Published on Sew4Home

Visions of Sugarplums Christmas Pillowcases

Editor: Liz Johnson
Friday, 27 November 2009 9:00

Do you have family and friends staying at your home for the holidays? Yes! Do you have time and money to make all new
holiday bed linens for your guest room? No! Then just change up the pillowcases. It's a super fast, easy and inexpensive way
to add a little holiday cheer. Our instructions show you how to make two standard size pillowcases (for standard 20" x 26"
pillows) using just 1 yards of main fabric and yard of contrasting trim fabric.
If you have larger or smaller pillows you'd like to make cases for, simply adjust our measurements to accommodate your pillow
size. For example, king pillows are normally 20" x 36" so the width remains the same but you need an additional 10" in
finished length (20" in cut length). This means rather than cutting the fabric for the body of the pillowcase 21" x 53", you should
cut it 21" x 73". However, two yards of fabric equals 72". This is where the 'fudge factor' comes in. Can you 'fudge' a little to
save some money? I'd say, 'yes.'You can totally get away with this slightly shorter length to avoid buying more than a standard
two yard cut. Your trim piece won't extend quite as far over the edge of the pillow, but will still cover it nicely.

Sewing Tools You Need

Any Sewing Machine (we recommend the Janome MyStyle 100)

Fabric and Other Supplies

1

Fabric amounts shown are for TWO pillowcases.

Fabric for body of pillowcase: 1 yards of 45" wide fabric, we used: Mary Engelbreit's The Caroler in Snowflake Winter
Garden
Fabric for pillowcase trim: yard of 45" wide fabric, we used: Mary Engelbreit's The Caroler in Gold Stocking Stripe
NOTE: We made a second set of pillowcases using Mary Engelbreit's The Caroler in Pine Needle Garden for the body
of the pillowcase and The Caroler in Gold Stocking Stripe for the trim.
2 standard 20" x 26" bed pillows
All purpose thread
Contrasting color thread for topstitching
See-through ruler
Fabric pencil
Iron and ironing board
Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
Straight pins

Getting Started
1. From the fabric for the body of the pillowcase, cut two rectangles, 21" x 53".
2. From the fabric for the pillowcase trim, cut two rectangles, 9" x 41".

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Pillowcase body
1. Fold one pillowcase body rectangle in half, right sides together, so it is now: 21" x 26".

2. Pin the two 26" sides together. Stitch both sides, using a " seam allowance.

3. Clip corners and turn pillowcase right side out. Push out the trimmed corners from the inside to make nice, square
corners on the outside. Use your finger or a blunt edge tool, like a large knitting needle. Press.

4. Repeat for second pillowcase body.

Pillowcase trim
1. Press a double-fold hem along one raw edge of the pillowcase trim piece. Turn up the edge " and press, then turn up
another 4" and press again

2. Unfold the pressed hem. Your fold lines will remain.

3. Fold the 9" x 41" trim piece in half, right sides together, so it is now: 9" x 20".
4. Using a " seam allowance, stitch the along the 9" raw edge. Press seam open.

5. You now have a 9" x 40" circle of trim.

6. Repeat for second pillowcase trim piece.

Finish pillowcase
1. Slip your trim circle" over the open bottom end of your pillowcase body, right sides together, matching raw edges and
aligning the trim's seam with one of the pillowcase body's side seams. You are matching the raw edge of the pillowcase
opening with the non-folded" raw edge of your trim piece. Pin all around.

2. Using a " seam, stitch all around the pillowcase opening. Press the seam towards the trim.
3. Re-fold' the raw edge of your trim, following the pre-pressed trim lines. Fold " and then 4".
4. Bring the folded edge of the trim around to the inside of the pillowcase. The folded edge of the trim should just overlap the
inside pillowcase/trim seam. Pin in place from the front.

5. As you look at your pillowcase from the front, you should have 4" of trim showing from seam to folded edge.
6. Topstitch " in from the seam to secure trim. We used a contrasting color thread for a decorative touch. Press.
7. Repeat to finish second pillowcase.

Contributors
Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Aimee McGaffey

Tags:
Pillowcase

Bed Linens

Visions of Sugarplums Christmas Pillowcase for Kids

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