Make your own DIY Boppy cover pattern in just a few steps! You can make your own Boppy pillow cover with this easy tutorial! 

 This Boppy Cover Pattern came up because a couple of months before the baby was born, we made a trip to my parents and hauled all of O’s old baby stuff out of their basement (where they had kindly been storing it for us).

I pulled out the tub of nursing stuff and saw my old friend, the Boppy pillow. I know there are different kinds of nursing pillows and everyone has their favorite, but man, did I spend a lot of time with that thing. And I remembered it having a really cute Boppy pillow cover.

What I did not remember, however, was how faded and dirty that Boppy cover was after a year and a half of nursing a sweaty baby. It was clean, but definitely faded and sad.

So then of course I started searching for a new, less gross Boppy pillow cover to replace it (I tried washing it again first, I swear). I

looked in all my favorite usual online spots and even started looking on Etsy. But the problem is, the stores pretty much only sell official brand Boppy pillow covers and they are shockingly limited in color/pattern choices. Which is when I switched to Etsy. And there were a ton of adorable choices for Boppy covers!

But then I saw the prices. The cute custom ones were as much as the plain pillow by itself! Obviously they’re handmade and that’s why, but that’s more than I wanted to spend.

So I figured I’d make a Boppy Cover pattern myself and use it to sew up a cute new Boppy pillow cover and I vowed to use only materials I already have because I’m a craft hoarder and I should not be allowed to buy any new materials for at least 5 years. (*insert winky face)

It actually was easier than I thought it would be so here’s how I did it!

DIY Boppy Cover Pattern Supply List

• 1 1/2 yards cotton quilting fabric
• 18 ” zipper
• sewing machine & thread
• an old nursing pillow cover to trace

DIY Boppy Cover Pattern Instructions

1. Lay out your fabric, folded in half. Fold your old Boppy pillow cover in half as well. Then line up the folded edges. The unfortunate thing about making this Boppy pillow cover pattern, is that it takes up kind of a lot of fabric and leaves weirdly shaped scraps. Be forewarned.

2. Cut around your old Boppy pillow cover adding an extra 1″ on all sides (except the folded edge). The first time I did this, I only added about 1/2″ and it made putting in the zipper harder than it needed to be, so do as I say, not as I do! This is your Boppy Cover pattern!

3. Now use that cut out piece to cut another identical piece so you have two.

4. Unfold the pieces and lay them out right sides together.  Then lay out your zipper, centering it. Mark where the ends of the zipper are. You will sew a 1″ basted seam from about 3″ before the zipper starts to about 3″ after (shown with the blue line).5. Use an iron to press that basted seam open. Then line up your zipper so the center of the zipper lines up along the middle of the open seam. Pin each side of the zipper to each flap on either side of the basted seam. Do not pin the zipper to the main body of the pillow, only to the pressed open sides of the basted seam.

6. Using your zipper foot, carefully sew the zipper in along both sides. Don’t forget to add a few stitches at either end of the zipper to secure it.

7. Then flip your pillow over and, using a seam ripper, rip the basted stitches open, this will expose your zipper! 8. Before you finish sewing the pillow together, OPEN THE ZIPPER! Unzip it at least wide enough to fit your hand through. Then put the pillow back together, right sides together, pin it and stitch together with a 1″ seam all the way around the entire pillow.

9. Before you turn the pillow cover right side out, clip the seam all the way around. For the curviest areas I clip about 1/4″ apart, up to a 1/2″ on the straighter parts. This will help keep your curves nice and smooth when you turn it right side out. Just be careful not to clip any of your stitches!

10. Reach in, open the zipper the rest of the way, and turn the pillow cover right side out. Insert your Boppy pillow and zip it back  up! That’s it, you’re done!

DIY Boppy Cover Pattern

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Make your own customizable Nursing Pillow Cover with this easy and detailed tutorial!

Active Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour

Difficulty Intermediate

Estimated Cost $10

Materials

• 1 1/2 yards cotton quilting fabric
• 18 " zipper

Tools

• sewing machine & thread
• An old nursing pillow cover to trace

Instructions

1. Fold an old pillow cover in half and lay it on top your folded fabric. Trace and add an additional 1" all the way around to create two cover pieces.
2. Mark where your zipper will go and sew a basted seam 3" longer on both ends than the length of the zipper
3. Press the basted seam open and pin the zipper in place along that basted seam
4. Sew along both sides of the zipper using a zipper foot on your sewing machine
5. Flip over and open the basted seam with a seam ripper to expose the zipper
6. Unzip the zipper!
7. Stitch a 1" seam all the way around the rest of the pillow cover and then clip the curves
8. Turn the pillow cover right side out through the open zipper
   

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Tips & Tricks for making your DIY Boppy Cover Pattern…

• Be generous with the seam allowance as you trace your old nursing pillow cover.
• Be sure to clip the curves before you turn your pillow cover right side out, this will make for smoother seams.
• You may want to reinforce seams with a zigzag stitch or a second line of regular stitching. My pillow got heavy use for over a year (with a baby that also got heavier and heavier), it was washed a lot, and by the end, some of the seams were close to splitting.
• If zippers frustrate you, just go really really slowly, you can do it!

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Cassie May

Craft and Knitwear Designer at Little Red Window Design

Welcome to Little Red Window! I’m Cassie, a professional craft and knitwear designer working in the field for more than 10 years. I have a degree in Art History from Northwestern University and a Master's Degree in Architecture and Design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I've designed more than 300 separate knitting patterns, hundreds of craft projects, and I love to bring joy to your crafts and knitting with well-designed, easy to understand tutorials and patterns.

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