Color Block Lumbar Pillow with Lapped Zipper

Add a boho vibe to your couch or bedding set with a handmade color block lumbar pillow! This lumbar pillow cover is easy to sew and has a lapped zipper closure on the back for a clean finish. The color block allows you to mix colors and prints so you can choose a combination that fits your décor perfectly.

I’ve got a tutorial for you below.

A friend of mine recently bought a new couch for herself. She is currently out of town for vacation and my daughter is house sitting her pets. So I thought it would be fun to sew a create a custom pillow for her new couch as a surprise for when she comes home.

Her couch is a beautiful shade of tomato red. Also in the room are some mossy green chairs and a denim blue ottoman. That color combination would be difficult to find in a single pillow store bought, but sewing it myself meant I could get exactly the colors and prints that suited her style and décor. The mix of prints and the tassel trim give it a fun boho feel that will fit her house perfectly.

And the lapped zipper. How I love that lapped zipper closure on the back! A zipper closure makes it easy to insert or remove the pillow form, while the flap that covers it gives it a nice clean finish. You hardly even notice it!

I used home dec weight fabrics for this project. The fabrics I used were all heavy enough that they didn’t need interfacing. If your fabrics are lighter weight, you may want to interface all your fabrics before sewing this pillow. Totally up to you.

Finished dimensions are 14” tall x 28” long.

Supplies

Main Fabric – 1 ¼ yard home dec weight fabric

Accent Fabric 1– 1/8 yard home dec weight fabric

Accent Fabric 2 – 1/8 yard home dec weight fabric

Tassel trim – 1 ½ yards

14” x 28” pillow form

18” nylon zipper

Fabric Cuts

Cut the following pieces from your fabrics:

Narrow Stripe – 1 piece 6” wide x 15” tall from Accent Fabric 1

Medium Stripe – 1 piece 8” wide x 15” tall from Accent Fabric 2

Wide Stripe – 1 piece 17” wide x 15” tall from Main Fabric

Large Pillow Back – 1 piece 22” wide x 15” tall from Main Fabric

Small Pillow Back – 1 piece 8.75” wide x 15” tall from Main Fabric

All seam allowances ½” unless otherwise stated. RST = Right Sides Together.

Sew the Pillow Front

Sew the Narrow Stripe to the Medium Stripe RST along the left side.

Press open.

Sew the Wide Stripe to the Medium Stripe RST along the right side.

Press open.

Baste tassel trim down each end of the Pillow Front with RST, tassels facing inward, and a ¼” seam allowance.

Place tassel trim along the seam between the Wide Stripe and the Medium Stripe, covering the seam with the trim tape. Sew tassel trim in place.

Sew the Pillow Back

Place the zipper face down along the right edge of the Large Pillow Back RST. Sew the zipper down, using a zipper foot to stitch close to the zipper.

The zipper is longer than the fabric. Just center the zipper horizontally and let the extra bits of the zipper stick out at the top and bottom. You’ll trim them off later.

Turn right side out and press. Top stitch close to the zipper.

Now, take the Small Pillow Back piece and iron ¾” along the 15” side to the back, then open it back out. You should have a nice crease pressed in ¾” from the edge.

Sew this piece to the right side of the zipper, RST and using a zipper foot.

Don’t open out this seam like you did on the last one. Instead, fold the fabric back at the crease. This creates a flap that covers the zipper teeth.

Sew the flap down, roughly 5/8” from the folded edge.

If it’s hard to gauge this distance just by eyeballing it, open out the zipper and the seam guide on your sewing machine throat plate should be visible.

UNZIP THE ZIPPER at least half way.

Set your machine to a wide zig zag and a very short stitch length (as you would to create a satin stitch). Fold the flap back and then stitch the open ends of the zipper together, 1/8” in from edge of Pillow Back. Sew at least 3 stitches to make sure it’s good and secure.

Repeat with the closed end of the zipper. Now you’ve got temporary zipper stops to keep your zipper pull from coming off the end of the zipper tape.