine embroidery cushion.
Joining Your Beautiful Trapunto Blocks
If your pillow front uses more than one block, you’ll need to join them together. We want those pretty designs to line up perfectly!
Why Basting is Your Best Friend (Especially with Stretchy Fabric!)
“Basting” just means making long, temporary stitches by hand or machine to hold fabric pieces together before you sew them permanently. Why bother? Because fabrics, especially stretchy ones like scuba knit, can wiggle and shift when you’re sewing them. Basting helps keep everything perfectly lined up, so your seams are straight and your design elements match up. For trapunto style pillow covers, this makes a big difference in the final look.
Lining Up and Basting Your Blocks
- Take two of your finished trapunto blocks. Place them with the pretty sides (right sides) facing each other.
- Look closely at the embroidery. If there are flower petals or lines of satin stitching that should meet at the seam, carefully line these up. This is where patience pays off! Use pins or clips to hold them.
- Using a hand sewing needle and thread (embroidery thread can work well as it doesn’t tangle as much), make long, running stitches just inside where your final seam will be. You’re just tacking them together for now.
Sewing Your Blocks Together
- Now, take your basted blocks to your sewing machine.
- You’re going to stitch your permanent seam. The video suggests stitching just a tiny bit inside the outer border stitch line of your blocks. This helps keep that border looking neat from the front.
- Sew your blocks into pairs first. Then, if you have four blocks, sew your two pairs together to make one larger square.
- After sewing each seam, remove your basting stitches.
- Press your seam allowances open with an iron. This helps the joined blocks lie flat.
Your trapunto pillow front is taking shape!
Making the Back of Your Pillow Cover
Every pillow needs a back! We’ll add a zipper so you can easily take the cover off for washing or to change your pillow form.
Adding a Zipper – It’s Easier Than You Think!
The video shows a great way to add a lace zipper, which sits on top of the fabric and can be a bit easier for beginners than inserting a standard zipper.
- Cut two pieces of fabric for your pillow back. Each piece should be a bit wider than your finished pillow front, and each about half the height plus some extra for seams and overlap at the zipper.
- Take one back piece. Place one side of your zipper tape along an edge of the fabric (right side of fabric up, zipper also right side up if it’s a decorative lace zip). Pin it.
- Using a zipper foot on your sewing machine, stitch that side of the zipper down.
- Do the same with the other back piece and the other side of the zipper tape. You’ll now have two back pieces joined by the zipper.
Your sewing cushion covers project is nearing the finish line!
Putting It All Together: Front and Back
Now it’s time to join your beautiful trapunto front to the back you just made.
Getting Ready to Join
- SUPER IMPORTANT: Open the zipper on your pillow back at least halfway! If you forget this, you won’t be able to turn your pillow right side out later.
- If your zipper pull is dangly, you can use a little piece of tape to hold it down and out of the way of your seam.
- Lay your pillow back down with the right side (the outside) facing up.
- Place your finished trapunto pillow front on top of it, with its right side facing down. The pretty sides of the front and back should be touching.
- Line up all the edges. If your back has a seam where the zipper is, try to line that up with the center of your pillow front.
- Make sure any metal parts of your zipper are well away from where your needle will be stitching, so you don’t break a needle.
- Pin all around the four edges, going through all layers.
Sewing the Final Seam
- Take your pinned pillow to your sewing machine.
- You’re going to stitch all the way around the four sides.
- Follow the outer stitched border of your front trapunto blocks as your guide, stitching just a hair’s width inside it. This creates a really neat, “manicured” edge on your finished pillow.
The Grand Finale: Finishing Your Trapunto Pillow
You’re almost there! Just a few more steps:
- Trim: Trim the extra fabric from the seam allowance all around your pillow, making it neat, maybe about half an inch.
- Clip Corners: Snip off the very tip of each corner diagonally. Be careful not to cut your stitching! This helps your corners look sharp and pointy when you turn the pillow out.
- Turn: Now for the moment of truth! Carefully reach in through the open zipper and turn your pillow cover right side out.
- Poke Corners: Gently poke out each corner from the inside so it’s nice and crisp. You can use a chopstick or a special point-turner tool, but be gentle.
- Stuff: Get your pillow form and carefully stuff it inside your brand new trapunto style pillow cover. Make sure it fills out all the corners.
- Zip it Up!
Step back and admire your incredible work! You’ve just created a stunning, professional-looking trapunto style pillow cover.
Why You’ll Love Your New Trapunto Pillow
Creating something with your own hands is so satisfying. These trapunto style pillow covers are more than just pretty:
- They add a unique, custom touch to your home decor.
- The texture is inviting and cozy.
- It’s a fantastic way to practice and show off your machine embroidery skills.
- You learned a new technique – the trapunto technique!
FAQs: Your Pillow Cover Questions Answered
How to make pillow cover designs?
You can make pillow cover designs in many ways. You can use embroidery, like we did with trapunto. You can also use different colored fabrics. Some people paint designs on fabric. Others sew on beads or ribbons. Your ideas make your pillow special!
What is the best type of pillow cover?
The best pillow cover depends on you. For sleeping, soft cotton is nice. For a sofa, strong fabric like canvas works well. Think about how you will use it. Also, think about what look you like. The trapunto style is great for a fancy, soft look.
How do you wrap a scarf with a pillow?
This is a fun, no-sew idea! Take a pretty scarf. Lay it flat. Place your pillow in the middle. Bring the scarf ends up and around the pillow. You can tie them in a knot or a bow on top. Or, you can tuck the ends neatly. It’s a quick way to change your pillow’s look.
How to sew a pillowcase by hand step by step?
1. Get your fabric. You need one long piece.
2. Fold it in half, pretty sides touching.
3. Sew along one short side. Then sew along the long open side.
4. Leave one short side open. This is where the pillow goes in.
5. Turn it right side out. You made a pillowcase! For the open edge, you can fold it down twice and sew a hem.
How to decorate a pillowcase?
There are so many fun ways! You can use fabric markers to draw on it. You can sew on patches or buttons. You can add lace or ribbon trim to the edges. Embroidery, by hand or machine, adds lovely details. You could even try simple fabric paint stencils.
Ready to Make More?
Making these trapunto style pillow covers is such a rewarding project. Once you’ve made one, you might find yourself wanting to make a whole set! They make wonderful gifts too.
What design will you try next? There are so many beautiful trapunto embroidery files out there. We’d love to hear about your creations! Feel free to share your experiences or ask questions in the comments below. And if you enjoyed this diy pillow tutorial, be sure to check out other sewing projects and tips! Happy stitching!