Simple Homemade Pillowcases
In the Sparkle Sleepytime story, “Malcolm the Chipmunk,” Malcolm the chipmunk loves to snuggle. He loves it more than anything else. His parents, however, can't snuggle all the time. So Malcolm finds other clever ways to burrow up so that he can feel the hugs and squeezes he loves so much.
I have not conducted scientific studies on this, but I think most of the world can fairly be divided into burrowers and cover-kickers. In our house, we're evenly faced off. On the coldest, darkest night of winter, my daughter and husband will kick off even the lightest blanket. On the hottest, steamiest summer day, my son and I will still burrow under heavy comforters to take an afternoon nap.
But no matter which camp you fall into, everybody enjoys a fresh, cool pillowcase.
This week's craft is a super simple pillowcase. If you have an older child learning to sew, this would be a great starter project. For younger kids, you'll probably have to make it for them, but my kids really loved going to the fabric store and getting to choose their own patterns and prints.
If you like to be frugal in buying fabric, our standard size pillows used exactly 2/3 of a yard of the main fabric to complete this project. If your pillows are bigger or you don't want to live dangerously, just get a yard. That will give you more than enough to trim your pillowcase to the exact size you need, and the extra scraps are fun for making little doll quilts or ribbons for wrapping presents.
Whether your kiddos are Team Cover-Kicker or Team Burrow, a special pillowcase is a sweet way to send them off to camp or summer sleepovers with a little extra love.
Simple Homemade Pillow Cases
Materials
2/3 to 1 yard main fabric
12 inches contrasting fabric
Thread
Ruler
Rotary cutter and/or scissors
Sewing machine
Pins
Pillowcase that already fits your pillow
Directions
[Note: I was making two different pillowcases as I was doing this tutorial. Where you see either the fabric with paw prints or the pink fabric with gold dots, it's the contrasting fabric. Where you see either the dinosaur fabric or the floral “Alice in Wonderland” fabric, it's the main fabric. Additionally, all seam allowances are ½ inch, and you should backstitch at the start and end of every line of sewing.]
Then, fold the contrasting fabric in half horizontally, and press the fold. Keeping the fabric folded, sew a line through both layers about ½ inch from the edge of the fold you just made.
You should now have something that's starting to look like a pillowcase.
--- If you liked this tutorial, here are others you might like:
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About the Author
Meryl Carver-Allmond
The Sparkle Kitchen Series is created by Meryl Carver-Allmond.
Meryl lives in a hundred-year-old house near the prairie with her sweet husband, two preschoolers, one puppy, one gecko, and about ten chickens. While she's been writing since she could pick up a pen, in recent years she's discovered the joy of photography, too. She feels lucky to be able to combine those skills, along with a third passion — showing people that cooking for themselves can be healthy and fun — in her Sparkle Kitchen posts.
