Pillowcases! a tutorial

pillowcases tutorial 101

I have a wonderful girlfriend who has a wonderful husband

it's his birthday, and I never know what to get him

so once again, and yes, I've done it before

he's getting

pillowcases

two matching pillowcases

thank you to the person who invented this technique

(I did not, and I don't know who did)

I thot I'd share my favorite technique

for a standard 20 x 28 pillowcase

 select two fabrics

one for the body of the pillow, one for the border

if you want a little accent strip, then select three fabrics

(we will not be demonstrating that technique here)

starting with the border fabric, cut 20" x width of fabric

BIG NOTE

(if you have directional fabric or a fabric with a repeat

and you want to fussy cut the fabric

for your 10" strips, you will require more fabric)

turn the cutting mat not the fabric

(another big tip of mine - for accuracy, do not move the fabric, move the cutting mat!!)

and trim to 21" wide

 hey, look at that!

it's a NO WASTE project

keep your selvedge and make a selvedge block

make a coaster, make a hot pad, make a block for a quilt

 now cut this 21" wide by 20" long piece into two (2) 10" pieces

 with your selected pillowcase body fabric

you will cut two 27" lengths of fabric

 again, my tip for fast pillowcases

fold this piece of fabric in half

then cut it to be 21" wide

you know I am always trying to give helpful hints

for accuracy

but this project of simple pillowcases are two pieces (three if you want an accent strip)

and they are big pieces

I would never suggest you cut quilt square pieces

in this manner

 take one pillowcase body and one pillowcase border

open them both up 

body is 27" long x 42" wide

border is 10" long x 42" wide

put the pillowcase border right side DOWN onto the pillowcase body right side UP

pin

 when you pin, be sure to pin close to the edge

because.....

 you are going to roll the body of the pillowcase towards the border

and make sure your 'roll' is no more than about two inches in diameter

and snuggled up close to that pinned edge

 "open" up, or lift the border edge that is not pinned

and continue rolling towards that border edge

 until you have rolled all the way to the pinned edge

 now place the border, right side down, over the rolled up body of the pillowcase

 and tuck that bottom width UNDER the roll

 you're going to line up the two edges of the border, with the rolled up body of the pillowcase

in the center

and pin all three layers together

 now, clean up that machine that you love so much

and that lets you make so much love to give to others

(get your manual out and get personal with your machine!)

 stitch along pinned edge using a 3/8" seam

and...ALWAYS remove your pins as you sew!

 here comes the magic - I know there are a lot of pictures, and a lot of 'steps'

but this part is worth the whole tutorial!

start pulling on that rolled up pillowcase body 

 you're turning it inside out!  

it makes for nice clean borders every time

 finished edges on the inside and the outside of your pillowcase

without an additional seam or having to finish it by hand

 Here's the other tip that makes for accurate, clean, tidy, neat sewing

press, press, press

every step, every seam

every moment spent pressing is time you save when you're sewing

i promise

now we're going to sew the seams

using a french seam

 now you're going to fold your pillowcase in half

matching the border seams

and with wrong sides (of body) together

stitch along the raw edges of the side and bottom of the pillowcase

using a 1/4"  seam 

 press, then turn inside out

 making sure the seams are pushed "out" and flat

(if you pressed carefully, this will be the case)

another hint

start sewing this seam

about 3/4" from the top edge of the border

then sew in reverse to the edge

and sew forward again

why?

your threads will be buried in the pillowcase

not out at the edge, where they could unravel

and you won't have that backstitch/backstay bulk at the edge of your pillowcase

but rather it will be inside of your pillowcase

 now continue to sew just bigger than a 1/4" seam - probably 3/8"

and you will be encapsulating the raw edge of the last seam you stitched

or, as they say, boxing it in

turn right side out

and you have yourself a pillowcase

repeat these steps

and you will have a pair of pillowcases

HappiestDays

natalie

please go to

www.beyondthereefpatterns.com

to purchase the fabrics used in this project