... Or maybe I should have started with Plan B.
Let's start with the finished project.
My favourite little boy is having a birthday. This year, he is all about Sonic the Hedgehog. While browsing my favourite online fabric store, Funky Monkey, I found this fabric on clearance. To make two pillowcases you need two yards of fabric, that go together, so that was easy. (I might have put some other items into my cart.)
To make two pillowcases I start by cutting 9 inches off the bottom of each piece of fabric. After that things started to go wrong. I tried to add piping to the pillowcase hem but it wasn't cooperating. I should have stopped but instead, I tried to make the best of it. In the end, I got out my stitch ripper, took it all apart and tried a different method.
On to plan B.
Take the 9" strips of fabric and fold lengthwise in half, wrong sides together, or pretty side out as I tell beginners. Iron the fabric nice and flat and smooth. This will be your hem. Iron the larger pieces flat. This will be the body of the pillowcase.
Set up the serger for a 4 thread overlock stitch. Make sure the tension is even. (that is the longest part of the process.)
Align the hem with the bottom edge of the body, and serge a 1/4" seam.
Iron the seam toward the body of the pillowcase and top stitch on the sewing machine, close to the seam on the body of the case. I use my blind hem foot to make it nice and straight.
Fold the pillowcases, wrong side together, making sure that the hem seams match up . You can trim off the selvedge edges of the fabric at this point, but I just trim them with my serger. Serge the top edge and the side seam.
TaDa, Two pillowcases in less time than it took me to take the first try apart!
I weave the serge tails into the seams and add a dot of fray check to keep them there.
Kids love these as gifts. His birthday presents are now filling the pillowcases. No waste gift bags. And the Paw Patrol cases from 2 years ago can now be retired.
I have the serger, and I used it a lot when my kids were little. It's funny how I forget to use it now.
A gift bag which is part of the gift is a great idea.
ReplyDeleteGreat gift idea. xx
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and brilliant idea for a gift! Big Sonic fans…
ReplyDeleteWhen I try to make pillowcases I feel like I've never sewn before! I'm not sure what it is about the project. It seems like I'm have to mess up every single time! Thanks for the tutorial (so that maybe next time will be a different story.)
ReplyDeleteI think you might be telling me to do something. Tonight I was thinking to myself that maybe I should make the grands pillowcases for Christmas to replace their old ones. Then I sort of talked myself out of it. And then I opened your post and saw Sonic ones, which are exactly what one of my grandsons would want. Spooky, isn't it? I'm glad you figured out how to do it. I always get confused and have to learn all over again.
ReplyDeleteCute pillowcases! Sonic is a fav of our great-grandkids!
ReplyDeleteTerrific gift! I've made Brady several pillowcases over the years, and he loves them all. They are much better quality than those you get in with the sheet sets aren't they? I have two pillowcases to make to fulfill another of my PHD requirements - will they be done for Christmas?!
ReplyDeletePS forgot to add oh I KNOW what you mean about forgetting how to use the serger and having used it a lot when my kids were young. I was thinking of taking it in for a little spa treatment since it has sat for ahem, years, unused...
ReplyDelete