My Grandmother's Bernina: DIY simple throw pillows

My desired to learn how to sew started with the frustration with of going to home decor stores only to find throw pillows that were $15-$30 a piece with fabric that wasn't very soft, or didn't match my couch, or simply that I didn't like the shape or color of the pillow. I knew I could make throw pillows that looked the way I wanted them to for cheaper. Needless to say I was very excited to finally start my throw pillow project. Not to mention the fact that I found this wonderfully soft red fabric that I was dying to make into something!

I also decided that I would make my own pillow inserts then make separate, envelope style, covers. I liked the idea of envelope covers for a few reasons.

They can be washed
I don't have to worry about sewing them shut
I can make several different colors or fabrics and simply exchange the cover to change up the look in my living room (way easier than having many pillows)
If I ever wanted to buy or make new pillow forms my covers may still work.

Finally, in terms of complexity, it may seem much more complicated but all the skills I learned making dish towels and the bookmark make this very easy. Still just sewing together different squares of fabric in straight lines.

I ended up making (2) square 18in x18in pillows and (2) rectangular 14in x 24in lumbar support pillows. I will describe how I made one of the rectangular 14in x 24in pillows.

A quick word about the insert vs envelope size. You should make them nearly the same size so that after the seam allowance on the envelope takes a little size out of your envelope pillow case it will fit really snug around the form. The last this you want is a floppy pillow case (unless you do). The pillow insert will be soft and malleable so it should have no problem being wedged inside the pillow case so don't worry about your pillow case being too small.

What you will need:
Again this is for just ONE of the 14in x 24in pillows) adjust everything for however many pillows you want or what sizes you want

-(2) 14in x 24in pieces of cheap white fabric (for the inserts)

- Polyester fiber fill (I bought a 5lb box on amazon for $24, it easily made my 4 pillows, probably could make 10 pillows with my 5lbs)

- front (1) 14in x 24in piece of exciting fabric (I chose a gray and white patterned fabric)
- back (2) 14in x 15in pieces of plain white fabric. (To calculate the length of these two pieces, a good rule of thumb is to add 6in to the long end of the pillow then cut this in half, as this will allow about 3 inches of overlap in the envelop on the back of the pillow. 24 + 6 = 30. 30/2 = 15. that gives us two 14in x 15in pieces for the back

-Thread, sewing machine, pins, iron

Steps:
1) Start by cutting and pinning your two pieces of cheap white fabric together for the insert. No need to edge or hem theses, they will be inside a pillow case their whole life. Sew a straight stitch all the way around the outside of the insert just leaving about 6 inches open on one of the ends so you can stuff the polyester fill inside the insert.

2) Stuff your pillow! How easy was that! Once its really stuffed, take it back to the sewing machine and sew the opening shut. Now you have an insert that you reuse many times!

3. Next is to make the envelope style pillow covers. Cut your single larger front piece (mine will be the gray fabric shown here) and the two back pieces (white fabric).