Perfectly Imperfect Pillow Cases ~

Hi everyone, welcome to today's tutorial for beautiful pillow cases.  you can make lovely cases too, even if you are not an expert seamstress, which, I promise you, I am not.  This post is a follow up from more handmade pillowcases blogged about here, where I promised to show you how simple it is to fake your way to a really pretty cover for a long, king-sized pillow. 

We're going to make that big bolster pillowcase behind my sweet bunny Aubrey Rose.  

Let's begin:

Basically, we're going to make a big tube with a ruffle trim.  Here's the old cover.  See?  Pretty simple, vintage case with little ruffles at each end.  Next to it is the gorgeous Anna Griffin fabric that I'm going to use for the new pillowcase.  The Anna Griffin fabric is in lovely shades of gray, ivory, and taupe - a celebration of my favorite neutrals.  

So this is where I should be telling you how wide/long my piece is and offering precise measurements and cutting instructions.  Sorry, but trust me, it's going to be lovely without all the fuss.  Let's wing it together. 

Step #1 Measure and Cut Your Fabric:  I lay my pillow on the fabric.  My bed is my cutting surface.  Nothing fancy here.  The good news is that most fabrics are exactly the right width for a pillow case, and so we're only going to worry about how long to cut our piece.  Notice the seams on the pillow?  These are important, so we'll use this as a reference point. 

Go ahead and lay your fabric out on your cutting surface, allowing enough to overlap the seam by 2 inches more on one end (the left of your photo here) and 12 inches on the other end (the right of the photo here).  It's okay if its a little long, you don't want the case to be too tight.  Once you've cut the piece to length, cut along the center fold.  You should have two long pieces of fabric, we'll call them "Piece A" and "Piece B", okay?

Step #2 Shorten Piece A:  I've taken one of the long pieces and folded up the extra at the one end - about 8", and I'm going to cut that off at the fold.  So now, Piece A will be about 8" shorter than Piece B.  We'll call that 8" cut piece Piece A1. 

Still with me?

Step #3 Cut Piece B:  Fold piece B in half and cut in two, across the width of the fabric.  We'll call these two equal pieces B1 and B2. 

You should have a total of 4 pieces now.  One long = Piece A, one only 8" long by the width of the fabric = Piece A1, two medium pieces = Piece B1 and Piece B2. 

Step #4 Sew the first half of the "Envelope" Closure:  Take B1 and sew A1 to the cut end.  You will end up with the selvage of the fabric on the sides, and the 8" piece sewn to the top edge of B1.  Iron the seam toward Piece A1.  Fold over the top raw edge of Piece A1 by 1". 

Now you're going to fold that Piece A1 in half and iron flat.  Stitch in the ditch on the right side so that it looks like a nice, deep hem on the end of B1. 

Step #5 Hem Piece B2: Fold over the raw end of B2 by 3/4 inch and iron flat. 

Fold again by 1" and iron flat.  Sew this hem down. 

Okay, now both B1 and B2 have a finished end. 

Ahhh.... where was I?

Oh, this is where my sewing skills, photography skills and "splaining" skills clash horribly, and although this part is still really easy, I might mess up the directions.  I will try to make it all make sense, but if I fail and you can't figure out what part to sew to who and when, email me and I'll do my best to unravel. 

Step #6 Make the Body of the Pillowcase:  We're going to make the tube part now, with both ends open, but the best part is the envelope closure on one side.  This allows you to slide the pillow into the case quite nicely from the middle.  This middle closure allows us to make lovely ruffles at each end. 

So, lay Piece A flat, right side up.  Layer Piece B1 with the deep hem on top of Piece A.  The hem part of B1 should be in the center (its a bit longer actually, but this is on purpose) with the raw edges of Piece A and Piece B1 matching.  Layer over the top of those two, Piece B2, with the raw edges matching at the other end of Piece A.  The picture below shows how B1 and B2 overlap by about 8 inches in the center.  This is your envelope closure. 

Step #7 Sew the Long Edges of the Tube:  When I sew the sides of the tube, I always back tack where the envelope closure overlaps, for extra strength, so you can take the pillow in and out of the case without tearing the closure. 

So here's what the finished tube looks like.  Both ends are open, but there's this nice envelope closure in the middle on one side.  The other side is solid and will be the top of our pillow. 

Now for the ruffles. 

