How to make a cushion or pillow case.

Last week's blog was "How to make a quilted panel"  to be part of a steampunk fabric  cushion. Top stitching this panel on to an existing  pillow case could prove difficult. If I simply stitched directly onto the case it would be very easy to stitch through both layers of the pillow case. I also didn't have pillow case at hand which I thought would fit well with the room.  With this in mind I thought I would make my own pillow case. This way I could top stitch the panel onto one side of the case before making the whole case up.  Making a pillow case or cushion cover is pretty simple, the only tricky thing is the  envelope opening at one end. This envelope style is useful as it doesn't require buttons, Velcro or zips which can be uncomfortable when you lay against them.

You will need:

Two strips of fabric one 3cm longer than your pillow and 6 cm wider.The second piece has to be 15cm longer again.
Pins
Needle
Chalk

Step one
Cut out the two rectangles of fabric. About the width of your pillow with 6cm added to width of both rectangles and 3cm longer than your pillow on one piece and 15cm longer on the other (this extra length will form your envelope). Hem one of the short sides of each rectangle. A trained kitten to hold the fabric in place is useful here. An untrained kitten on the other hand makes things a lot harder.  Check here to see how to hem .

Step two
If you're adding a panel to your cushion or pillow case then now is the best time to top stitch it in place. Decide which side of the pillow or cushion case you want your panel to be on. If it's on the shorter piece then place the panel in the middle. If you want it on the longer side remember it does not go in the middle, but 15cm to the side of the middle to allow for the envelop opening of the pillow case.

At times it can be tempting to try and hurry through stages like this. However it is often quicker to take your time. In this case I positioned the panel in the middle of pillow case panel and pinned it in place before carefully top stitching the middle section to the pillow case.  This secures the panel to allow you to then smooth out the fabric and pin and sew the outer edge of the panel to the pillow case panel.
Top stitch the out edge to the pillowcase.



Step three.
Place both panel pieces right sides together, lining up the NON-HEMMED short sides. One piece (in this case my red piece) will be longer than the other.

Fold the extra length of fabric over the shorter piece. Now pin and stitch the two sections together, leaving a 1cm seam.  Sew lone edges together (at the ends you will be sewing through 3 layers of fabric). Sew the un-hemmed short edges together as well.

Pull the pillowcase right side out, and hey presto you have a pillow case.  Once you have the hang of making pillow and cushion cases you will find you can run one up very quickly. These projects are perfect for using up any old odds and ends of fabric you may have at home. So get creative !