How to make a nursing pillow cover

1. Materials & tools

Materials (one cover, standard size)

• Main fabric (double gauze, terry or Oxford) — about 110 cm wide × 80 cm (43 × 31 in)
• Sewing thread
• Optional: 2 pairs of snaps for the opening

Tools

• Sewing machine (or needle and thread)
• Fabric marker or pencil
• Ruler and scissors
• Iron
• Pins or clips

2. Make the pattern (auto-generated in Katagami)

With the Katagami pattern tool, you just enter the finished size and it drafts a seam-allowance-included pattern, tiled to print at actual size on Letter or A4.

1. Open the tool
   Open the pattern tool and choose “Baby” → “Nursing pillow cover” from the tabs at the top.
2. Enter the size
   Enter the outer and inner diameters, the depth and the opening angle. Measure your own pillow.
3. Set the seam allowance
   Use the slider at the bottom (beginners: 1.0–1.5 cm / about 3/8–5/8 in).
4. Print
   Press “Print (actual size)”, then in the print dialog set Scale = 100% and turn “Fit to page” OFF. Check the 50 mm calibration box on the first guide sheet with a ruler.

3. Cutting the fabric

1. Measure the pillow
   Outer diameter, inner diameter and depth. Get these wrong and it will not go on.
2. Trace the pattern
   Lay the pattern on the wrong side and trace both lines.
3. Cut the pieces
   One top, one bottom. Cut the two gussets — outer and inner — slightly long.
4. Transfer the notches
   Mark the ends of the opening.

4. Sewing

4-1. Attach the gussets

1. Sew the outer gusset to the outer edge of the top piece, right sides together.
2. Ease it round the curve, pinning as you go.
3. Sew the inner gusset to the inner edge the same way.
4. The gussets were cut long — trim the excess as you sew.

4-2. Attach the bottom

1. Sew the bottom piece to the free edge of each gusset, right sides together.
2. Check the notches on top and bottom line up before you sew, or the crescent will twist.

4-3. Finish the opening

1. Turn the allowances at the opening under twice and stitch.
2. Arrange it so the top and bottom overlap by about 3 cm, making an envelope that stays shut.

4-4. Finish

1. Turn right side out and press the seams.
2. Put the pillow in and check the fit.
3. If the overlap gapes, add two pairs of snaps.

✏️ Cut the gussets long. Easing them round a curve always takes a little more than the calculation says, and cutting them exactly leaves you short in the last few centimeters with nothing to do but start again. Trimming the excess afterwards costs nothing.

5. Tips & variations

• Make two: a nursing pillow is used daily and gets grubby. Two lets you rotate.
• Soft fabrics: the baby's face rests on it. Double gauze or terry.
• Pregnancy too: the same pattern covers a body pillow of the same shape.