DIY Zippered cushion covers

I've been in a major nesting phase for the past couple of months since my new roommate moved in and I moved to another bedroom. But, since we live in a rental, and are poor singing students, big interior design changes are out of the questions. And, not really necessary since I really love our apartment. Still, I've been meaning to add more personal touches to the apartment since moving in. I already posted about my mirror makeover a while back. Now it was time to move on to the living room.
We have a super comfy couch, but with the beige color of it and the white color of the walls, there simply not enough color. And I need color! So, I decided to switch the cushion covers on the couch pillows. Eventually I want to change all of them, but I started with the smaller ones. This is such an easy way to add a pop of color, so if you'd like to copy, read the process below.

I first started with removing the original cushion covers that the couch came with. Now, you could leave the original pillows as are, and simply add more pillows to your couch, but since we had already enough of them, I thought I'd change the covers instead.

The only tricky part of the process is installing the zipper, and you can omit that part, if that intimidates you and simply leave an opening where the zipper should be to insert your pillow, and finally hand sew or machine sew the opening shut.
1. Start with measuring your pillow (usually the measures are given with the pillow in the store), or use the original cover as a template for the new ones. Cut 2 squares of fabric per pillow using those measurements. Don't forget to add seam allowances. I added 1.5 cm on all edges.
2. Iron down the seam allowance on the side where you'll be installing the zipper. This will ease the installation process.
3. Before installing the zipper sew the zipper side seam from both sides of the zipper, leaving an opening the length of the zipper. Install the zipper (process in more detail below).
4. Sew the sides together. Leave your zipper open to ease the turning of the cover. Turn your cover inside out and push the corners out.

I use this method of zipper installation pretty often. I think it's rather easy and quick.
1. Once you've sewn the sides of the zipper and left an opening for it, pin it to the fabric so that the zipper teeth are exactly in the center of the opening.
2. To ease the sewing you can baste the zipper to the fabric. Since I've done it several times before, I needed just the pins to hold the zipper in place.
3. sew the zipper in place from the right side of the fabric, making sure that the turned edge is at the center of the zipper teeth.

I'm so happy with our new colorful cushions. They're super fun! Just the pop of color the couch needed!