Fancy Pillowcase Tutorial:

Picky Version
Here’s what you’ll need:
⅞ yard main fabric
⅓ yard hem fabric
¼ yard accent fabric
Matching thread
Iron
Rotary Cutter
Cutting Mat
Rulers
Chocolate

Wash, dry and press all

fabrics. {Yes, really. But
eat the chocolate
while the fabric is in the
spin cycle. It makes the
waiting much more
pleasant. [And if you
like to get really picky
like me, may I
recommend you serge
the raw edges of your fabrics before washing.] Washing and drying shrinks the fabric before you make it into
something beautiful. If it shrinks after it is made into something beautiful, sometimes it isn't so beautiful anymore.
Pressing helps with a nicer finished project.}

Square up your fabrics. Sometimes the manufacturing process pulls fabric off-grain as it is rolled onto the bolts.
Washing, drying and pressing helps to pull your fabric to the straight-of-grain {I usually starch too, but we want
the pillowcase to be soft and ready-to-use, so I'd suggest skipping that step for this particular project}. After you
have pressed the fabric fold in half lengthwise bringing the selvage edges together {like it was on the bolt}. If
the fabric puckers at the fold in the center, it means that the fabric was not cut on-grain. Slide the selvages
opposite of each other, but keep them parallel with each other until the pucker at the center fold disappears
and the fabric hangs straight. If the fabric was cut off-grain, the raw edges will not line up with each other
anymore and one layer of fabric will be longer than the other both ends. Cut perpendicular to the fold and
selvage edges, and this will put the fabric back on grain.

Cut the main fabric to 27½" x width of fabric

Cut the hem fabric to 10½" x width of fabric
Cut the accent fabric to 3½" x width of fabric
{Yes, really. I had you buy extra fabric just for the purposes of shrinkage and squaring up. This means a nicer
pillowcase when you're all finished.}

Such A Sew and Sew

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 • Place the fabrics on top of each other with the folded
edges even. Cut away the selvage of all three fabrics
{about ½" in from the outside edge} at the width of the
narrowest fabric. {No, you don't have to measure. Just
make sure your folded edges are lined up. Really. I know, I
said I was picky, but I'm only picky about the
really important things.}

• With right sides together and using a

¼” seam, sew across the width of the
fabric along the top edge of the
pillowcase. Start at the raw edge and
sew to the fold. Sew down the length
of the fabric along the raw edges from
the top to the bottom. Sew two
separate, intersecting seams. This helps
to make a nicer corner when the
pillowcase is turned.

Such A Sew and Sew

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• Finish the raw edges of the inside of the pillowcase. You can either serge {recommended} or zig-zag stitch
around the edges.

• With right sides together and using a ¼” seam, sew the length {the edges that used to be selvage} of the hem
fabric together to form a circle that is 10½" tall. Repeat with the accent fabric, finishing with a circle that is 3½"
tall. You will have two separate pieces of fabric. In the picture, it kinda looks like they are somehow sewn
together. Press the seams open.

Such A Sew and Sew

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• Turn the pillowcase right-side out, Press the seams flat. Fold the hem fabric in half along the width of the
fabric, bringing the raw edges together so that you have a tube of fabric that is 5¼" tall. Repeat for the accent
fabric, finishing with a tube that is 1¾" tall. Place the hem fabric tube inside of the accent fabric tube, matching
the seams. Mark into quarters with pins. Mark the bottom edge of the pillowcase in quarters. Matching the side
seam of the pillowcase with the seam in the hem and accent fabrics, pin the right side of the pillowcase with
the accent in between the hem fabric and the pillowcase using the quarter-mark pins to line the pieces up
evenly. Sew the accent and hem to the bottom of the pillowcase using a ¼" seam.

• Finish the raw edge where you attached the hem and accent to the pillowcase by serging or zig-zag stitch.

Such A Sew and Sew

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• Turn the hem down to reveal your Fancy Pillowcase. Press the finished pillowcase {yes, really. Don't you see
where it was folded, and wouldn't it have looked much nicer in the picture if it were pressed flat?}.

The finished pillowcase should be 32" long, which is plenty long enough for a standard size pillow.

If you follow these instructions and they don't make sense or you end up at a dead end, tech support is
available 24-hours*. Send me an e-mail and help will be only a moment away.

*Tech support is available 24-hours a day inasmuch as you can e-mail me pretty much whenever you want.
3:00 am? No problem. Type away. I'll get back to you when I get up around noon.

Such A Sew and Sew

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