Easy To Sew Quilted Minky Pillow | Part 1

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I wanted to incorporate minky fabric into my home decor. I came up with a pattern for a quilted minky pillow.

I fell in love with minky fabric when I made the self-binding baby blankets. You can read about that post here. Minky is a lovely, soft and cozy fabric that is also machine washable – making it ideal for kids and babies. I feel that I should make something minky for every baby that I know is being born now. I wanted another project where I could use this lovely fabric. Something that doesn’t involve babies.

I don’t recall if minky fabric was around my kids were little – otherwise, I’m sure I would’ve sewed their blankets out of it. I feel like they missed out on this fabric. So now that my kids are all in their teens – what can I make for them so that they can still benefit from this fabric? I decided to make 3 different cushions for our sofa. This way, each of my kids gets a pillow to have when we are piled there watching TV, a typical weekend occurrence for us. I decided to make 3 very simple quilted pillows and so this is part 1 of 3. Each blog post will cover a different pattern for a quilted minky pillow. So make one, two or all three! All of the patterns require 2 different colours of minky fabric.

Part 1 is a very simple pattern (I dare call it a quilt) where the front is 2/3 of one colour or pattern and 1/3 the other.

These quilted minky pillow covers don’t require any fancy sewing and are quite easy to make. A beginner sewer could make all 3 in an evening or all 3 over the course of the weekend.

Minky Fabric

As mentioned, this is a lovely, soft fabric that is a knit fabric so there is a bit of stretch to it. They come in solids, a textured bubble pattern and prints.  I find the prints to be somewhat limited in my fabric store, so I tend to stick with the solids and the bubble ones.  Even then, they tend to be available mainly in baby pastels, however, you can get neutrals like white or cream.

Minky is a slippery fabric – you’ll need to pin lots, but just before sewing, remove the pins as it tends to bunch up. Some suggest using a walking foot on your sewing machine to help. I don’t have a walking foot, so I just used my regular presser foot. I had to help it and guide it a bit, but it did work. I find that at longer stitch length helps too – I set my machine to either 3.5 or 4mm. Since minky is a knitted fabric, there is no need to finish the edges – it will not ravel like woven fabrics, such as cottons.

For this project, I combined cream-coloured minky, as well as a nice steel blue/grey which I think goes nicely with our grey sofa. It’s also not too babyish for colour, especially when paired with cream. I have solid/plain, as well as the bubbly pattern in both colours so that I can easily combine to make something more visually interesting.

If you don’t want to go that route, you can just do the solids or the bubbles only, but I thought I would do a few easy quilting patterns.

Envelope Pillows

Envelope pillows are made of 2 pieces in the back so that there is an opening, allowing you to take the pillow insert in and out. This is the easiest pillow to make. Other options include closures that utilize buttons or zippers – all of which are extra work.  The envelope pillow makes it easy to manoeuver the pillow insert in and out, thereby allowing you to throw the cover into the laundry when need be.

The formula for the back is as follows: length divided by 2, plus 4. So my pillow measures 20 across. Divided by 2, that equals 10. Then I add 4 and so my measurement is 14. This allows for a bit of overlap to ensure your pillow is completely enclosed.

Pillow Cover tips

I read somewhere to measure your pillow cover parts to be exactly the same size as your pillow insert. When sewing it together with a 1/2 inch seam allowance, the pillow cover will actually be one inch smaller than your insert. This results in a nice, plump pillow. I also find the measurements of the pillow inserts to be off a bit so better to err on the side of being a bit smaller so that it is full. Keep in mind the gravity will make the pillow settle downwards as well. So if the pillow cover is snug, it maintains its shape better.

Supplies

To make this quilted minky pillow cover, you will need the following:

1. Minky fabric – your choice of colours/textures
2. Sewing machine and thread
3. Pillow insert – I used Ikea Fjadrar which is duck filled; you can also get the Ikea Inner which is polyester filled; both measure 20×20.
4. Scissors or rotary cutter. If using a rotary cutter, you’ll need a cutting mat too.
5. OPTIONAL:  Lint roller and vacuum cleaner – Minky makes a huge mess when you cut it!  There are bits of fluff everywhere! If you wear a lot of black like me, you’ll need the lint roller to get all the little fluff off of you. I do all my cutting on my living room floor and so I always need to vacuum afterwards.

The Process to make a Quilted Minky Pillow Cover for a 20×20 Pillow Insert

The first style of quilted pillow only has 2 pieces in front. Roughly, the ratio is 2/3 to 1/3.  For mine, I did all the bubble textures, but in two different colours.  You could do all one colour with bubble and plain or do both plain. Be creative! The possibilities are endless.

1. The front:
You will need to cut 2 pieces for the front.

• Piece A is the larger piece. Cut fabric that measures 20 x 14
• Piece B is the smaller piece. Cut fabric that measures 20 x 7

• With right side together, sew piece A and B together.

2. The back:

• Cut 2 pieces for the back envelope
• Cut 2 pieces of fabric that measure 20 x 14, each

• For each back piece, fold over 1 inch and sew to make a nice clean edge.

3. Assemble the pillow cover

• Lay the front piece down on the right side of the fabric facing up.
• On top of the front piece, position the back envelope pieces, right sides together, with the 1 inch sewn edges in the centre.  There will be overlap – so one of the envelope pieces, you won’t be able to see as it will be underneath the other envelope piece.
• Pin lots! Minky fabric slides around a lot and is not the easiest to work with. Use lots of pins and smooth out as you go. Remember there is a bit of stretch to it as well. Don’t forget to remove the pins as you sew. You will find that it bunches and puckers – just smooth it out periodically.

• Sew a 1/2 inch seam allowance all the way around.  This project is VERY forgiving. If you messed up a section, just use a seam ripper to rip that section out and resew. No need to take everything out and start all over. Because of the furry/fuzzy nature of the fabric, tiny puckers aren’t noticeable. Mine is far from perfect, but you’d never know. Once you turn it inside out, no one will see all your sewing mistakes.

• Trim the corners for less bulk and flip inside out.

4. Insert your pillow insert.

• It may be a bit snug as the cover is a bit smaller than the insert, remember, but you will see that it plumps up nicely.
• I use the Ikea pillow inserts. They come rolled up like this so when you’re buying a few they don’t take up much space.

This process works for any sized pillow – just adjust your proportions accordingly. Remember each side should match the pillow size exactly to ensure a snug fit. Remember the formula for the back envelope mentioned above.

How easy was that? Very little sewing and a great finished product. This is a very simple, yet nice and easy quilted minky pillow cover. Stayed tuned for 2 more styles.

Want to remember how to sew these easy quilted minky pillow? Be sure to save this to your favourite Pinterest board.

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