The Pillow Set Cut Plan

Sew a whole set of throw pillows from one fabric: covers sized first, inserts sized up, seams counted twice, every panel on one cutting plan, and the fabric bought once, rounded up at the counter

CushionFun's calculators each answer one question about one pillow: the arrangement planner names the sizes for a sofa or bed, the insert calculator sizes one insert, the yardage calculator lays out one size of cover, and the cost calculator multiplies one cushion by a quantity. Nobody sews one pillow. A set mixes sizes, comes from one fabric, and is bought in one trip, and the tools never meet. The Pillow Set Cut Plan joins them up. It writes the set as finished covers, sizes every insert to the next stock size up (never the nearest), counts the seam allowance on both sides, measures the width you can really cut once the selvedges are off, and puts every panel on one cutting plan, rounded up once at the store's increment. For the five pillows the planner gives an 84 inch sofa, that is 3 yards of 54 inch fabric, against 3.25 run size by size and 3.75 by the per-cushion habit, which overprices the fabric by $14.24 at $18.99 a yard. It also prices which inserts to buy and which are worth making, with the fill checked against a bag label. Every figure is computed by the same code the calculators run, and every price is an example to replace with your own; the insert oversize is called a convention and the placement repeat a rule of thumb. While writing it we fixed five live calculator bugs. Included: 7 steps, a set sheet, a cutting plan grid, a shopping and cost sheet, a yardage table for seven common sofa and bed sets on 44, 54 and 60 inch fabric, and a quickstart, plus a personalised sheet worked from the numbers in the calculator you came from.

Look inside

Two full pages from the pack, exactly as printed. Click either to read it at full size before you decide.

What is in it

• The Cover-Size Rule: the set from the arrangement planner written as finished covers, with the insert and cut size each leads to
• The Size-Up Rule: every insert at the next stock size up, a table for square covers 16 to 24 inches at three plumpness levels
• The Both-Sides Rule: cut size = cover + 2 x seam, at 3/8, 1/2 and 5/8 inch allowances
• The Usable-Width Rule: panels across the labeled width and across the width you can really cut
• The One-Plan Rule: the whole set on one cutting plan, drawn to scale, with plain, one-way and pattern-repeat versions
• The Make-or-Buy Rule: stock inserts against home-made ones, fill at the larger of the estimate and the bag label
• The Counter Rule: one length rounded up at the store's increment, in yards or meters, and the set priced as a batch
• Working pages: a set sheet, a cutting plan grid, a shopping and cost sheet
• Bonus: yards to buy for seven common sofa and bed sets on 44, 54 and 60 inch fabric, plain and one-way
• A quickstart and a personalised sheet worked from your own calculator figures

The plan picks up where the free Fabric Yardage Calculator leaves off. The calculator lays out one size of cover; our Throw Pillow Arrangement Planner gives a set of mixed sizes, and the two never meet. The plan writes the set as finished covers, sizes every insert up with the Cushion Insert Size Calculator, counts the seam allowance twice, puts every panel on one cutting plan across the width you can really cut, prices the inserts made or bought with the Cushion Fill Calculator, and rounds the fabric up once at the counter. Every price in it is an example for you to replace. It covers fiber-filled throw pillows, not foam seat cushions, and makes no fire-safety claim; throw pillows do not belong in a baby's sleep space.