How To Make Sofa Pillows? Complete Step-by-Step Guide

You can learn how to make sofa pillows in three easy steps. This project is newbie-friendly because you only need to create the liner, fill up the pillow, and sew it shut. We have also included tips and tricks to choose the best materials.

Note that there are different types of throw pillows. It would be helpful to familiarize yourself with what is a throw pillow so that you can select the ideal one for your couch. Once you have a specific type in mind, the steps below should remain applicable.

Benefits Of Using Throw Pillows For Sofa

Health Benefits

Throw pillows offer support and comfort and have many health benefits. They support the cervical spine in a neutral position. By relieving the pressure, the pillows also help to decrease biomechanical stresses and help to maintain the alignment of the spine. Throw pillows can also provide support for swollen or sprained legs.

By choosing the right kind of throw pillows, you can also minimize snoring problems and breathing difficulties during sleep.

Support for Babies and Toddlers

You can stack the throw pillows and provide the necessary support for the babies, when they are learning to sit up. Even when they learn to stand, you can place pillows around to ensure they don’t get hurt when they fall. Moreover, throw pillows made of anti-allergic and soft materials can be used as bumpers inside the crib. When sleeping, you can place a number of throw pillows beside the baby or toddler to avoid falling hazards.

What’s more? You can choose special themed throw pillows for sofa to give the nursery a vibrant and colorful look. Children get attracted towards colors, so by adding some interesting colors, you can allow the baby to enjoy and explore.

Emotional Support

Often, when you don’t have your loved ones close to you, a throw pillow can provide emotional support. You can hold it tightly, cry on it or punch it to release anger or frustration. You can also cuddle a throw pillow in memory of someone you miss. Siblings often enjoy pillow fights that help them bond better and have some fun time with each other.

Versatile Use

Apart from providing a good night’s sleep and support, throw pillows can be used for a multitude of other activities. They can act as armrests, headrest when traveling in train or plane and provide support when reading or watching television.

Buying the Right Kind of Throw Pillows

Throw pillows for couch and sofa are available in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and styles. So depending upon your needs, you must choose the right kind of pillow. When buying throw pillows, whether for decoration or other purposes, you must consider the material with which it is made. Pillow fills are of many types and you or your children can be allergic to some of them. So know everything about the pillows before buying. By making the right choice, you can ensure the best value of money and get maximum comfort.

How Do You Make Couch Pillows?

Step 1. Prepare the pillow liner

• Start by cutting fabric of your choice into two pieces for the front and back of the pillow
• Identify what size throw pillows for the sofa to make and allocate half an inch of the seam allowance
• Be strategic in cutting the fabric, especially if it has a pattern that you want to showcase
• Prepare several pairs of the cut fabric according to the number of pillows you want
• If you want to decorate the throw pillow edges, measure the sides of the cut fabric to know how much pre-made trim you need

Step 2. Construct the pillow together

• Place the fabric pieces right side together over a flat surface and pin the edges
• Leave a gap on one side for stuffing the sofa pillow later
• Make sure to pin the trim as well by putting it onto the bottom fabric piece
• Sew the couch pillow together using a zigzag stitch by hand or with a sewing machine, whichever you find comfortable
• Use half an inch of seam allowance or along the inner edge of the trim’s band if you’re adding one
• Continue stitching the rest of the sofa pillow’s edge, but leave the gap
• Adjust your method as you go around the corner with the trim

Step 3. Fill up and finish the sofa pillow

• Remove all the pins and use the unfinished edge to turn the pillow right side out
• Fill the sofa pillow with your desired material, making sure that you’re pushing them onto the edge and corners to achieve a plump appearance
• After stuffing the pillow, sew the remaining gap with a slip stitch
• Tuck the trim band before closing the gap if you used a trim

What Is The Best Fabric For Throw Pillows?

The best fabric materials for the exterior of your sofa pillows are cotton, linen, wool, faux fur, and velvet. Choosing among them depends on how you’re decorating the sofa with throw pillows and if their maintenance is a perfect fit for your lifestyle. Nonetheless, you can always mix and match the pillows on the couch using different colors and textures based on these materials.

Cotton

Cotton is the best fabric for sofa pillows if you want something casual-looking and generally easy to clean. If you often have guests or kids and pets, you’ll save time and effort with cotton because it is even machine washable. Stains shouldn’t also be hard to remove compared to other fabrics.

