Hey everyone. Today we're turning one charm pack into a patchwork pillow cover — sixteen squares up front, an easy envelope back, and a finish that freshens a whole couch.
Here we go.
First, the fabric
This one is the 2025 Tula Pink True Colors 5-inch Charm Pack, from Free Spirit Fabrics.
What you get is right on the label. Each pack holds 42 pieces, assorted. The designer is Tula Pink. The group name is 2025 True Colors.
At Linda's, this SKU sits with the pre-cuts. Its tags point to gray and Grayworks. That gray family is calm, modern, and plays well with almost any room.
I love a charm pack for a small project. The cutting is already done. Open the pack, lay the squares out, and you can see your whole pillow in about two minutes. Just like that.
Sort them light to dark. Or mix them up and let it be scrappy. Completely up to you.
The project: a patchwork pillow cover
A pillow cover is a smart weekend make. It is useful, it is giftable, and it slips right over a pillow form you already own.
We are making an 18-inch square cover. Sixteen charms make the front — four across and four down. Each 5-inch square finishes at 4 and a half inches with a quarter-inch seam. Four times 4 and a half is 18. The math works out clean, y'all.
Why does this fabric suit it? Scale, first. A 4-and-a-half-inch finished square shows each print clearly. Second, color. An assorted gray palette gives contrast without shouting, and light squares beside darker ones make simple patchwork look planned.
Materials list
- 1 pack of 2025 Tula Pink True Colors - 5" Charm Pack, 42 pieces assorted (you will use 16 squares for the front)
- Pillow form: 18 inches by 18 inches
- Backing fabric for the envelope back: about 1/2 yard of quilting cotton, cut into 2 panels at 18.5 inches by 12 inches
- Thin batting or fusible fleece: about 19 inches by 19 inches, optional, for a softer front
- Thread for piecing and quilting
- Rotary cutter, mat, ruler, pins or clips, iron, and your sewing machine
For piecing, I like a fresh size 80/12 needle. Set your stitch length around 2.0 to 2.5 millimeters. Press seams as you go. We're not reinventing the wheel here.
Brief steps
- Lay out the front. Arrange 16 charms in 4 rows of 4. Step back and look. Swap any two neighbors that feel too much alike.
- Sew the rows. Join each row with a quarter-inch seam. Press one row to the left, the next row to the right, so the seams nest.
- Join the rows. Sew the 4 rows together, matching the nested seams. Your front should measure about 18.5 inches square, unfinished.
- Add softness, if you like. Layer the front over batting or fusible fleece. Quilt it simply — stitch in the ditch is plenty. You could echo a quarter inch away, or add a soft meander. My preference is stitch in the ditch. It keeps the squares the star.
- Make the envelope back. Hem one long edge of each back panel by folding it over a quarter inch, then a quarter inch again, and stitching it down. Lay the panels right sides down on the front, hems overlapping in the middle by about 4 inches.
- Sew it together. Pin all the way around. Go slow at the thick overlapped corners, or the fabric can shift under the foot. Sew around all 4 sides with a quarter-inch seam.
- Finish it. Trim the corners at an angle, turn the cover right side out, and push the corners out gently. Press it flat, then slip in your 18-inch pillow form.
Tips from our table in McKinney
Chain-piece your rows, one pair after another. It saves thread, and it keeps your layout in order.
Use those extra squares, folks. You have 26 left. Sew a second front in a different layout, or save them toward a matching runner. Nothing wasted.
I have turned a cover out and found one square facing the wrong way. I laughed at myself, unpicked just that seam, and sewed it again. The fix took five minutes.
And here is the permission part. Your corners do not have to be perfect. A seam a hair off will not show once that pillow is on the couch. You are your own worst critic. Take your time. It's not a race.
If I can do this, y'all can do it. Super duper easy, and really really satisfying.
Alrighty. Thank y'all so much for sewing along with me today. We'll see you next time. Bye.
Shop the 2025 Tula Pink True Colors - 5" Charm Pack at Linda's Electric Quilters.