Step #8 Cut the Ruffles:  I go back to the yard goods and cut two pieces about 12 inches long by the width of the fabric.  I'm going to fold these in half to make the ruffles. 

Turn each piece inside out and stitch each end.  Turn right side out, pull the points out so they're nice and square and iron flat.  You should have two pieces with finished ends that are twice as wide as your pillow and about 6 inches deep. 

As for the pleats, I confess....I don't measure, I just start pinning them in, fiddling with it all until it looks about right.   

But I kind of lay the pleated piece on top of one raw end of the tube and eyeball it so that the pleated piece will end up the width of the opening.  You know where I'm going with this, right?

Once I'm sure the pleated piece is about the size of the opening, I insert it between the top and bottom of the tube.  Sort of a pleat sandwich.  I'm going to stitch this together. 

Repeat for the other open end of the tube. 

Step #9 Turn work and Iron:  First, step back and admire the sheer beauty of your pleats.  Oh my, these are soooo pretty.  If you've followed along well and haven't stuffed your unfinished work in a bag and hidden it in the back of the closet, give yourself a big pat on the back. 

Step #10 Put Your Pillow in its New Case:  Push the pillow all the way in, then lift the bottom of the envelope closure and stuff the other end of the pillow in. 

See? I usually sew a big button on the closure to keep it nice and neat.  The overlap is generous, so the pillow won't slide out not matter what, but a nice button is a pretty finish.  I don't make a button hole, just sew the whole thing together.  Simple.  

My old bunny looks so sweet against the new bedding.  All pillowcases are handmade, the back pair out of linen, the next set out of the repurposed linen curtains.  Each set took under 60 minutes to make, and the ruffled cover about an hour also.  

What should we do next?

Eileen

Comments

[Diane]

I forgot to ask... Who designed your graphics for your blog? This is the most beautiful blog I have ever seen. The graphics match your personality as well. Just beautiful, simply beautiful!

[Diane]

WOW! I LOVE IT! The fabric is GORGEOUS! I love your blog. How's the horse? I didn't have time to reply to the pictures of the horse when you got him verses after caring for him for years. He is beautiful! I'll be back! Have a great Holiday weekend.

[mary]

Thank you for the how to- this is a lovely pillow and beautiful room!

blessings
mary

[Diane Knott]

Eileen, you've inspired me! I have one of those long "body" pillows tucked up 'way in the back, on the top shelf of my linen closet that I never use! It would be perfect covered and put on our bed. I just never even think of it since it's hidden away! I love all of the fabrics you used before and the new ones too.
Diane

[Dawn @ The Feathered Nest]

OMY!!! Between this pillow and the lampshades, I just want to SCREAM they are so beautiful Eileen....just beautiful ~ thank you for sharing such beauty and inspiration! xxoo, Dawn

[Angela (ImagineCozy)]

Beautifully done! I love to repurpose fabric. Especially for bed linens and pillows. I find that I use reuse curtains for pillows, dust ruffles,and quilts.

[Sharon A. Kyser]

Gorgeous! Your tips are so helpful & great instructions...tks...sharon

[Tami]

Love all the ruffles!!

Have a beautiful Memorial weekend!

Hugs~T

[ldh]

Beautiful pillow cases and terrific pictures and tutorial! Especially appreciated by us sewing challenged people.

[Deb]

Fabulous tutorial Eileen - thank you. Your pillow cases turned out fantastic- love the fabric!

[Shelia]

This is beautiful and thank you for the instructions! If I could ever get up from the puter's chair I may try this! :)
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

[Ramona Owen]

Wonderful...I looks wonderful on you bed! Thank you for sharing,

Smiles ~ Ramona

[Eileen T @ Star's Fault]

Hi Ladies ~ Karen is 100% right! Those pillowcases do wrinkle a bit after a night of sleep, but it just makes them look more delicious and snuggle-worthy.

Blessings ~ Eileen

[Kathi]

I'm lost with the directions but love your new pillow case! Thanks for the measurements and the how to for the ruffles!
I just might make some ruffles for my window valances. Love the pleated look!

[Karen B]

Boy, you were productive today! Your bolster turned out beautifully. Which of those beautiful pillow cases do you actually sleep on? I just know that pillowcases in my house don't look so good after one night of tossing and turning. Just curious.

[Mrs. Petrie]

Your bed looks gorgeous! Lovely AG fabric and the finished pillow looks great.