Linen

You’ll get many options with linen fabric for throw pillows. It’s often blended with polyester or even cotton to improve the texture and maintenance. Linen fabrics are also lightweight yet durable, so you don’t need to worry about pillows getting deformed easily.

Wool

If you want a cozy look and feel for the sofa, use wool fabrics for the throw pillows. Not only are they fantastic for winter lounging on the couch, but wool resists stains too. There are different types of wool materials, so you can select which matches your aesthetic and functionality priorities.

Faux fur

A luxurious sofa is achievable by using faux fabric on the couch pillows. You can play with accent colors to help your sofa stand out more. However, faux fur is not as easy to clean as other fabrics.

Velvet

A soft and classy material for the throw pillows is velvet. Depending on the fabric quality, velvet pillows won’t develop loose threads easily. Maintenance is the same as cleaning a velvet couc with a brush and a vacuum cleaner.

What Do You Fill Sofa Pillows With?

When learning how to make sofa pillows, the outer liner is not the only crucial part. You also have to decide on the filler or stuffing to use according to what’s fitting for your lifestyle. For example, down and feather is luxurious and long-lasting but is pretty pricey.

The most common sofa pillow filler is polyester because it’s cheap and easy to replace once the sofa pillows lose their structure. But if you intend on using the sofa pillows for comfort and support, consider using foam. The high-density foam should hold its shape well, but remember to rotate and flip the pillows to distribute the wear.

Throw Pillows Cleaning and Maintenance Tips

The method used for cleaning throw pillows depends on what type of pillows you have. While some can be tossed into a front loading washing machine, others require that they only be spot-cleaned or hand-washed to prevent damage.

• The first step is determining the proper cleaning method for your pillows. Look for a manufacturer’s care label on your pillow. Some will say dry clean only and others might say to hand wash the pillows with a mild detergent. Still others will tell you to spot clean only.
• If no care label is available, determine the fabric type. Silks and velvets typically require the use of dry cleaning fluid. For other materials, like cotton or polyester, gentle washing with water is safe.
• Do a spot test of the fabric by using a white towel with the proper cleaning solution for the fabric. Blot it against the throw pillow and hold it for 30 seconds. Then inspect the towel for any color transfer, allow to dry, and inspect again to ensure the color has not faded.
• Sponge cleaning is possible for some throw pillows. You can clean them with a good upholstery shampoo and a good-quality sponge. Work the foam shampoo into the pillows in circles, paying special attention to piping and other crevices. Blot the excess moisture and shampoo with clean white towels.
• If dry cleaning is indicated, use a clean and dry sponge dipped into the dry cleaning solution to clean the fabric using the same circular motion, working it into the piping, creases and folds of the pillow. Again, blot it with clean white towels.

How to Disinfect Throw Pillows (Tips for Washing Throw Pillows)

Washing throw pillows is not difficult, but it is vital to get them completely dry before using them again. Here are some quick tips:

• First, remove any covers and wash them separately from the cushion.
• Use pretreatment solution for stains by rubbing it in with a sponge.
• Machine wash in warm water using a front loading washer on the delicate cycle. Use mild detergent.
• Hang dry in a ventilated area until most of the way dry.
• Fluff the pillows in a dryer with no heat, using a few dryer balls to reshape the pillows.

How to Keep Your Throw Pillows Clean Longer

Regularly dusting or vacuuming your throw pillows as you vacuum your upholstery will keep them from needing cleaning for a longer period of time. Also, using throw pillow covers in coordinating colors also makes it easier to clean them often, especially if they are machine-washable – as you won’t need to worry about dark dyes mixing in with lighter whites. Finally, keep hard to clean throw pillows above ground and in harder-to-reach places, where dogs, cats, kids, and people’s feet won’t soil them frequently.

Conclusion

You can spruce up your couch by making the sofa pillows yourself. To recap this beginner-friendly tutorial on how to make sofa pillows, you’ll start with two fabric pieces, sew the edges, leave a gap for turning the liner right side out, and stuff. Close the opening, and you’re done.

However, it’s crucial that you also know how to wash sofa pillows. What’s even better is if you select the suitable fabric and filler according to your lifestyle. Overall, we hope this article helped, and leave us a comment if you have further questions.