Pillow Wraps (In-the-Hoop)

Add a bit of festive flair to your decor with these unique and creative pillow wraps! Just stitch each shape in-the-hoop, then slide a ribbon or fabric through the opening to encircle a pillow. Follow the step-by-step instructions below to created your own pillow wraps!

When you download a pillow wrap design, you will find multiple files. Some are the embroidery files, and the others are dieline files marked with the letters "DL". Dielines are used to cut the fabric to the correct shape and size. Open and print each dieline file using an embroidery software. If you do not have an embroidery software, take a look at our helpful video on using dielines.

For the front fabric piece, spray one side of a piece of cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive. Smooth the stabilizer onto the wrong side of the fabric piece.

Then spray the back side of the front paper dieline piece with temporary adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of the front fabric.

Cut the front piece out of the adhered fabric and cutaway stabilizer. Then remove the paper dieline.

For the back fabric piece, spray the back side of the back paper dieline with temporary adhesive, and smooth it onto the right side of the back fabric.

For these designs, the back piece must be cut out of a non-fraying fabric (felt will work best) as some raw edges will remain on the back of the design.

Then cut out the back fabric piece.

To make it clear what side of the back piece is the front, leave the paper dieline attached to the front side of the fabric piece. Simply fold up one corner, so it is easier to remove later.

Hoop the stabilizer firmly. Make sure it is nice and tight with no wrinkles.

Attach the hoop onto the machine, and load the embroidery file (not the dieline files).

Use a 75/11 sharp sewing needle instead of an embroidery needle. The sharp sewing needle has a finer point, and it will make smaller perforations in the stabilizer.

Embroider the design. The first thing to embroider will be the "dieline" (or outline stitch). This marks the area on the stabilizer where the fabric piece will be placed.

After the dieline has sewn, remove the hoop from the machine, but do not unhoop the stabilizer. Spray the stabilizer side of the front fabric piece with temporary adhesive. Smooth the fabric piece onto the hooped stabilizer inside of the sewn dieline.

Then place the hoop back onto the machine, and embroider the tackdown for the front fabric piece. The tackdown will hold the fabric piece in place for the remainder of the design.

After the front fabric piece is in place, all of the inner details of the embroidery will sew out.

After the inner details a step called "border details" will sew out. This embroiders the side borders that will appear over the openings that allow the ribbon to pass through the design. These only sew on the front fabric piece and do not need a matched bobbin.

Stop before sewing the "back piece tackdown" step.

Remove the hoop from the machine, and turn it over so the back side of the embroidery is facing up. Spray the back side of the back fabric piece with temporary adhesive, and smooth it into place on the back side of the embroidery.

As all the embroidery from here on out will be seen from both sides, wind a bobbin to match the thread being used in the top needle.

Place the bobbin into the machine, and follow the color change sheet to embroider the remaining "back piece tackdown" and "finishing border" steps.

After embroidering, tear away the excess stabilizer.

There will be an opening on each side of the design for the ribbon (or fabric) to fit through. It can be found in between the front and back fabric pieces where the finishing border did not sew the two fabric pieces together.

Before trying to place the ribbon through this, open it up using a wooden dowel or stick. Once it is completely open, slide the dowel back and forth in between the fabric to eliminate some of the stickiness left from the spray adhesive. This will make it easier to thread ribbon or fabric through the opening later.

To make the wrap out of ribbon, measure all the way around the object you will be wrapping (we are using a pillow) to find the circumference (Our pillow is 27 1/2" around).

Then add 1" for seam allowance to the measured circumference (for example our circumference is 27 1/2" + 1" = 28 1/2"). After the seam allowance is added, cut the ribbon to that length (so our ribbon is cut to 28 1/2").

Slide the cut ribbon all the way through the opening between the two fabric pieces. Make sure the right side of the ribbon is facing up, and that the ribbon does not twist at all.

Without twisting the ribbon, match up the two ends with right sides together. Pin them together.

Then sew a 1/2" seam along the pinned ends, and remove the pins.

Place the wrap around the object, and adjust where the design sits on the ribbon, so it looks nice.

If desired, the design can be hand sewn to the ribbon to prevent it from shifting or sliding around.

Alternatively, you can wrap fabric around your pillow instead of ribbon. These instructions demonstrate how we created this example, but you are welcome to vary the width of the wrap as you please.

To make a fabric wrap, measure all the way around the object you will be wrapping (we are using a pillow) to find the circumference (our pillow is 19" around). Then add 1" for seam allowance (for example our circumference is 19" + 1" = 20"). This final total (ours is 20") will be the length of your wrap, and will be what wraps around the object.

Then measure and find the size of one opening on the design. Find this by measuring from one side of the opening straight to the other side of the opening (not along all the jagged fabric edges).

Take the size of your opening (ours is 1 5/8") and multiply it by 4 to get the finished width of the wrap (for example our opening is 1 5/8" x 4 = 6 1/2"). Then multiply that number by 2 (for example our 6 1/2" x 2 = 13"). Finally add 1" for a seam allowance (for example our 13" + 1" = 14"). This will be the actual width of the cut fabric piece.

All put together the formula looks like this: "Opening size" x 4 = _____ x 2 = _____ + 1" = "final width".

Now that you have found your length (ours is 20") and your width (ours is 14"). Cut a piece of fabric to that size.

Fold the piece of fabric in half, so the length (our 20") stays the same and the width (our 14") is folded in half. Make sure right sides are together, and pin along the raw edge opposite the fold.

Then sew a 1/2" seam along the pinned edge.

The fabric wrap will now be a long tube. Turn this tube right side out, and allow it to lay flat so the seam is at the center back.

Slide design onto the center of the fabric tube. Make sure the seam matches up with the center back of the design so it will not be seen.

Fold the fabric tube up, and match up the two ends of the fabric tube. Pin them together. This would mean the back of the embroider design as well as the seam of the tube are on the outside (so it is all wrong sides out).

Then sew a 1/2" along the pinned edge. This will sew the two ends of the tube together, so it is all one loop.

Turn the fabric wrap right side out.

Slide the wrap onto the chosen object, and adjust how the design and wrap sit until they look nice.