How to Make a Flanged Throw Pillow

Item # X-HT-300001

Adding a decorative flange or ruffle to the edge of your pillows is a fun way to mix up the look. These little pillows would be perfect for a living room, bedroom or even outside on your patio. They are a quick and easy DIY project that you can do in just a day to add a little bit of color wherever you need it in your home.

finished flanged pillows on sling chairs

We've shared several projects that we made for the same patio; we recovered bullnose chair cushions, made lumbar pillows and sewed up a bench cushion. For the final finishing touch on this space, we’ve made flanged pillows for a set of sling chairs to keep the colors flowing all around the patio. We’re using an indoor/outdoor fabric with great UV resistance. This is an important factor to consider for outdoor cushions. Sailrite® stocks hundreds of performance fabrics in every color and style.

Materials List:

  • Decorative outdoor fabric
  • Pillow form #122148 (we used an 18" x 18" insert)
  • Thread (we used a polyester V-69 for this outdoor pillow)
  • Sewing machine

How to Make a Flanged Pillow

1. If using a fabric with a pattern, determine which part of the design you’d like featured in the center of the pillow, if any. Mark the center of this design for patterning reference.

Mark the pillow center on your fabric

2. Pattern your fabric using the same dimensions as your pillow form. Our form was 18” x 18” so we traced out an 18” x 18” square on the fabric.

Pattern your fabric pieces for pillow

3. Cut out your first square and use it to pattern the second panel.

Pattern the second panel

4. Lay your two panels on top of each other with the right sides facing each other so the pattern lines up symmetrically.

5. To make the corners of your pillow fuller, trim a little fabric from each corner. At one corner of your fabric panels, measure down 4” and make a mark. From the corner again, measure over 1/2”. At an angle, draw a line connecting the two marks. Do this for both sides of the corner, then cut along that line. Repeat the process on the opposite corner.

Trim the corners to make the finished pillow fuller.

6. Fold over the fabric and use it as a guide to trim the two remaining corners.

Use one corner to pattern the opposite

7. Pin your two fabric panels together. Take them to your sewing machine and sew around the perimeter of three sides of the pillow. Leave an opening at the bottom of the pillow big enough to insert your pillow form.

Sew around the perimeter of three sides of the pillow

8. Trim the excess fabric from each corner.

Trim off the excess fabric at each corner

9. Turn your pillow cover outside right.

Turn your pillow cover outside right

10. Carefully work each edge at the seam so it lies as flat as possible.

Work each edge at the seam so it lies flat.

11. Pin the seams flat and the pieces together around the perimeter of the pillow cover. Take your fabric to the sewing machine and sew 1/2” in from the outer edge of the fabric on three sides. This will create a 1/2” lip around the pillow.

Sew a half inch in from the outer edge of the fabric around the pillow

12. Carefully insert your pillow form.

Insert the pillow form

13. Fold under the raw edges on the pillow’s opening and pin a 1/2” in from the folded edge to create the lip along the bottom of the pillow.

Pin the pillow opening closed

14. Using your sewing machine, carefully sew the opening closed.

Sew the opening closed

15. Enjoy your new pillow!

Enjoy your pillow!