Happy New Year to all my Family & Friends! May the coming year be all that you want it to be!!
No New Year’s Resolutions, just lots of projects to do.
Happy Day After Christmas to all! We hope everyone had a great day yesterday, enjoying family, and friends – maybe a few presents & lots of good food!
Just a few notes on making a Travel Pillow Pillowcase. There are a lot of both written instructions and videos on the Internet that give the steps to making Pillowcases. I do make them for family & friends and hospitals. They whip up fairly quickly.
Here is a You-Tube Video. I do mine a bit different, but it is a good Tutorial.
See All People Quilt’s 1-Million Pillowcase Challenge for lots of different variations of Pillowcases.
I sometimes make matching Pillowcases for the Quilts I make as something to put the quilt in to give it or to store it. I will also make a case for a Travel-size Pillow – 12” x 16” – which is a nice size to have in the car when traveling.
So, here are my notes on making a Pillowcase for a smaller pillow.
Fabric:
1 piece of fabric for the Main Pillowcase Body – 15” x 25”*
1 piece of fabric for the Border – 8” x 25”*
Optional – 1 piece of contrasting fabric for the trim (between the Border and Main Body) – 2” x 25”* I usually use a solid or tone-on-tone for this piece.
*25” makes a tight fitting Pillowcase when used with a new Pillow Form. I like it tight especially since the pillow form, with use, becomes compressed. If you want it a bit looser, add 1” to 2” to each piece, making them 26 to 27” long.
Instructions:
If using the Optional Trim fabric, iron wrong-sides together longwise. You will now have a folded piece 1” x 25”
Layer your Fabric, aligning raw edges
1. Border Fabric Right Side Up
2. Body Fabric Right Side Up
3. Folded Trim Fabric (I usually add a few pins at this point to keep edges straight)
4. Roll the bottom edge of the Body Fabric almost up to the raw edges
5. 
Fold the Bottom edge of the Border Fabric up & over the rolled Body fabric, and align with the rest of the raw edges. The wrong side of the Border Fabric will now be on top.
Pin the Raw Edges together. You will have 5 layers of fabric (Border-Body-Folded Trim-Border).
Stitch a 1/4” Seam along the long Raw Edges. If you have a Walking Foot/Even Feed Foot, it would be useful to sew this seam to prevent the fabric from shifting.
Next, gently pull the rolled up Body Fabric out of the Tube, which will turn the Border right-side out.
Gently smooth out the Border Fabric and iron it flat on both the Right Side & Wrong Side of the Main Body Fabric, flattening the seam & creating a crease on the top edge.
NOTE; You will notice that there is not a raw-edge seam to ravel!
For the next step, I do a French Seam. This will create the Pillowcase with no exposed/raw seams – a very nice finish!
Fold the Pillowcase with the Wrong-Sides together – the Right-Side will be on the outside. 
At this point I usually check to make sure all edges are straight & square, and trim if necessary.
I start at the top of the Border, and stitch less than 1/4” seam down the side and across the bottom. Carefully trim the corners for a sharper turn.
Turn the Pillowcase inside-out, and carefully poke the corners out to a sharp point (I use a crochet hook or chop stick). Some people will skip this next step, but being the “Recovering Perfectionist” that I am, I will iron the seam flat, making sure it lays straight and even.
For the last step, again starting at the Top of the Border, stitch more than 1/4” (but less than 1/2”) seam down the side and across the bottom, backstitching/locking your stitches at the beginning and end. This will enclose the raw edge and you will have a beautiful finished seam!
Turn your Pillowcase Right-Side-Out. I then give it a good sharp pressing. (If making for Charity, I recommend washing the pillowcase, iron it once it is dry and store in a plastic quart-size storage bag.)
Add a pillow form which you can purchase at Joann’s Fabrics. Hancock Fabrics, Wal-Mart, Target & other places. I pick them up when on sale or if I have a coupon!
FYI – for making standard size pillowcases, follow the same steps, but use the following measurements –
It is not necessary to make adjustments for Directional Fabric UNLESS you want the pattern to be displayed vertical vs. horizontal.
Honestly it took way more time to take pictures and write this Blog Post than it did to make the two small Pillowcases. You can support ConKerr Cancer Pillowcases by making a few & donating them. See details at their website for information about their program & where you can donate in your local area!
Even Sewing requires a bit of “Housekeeping.” Depending on the fabric I’m using, this is something I do after completing a project – Clean the Fuzz from the Feed Dogs.
This is what was found under my needle plate, surrounding my Feed Dogs after piecing the Chevron 3-Yard Bundle Quilt Top. Before starting another 3-Yard Bundle, Half-Square Triangle Quilt Top, I thought I’d better do a bit of cleaning.
I used a disposable mascara wand (about $2-3 for a package of 12 at a Beauty Supply Store) to pull out all of the fabric/thread lint. Some people recommend using canned air (like used for computer or other electronics), but I feel that would push the lint farther into the guts of the sewing machine.
I changed the thread, (black, this time) and put in a new, full bobbin. I didn’t change the needle. I’ve read that it is recommended to change the needle after ‘every’ project, but what if your project was just a pillowcase or small bag? I usually aim to change my needle after 8-12 hours of stitching – that is active stitching on the machine, not including cutting & ironing time.
I straightened the table top and put pins & other tools back where they belong. Now I’m ready to sew some more.
On the agenda another 3-yard Bundle Quilt Top for Fabric Café – More Half-Square Triangle Blocks, but this will be another pattern. This is a very versatile block. Love the Combination of Black & Red!
I am multi-tasking my projects. I have a Charity Quilt that needs to be completed and turned in at Webfabrics in Purcellville, VA. I have the top pieced, so am working on piecing the backing, pinning the quilt ‘sandwich’ (top + batting + backing) and then quilting it
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Where has the year gone! Can you believe that Christmas is only three weeks (and a couple of days) from today? (No, we’ve not decorated yet, this picture is from last year.)
So much to do and so little time! I’m making my list and checking it off so I will try and get everything done in time.
In addition to a number of Christmas presents I need to finish, I have several other projects. First, I am Block Testing for Quiltmaker’s 100 Blocks, Vol. 7 which will be published in the Spring of 2013. Sorry, I cannot show you the blocks I’m testing until the issue is released, but I promise I will post them on my Blog when I can. I will also be making a quilt to show off a number of the blocks. More on that later.
Another project I’m working on is four Quilt Top Samples for Fabric Café. These are 3-yard Bundles and work up fast. I only have to piece the top and prepare the binding. I got one done today. All four patterns use the same HST Block (Half-Square Triangle) and single border, but they look so different. I’ll post pictures of the others as I go. The first one is the Chevron Pattern – Earthscape Kit.
Next, I will be working on a Charity Quilt for Webfabrics in Purcellville, VA. I picked up the strips for the Top at the store and pieced the top earlier. Tomorrow I will make the “Quilt Sandwich” (Top + Batting + Backing) and quilt it. After I add the binding, I need to make a trip to the store to turn it in.
Quilting For Good meets next Friday, and I hope to have 1 or 2 baby quilts finished before I go. Depending on the number we have, I don’t always get to stitch.
Also on my list are a couple more ‘big’ items and a number of smaller items, which (due to the Holidays) I can’t share yet. I will post pictures after Christmas.
This year Thanksgiving was early, which means we have 5 Sundays before Christmas. So the 1st Advent Sunday is this weekend. Maybe we can get some of the Decorations up. But I do have a Christmas Flower Blooming!
QuiltMouse 