pillowcase tutorial

Easy pillowcase with French seams

You’ll need:

27” (3/4 yd.) main fabric (king-36”)

9” border fabric (42” long)

Optional: accent fabric-4 1/2” (1/8 yd.). (This will be a little flap between your main fabric and your border.  I think it looks better when it’s half this size, but who am I to design your pillowcase?)

Press border fabric in half lengthwise-wrong sides together.

If using accent, also press in half lengthwise-wrong sides together.

Unfold border piece, right side up, and lay across ironing board or table with salvage edges on the side.

Place main fabric, also right side up and open, over the top, lining up raw edges (again, salvage edges to the side).

Then place accent fabric on top of main fabric-folded- and line up with other raw edges.  Pin.

{Layer: border-main-accent~all facing up}

Pull main piece from bottom and fan fold so you’ll be able to enclose this in the border.  Pull bottom edge of border over all other fabric to create like a calzone (ok, who’s ever seen a long skinny calzone, but I digress…).

Pin all raw edges together.  (be careful not to pin the part that you fanned because you’re going to pull this out)

Sew 1/4” seam along open edge. (it’s going to look like a tube with everything on the inside)  Backstitch at each end so when you’re pulling it through it doesn’t rip out your seam.

Open one end and pull the inside out. 

Press seams. 

Just a little detour…

If you’re like me and you definitely are NOT going to pull the whole thing out and start over, you figure something else out.  And what would you do if you were in a pickle?  You find one of your best friends to help you out…enter Heatbond.  This baby makes me happy! 

(Heatbond is double-sided adhesive that works with heat…it has a backing so you iron one side onto the fabric, peel the backing off, put whatever you want it to stick to over the shiny side, and iron again so it adheres.  FABULOUS!

I folded the accent fabric in half (thus my humble opinion on why I think it looks better smaller~because I’ve seen it, done it, and it works) and ironed 1/4” Heatbond pieces onto the accent fabric.  See…

A decorative edge would be splendid, wouldn’t it?  Yes indeed!  BUT…

Alrighty, aren’t you glad I made all the mistakes for both of us?  Me too.  Sort of.  I mean, I would be except that I have to teach home ec. to boys TOMORROW.  And time is, well, short.  ANYHOO…

Cut off salvage edges.

Lay fabric WRONG sides together and line up edges.  It’s going to look like your seam is going to be on the outside, but it won’t.  Sew 1/4” seam along the 2 open sides.  Trim your edges to about 1/8”.

Now turn pillowcase inside out so the RIGHT side is on the inside. 

Sew the same seam again but this time 1/2”.  (You won’t be able to see your original seam~you’re burying it inside so there will be no raw edges showing).

Turn inside out, paying attention to pulling corners to make them nice and square.  Press. (because pressing is a girl’s best friend, right ‘L’?!!)

You’re done.  Easy-peasy, right? (now that the kinks are ironed out!)

It’s actually a really easy and fun project~you should try it

 (and just for kicks, throw in a bunch of home ec boys…)