Mother's Day DIY no. 4

Second last homemade Mother's Day gift ideas!!! So no excuses to not give her something!!! ..... on that note I had better whip something up for my Mother and Mother-in-Law.....

My Mum will actually be in Darwin/Dilli with my elder sister this weekend so I will not get to see her but I am heading down to visit my Dad while she is away so perhaps I can give her the gift to beat all gifts!! CLEAN HER HOUSE!!! Yes because I am a strong believer that the gift that Mums, daughters - women everywhere!! would love the most is for someone else to do all those crummy jobs like cooking, cleaning and sometimes a little help in the garden of course while she sits back on the lounge with a book/movie with a soft pillow to rest her head - enter today's DIY

Yep, the simple envelope cushion cover

I try and keep all my DIYs super simple because let's face it you are much more likely to do something when it isn't so daunting a task but also because everything starts with a super simple idea that you can BUILD on!!

For example add a button to close the cushion at the back, I like bows better so I usually make a ribbon closure - you could use simple fabrics like the ones shown or you could appliqué designs on them like this, or maybe you can be brave and patchwork, or braver still and print your own fabric, customisation is endless but it all starts small

  1. Go out and find yourself some awesome fabric and a pillow to pop inside (I had a 20" pillow so I made the case accordingly)
2. Measure and cut one 20" square and two 20" by min. 16" rectangles - You need these two rectangles to be bigger than half the size so that they overlap and don't gape when the pillow is inside
3. Take the two rectangles with right side down and fold over the top about 2cm along the 20" side, iron flat and fold over again so the raw edges are covered, iron and pin
4. Sew this folded edge down as neatly as you can, this will be the only stitching you can see on the finished product
5. Take the square piece right side facing up, lay the first rectangle (this one will be the one that shows the most) with the finished edge towards the middle right side down (i.e. right sides together) lay the second rectangle on top right side down and finished edge facing the middle
6. Pin along all the edges
7. Sew along all sides with a 2cm seam allowance and finish edges with a zig zag (I do not suggest trimming the seams before you finish them the larger seams give the pillow a bit of give - which is necessary)
8. Turn in the right way and pop your pillow inside
9. VOILA!