Remember how I saved $760 by hand sewing a tear in our new couch? Meet the pillows that came with the couch:

I really wish there was someone to shake and ask “WHY??” to, but there’s not. So they have stayed in the closet until last weekend when I had the opportunity to re-cover them. I wanted to re-use the zipper and the pillow itself because both were in perfect condition. The pillow is really comfortable, but the odd thing about it is that it’s the shape and size of a bed pillow. I didn’t know it until I was finished with this project, but apparently I don’t like rectangular pillows the size of a bed pillow on my couch. It just feels weird.

Step 1: Remove pillow from pillowcase.

Step 2: Using a seam-ripper or a small pair of scissors, remove the zipper from the old pillowcase.

Step 3: Pick out, pre-wash* and cut your fabric. I used some dark brown cotton twill fabric from Joann’s and a printed scarf that had a hole in it. (It’s really soft and I just couldn’t bear to part with it.)

*Because these pillowcases have a zipper, I knew I wanted to use fabric that could be washed. I mean what would be the point of having a zipper otherwise? Pre-washing the fabric is absolutely necessary because if you sew up the pillowcase, use it for a while and then wash it, there’s a good chance that it will shrink and not fit right over your pillow.

Step 4: Sew those pillowcases up.

I had wanted the front of the pillows to be made entirely of the printed scarf, but it turned out that the hole in the scarf I had was at just the right spot to make that idea impossible. So I improvised and made it a panel-front pillow.

Since completing these pillows, two naps have been taken on the couch. I think that’s a good sign that they’ll do just fine for now.