Pillow Case tutorial and yard comparison

Today I sewed and mowed the yard.  Since that about sums up my day, I thought I would give the masses a little sewing tutorial in how I made some new slipcovers for the couch cushions.   I was shocked at how quickly I was able to get through them, I did all 5 in just a few hours!  And all the fabric together was about $40- the price of only TWO new pillows.  Ssssssssscore!

Real quick, before I get started, here are the pictures of the front of my house that I said I would post ohhhhhhhhh, last week sometime.  Since I mowed this afternoon I figured I didn't have any more reasons to keep putting it off.  Here is what our house looked like when we bought it a little over three years ago:

And here's what it looks like now:

(close up of the new crepe myrtle in front of Luke's window)

I couldn't BELIEVE how much the shrubs had grown by the front door until I saw these!  When we moved in there were no crepe myrtles, no weeds, no dead spots, and no little boys standing in the door way.  Some changes for the worse (my bad Yard!) and some changes for the good.  :)

And here's my couch before the new covers:

I used to love the red, but it's been so hard to find ANYTHING to accessorize it with that wasn't in straight up neutrals.  The fabric I picked may not completely go with the red, but it was too pretty to pass up.

1.  Take off old pillow cover and take measurements.

2.  Add 1/2 inch (this allows for the 1/4 inseam) to the length and width, then cut out fabric you want for the front of the pillow. Set aside.

3.  Divide the length in half, then add 2 1/2 inches to it for the back, and cut TWO panels.  Confused?  Here's an example:  If your pillow is 10 x 10, then you would cut out two pieces of fabric that are 10 1/2 x 12 1/2. 

4.  Hem one length side of the back flaps by turning it over 1/4 of an inch once, then again, to completely hide the raw edge.  Repeat on other panel.  These will be in the middle, where the pillow will come in and out.

5.  Sew up the hem. 

6.  Now you are ready to pin it all together.  Pin the three raw sides of a back panel to one side of the front, repeat with the other panel to the opposite end.  Take care that all prints are wrong side out.  You should have all 4 sides pinned, with the over lapping hemmed opening in the middle. 

7.  Sew all 4 sides with 1/4 inch inseam.

8.  Turn right side out, stuff with pillow, and decorate!

Hope that wasn't too confusing, I'm pretty terrible at explaining things!