I'm back to having a sewing room. Yay! It's not quite set up yet. In fact, it's still a giant mess. But that didn't stop me from getting the urge to sew something, anything! Since it's been a while, I decided to start with these simple pillow cases. They are fast, easy and inexpensive. I chose fabrics to coordinate with Pumpkin and Diva's rooms. Pumpkin is in a brown and teal phase. Diva, on the other hand, loves anything and everything Parisian. I love these cases because they can be done in under an hour (including setting up my machine) There are also several options for finishing the seams, depending on how detailed I want to be.
Rolled Pillow Cases with 3 options for the seams
Materials:
For standard size
pillow:
- Main fabric (body of pillow)- ¾ yard
- Cuff- ¼ yard
- Trim (optional) 2 inches to ¼ yard, or ribbon/lace the same width as your fabric. This piece doesn't affect the finished length of you pillow, so it can be as narrow or wide as you desire.
- Main fabric- 1 yard
- Trim and cuff as above
In addition, you will need thread to either match or contrast your fabric. Scissors and/or a rotary cutter.
Wash, dry and iron your fabric.
I’ve found it easiest to was the material inside a garment bag to keep
it from twisting and the frayed ends from knotting as much.
Trim selvedges and any frayed ends so that your fabric is even. If you
are using a trim piece fold it in half length wise and iron it.
Lay the cuff fabric piece face up on your work surface. Line the unsewn edge of your trim piece up to
the top of the cuff piece and pin in place with just a few pins.
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| Cuff good side up with trim piece. |
Next, lay your main piece wrong side up, lining it up with the top of
the cuff and trim. You are making a fabric sandwich. Pin through all
layers.
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| Don't let it slip. Make sure all the edges line up and are pinned! |
Starting from the bottom of your main fabric, roll like a burrito until
you are about 2 inches from the top edge.
Do not mix the cuff or trim in to this roll.
Wrap the bottom edge of the cuff piece over your roll and pin in place so
that you have one long tube of fabric.
Sew with a straight stich along
the pinned edge with a ¼ inch seam allowance, pulling out your pins as you go. I am using a Husqvarna machine, so my plate is
measured in millimeters. I do my first
seam with a 10 mm margin.
Now you have one gigantic tube of fabric! Carefully pull the fabric until you have turned
the whole thing inside out. At this
point, you may want to give the whole piece another quick touch up with the
iron. If you’ve used a wide piece of
trim, you may want to run a row of stitches along the free edge just to save
yourself some ironing next time you wash the pillow case.
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| Different case, but you get the idea! |
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| Sewing this edge down now will save you lots of time later. The trim has a habit of flipping up during the wash cycle! |
Now it’s time to finish the case.
If you are going to use a regular machine, you have 2 options. If you don’t mind an unfinished edge inside
the case, fold the fabric, width wise, printed sides together and pin. Sew around the pin edges and bottom using a ¼
inch seam allowance. Turn right side out, iron and you are done.
If you’d like a more finished edge, a French seam might be
more to your liking. Fold your fabric so
that the wrong sides are together and pin. Run a row of stiches along the
pinned side and bottom using a ¼ inch seam allowance.
Now turn your case so that it’s inside out and press along your new
seams. Make sure your turn your corners out.
Now, using a ½ inch (15 mm on the
Husqvarna) seam allowance, run another straight line of stitches around the
edges of your case. This will enclose
the previous seam inside the new seam and give you a finished edge. Press and you are done!
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| A finished French Seam |
The third option for this case is to use a serger to make your seams. Fold
your material so that the printed sides touch, pin and serge the pinned edges
using the serge stich of your choice. I
used a 3 thread narrow overlock stitch. Turn case inside out and press. Voila.
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| Diva is happy! |
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