The Shoemaker and the Elves

Do you remember the story of the Elves and the Shoemaker by the Grimm Brothers?  The Shoemaker would leave some leather out overnight and would wake up the next morning to a very well made pair of shoes that little elves had made through the night.  I feel like the those little elves sometimes as I am taking advantage of the late night hours to finish my projects without interruptions.  In the morning I am too tired to get up with my husband but there is something new to admire in the living room.  Last night it was throw pillows.

Throw pillows in my home go through so much.  If you look close enough, you could see stains on these dark pillows from my children drooling on them during their naps.  My solution for this: slipcovers!

I started by measuring out enough fabric to have a 1/4 inch seam allowance on each side but leaving enough fabric on the top end to overlap about 10 inches over.   

Then I brought the first side of my fabric to the middle of the pillow and pinned the ends.  That is the point at which I would close the sides. 

I sewed the left side and the right side up to each pin.  Then I folded it again, allowing some fabric to overlap again and closed the right side and the left side. 

When I was done sewing, there was an opening in the middle which is where I would slip the pillow into.

Then I slipped the pillow inside the cover.  Here it is hugging the

pillow nicely.

And when they get dirty, which I already noticed some pencil marks after putting them out last night, I just take the covers off and throw them in the wash.