Pretty Pillowcases

Don't fight with the pillow,

But lay down your head
and kick every worriment

out of the bed.       ~Edmund Vance Cooke

 

   This project was so easy that Kathy was able to tell me how to do it on her way to work this morning.  And so, dear friends, I will do my best to relay the process on to you.

     You need  3 fabrics, 3/4 yard of your main fabric, 1/4 yard for the cuff, and 1 and 1/2 inches for your trim.  Press all 3 strips, lining up folds and selvages on top of each other, as closely as you can.  Then use your rotary cutter to even up the selvage edges, trimming the selvages so that each peice is exactly the same width.  Now it is time to make 3 fabric circles.  Since I am still reluctant to use my serger, I did french seams.  You could whip up those circles in no time with a serger, but...oh well.  Then you finish the end of the large tube by serging or seaming, and you have a pillowcase with an unfinished opening.

   Next fold the cuff and the trim, lengthwise, and press, placing the trim on top of the cuff, and matching the raw edges.  Baste the trim to the cuff, then encircle this piece on the outside of the case.   All of your pieces match nicely because you took time to trim them all the same length.  (not in my nature, but boy is this a good idea.)  Sew the cuff and trim piece to the body of your pillowcase, trim the seam and finish it. Again, I had to zig zag because I didn't use a serger.   All done!  As much as I wanted to personalize the cases, I didn't because of the busy fabrics.

   If you get a yard of each main fabric, you have enough for 2 mismatched pillowcases, and I tend to like it that way.  You will need a 3 inch strip for the trim for 2 cases.   Such a nice way to spend a Monday morning!