Friday, February 11, 2011

One Hour Friday

Last week I joked about doing a 15 minute pillowcase for One Hour Friday, and though I was joking, I actually had a request to do just that, so Brenda, this one's for you!

When I make them for my boys, I just do a simple rectangle, zip around the sides, hem the edge and call it done. 15 minutes tops. But I thought you were all deserving of a little more. Something a little fancier for sure.

I have a pile of vintage sheets from the thrift store, so I grabbed one of them and decided to make a matching pair.
If you are using regular fabric, you will need one yard of your main fabric, and a two inch strip of a contrasting solid.

For one pillowcase, cut one piece of fabric, 36 x 40 inches. For the strip of contrasting solid fabric, cut one strip 2 x 40 inches.

You then need to take your 36 x 40 inch piece and cut 12 inches off the 36 inch length. You now have two pieces - a 24 x 40 inch piece, and a 12 x 40 inch piece.
Your contrasting solid strip will eventually be placed between these two pieces.Take what is now your 24 x 40 inch strip and fold it in half so it is now 24 x 20 inches. Sew along two sides, leaving one end open.Take your 2 inch solid strip, fold it in half length wise so it is double thickness and 1 inch wide, and iron. You now need to sew it to the 40 inch side of your 12 x 40 inch piece.
Make sure you use a very narrow seam - about 1/8".
This is so you won't see the stitches when it is sewn to the main fabric later.

Now fold it in half width wise and sew the two short ends together.
You now have a ring which you have to fold in half so that you have a double thickness of fabric and it is 6 inches wide as such...
place the 6 inch wide ring over the top of the main pillowcase piece, right sides together, with the solid strip facing inwards, touching the main piece of pillowcase fabric.Sew all the layers together, all the way around the 'ring', turn right way out, iron, and you are done! Don't you love the contrasting solid? It makes it all fancy, especially since it is dimensional!

Making it this way with the double thickness of the end piece, ensures that you don't have any visible seams sticking out anywhere. They are all nicely hidden inside and it just feels nicer.

I made 2 in 1.5 hours, but that included stopping to take photos. I bet you could make one in a half hour from beginning to end. Have fun!

2 comments:

Jan Marie said...

that looks like it would be a fun project to do with the bigger little kidos. Thanks

Quilting Corner said...

I happen to have these sheets and yes they are old. I use them all the time. I had fun watching what you are doing with them.