Completed project 2: Toddler/travel pillowcase

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I made my son a pillowcase several months ago with some random Elmo/safari fabric I had. I know I took pictures, but I don’t think I ever did anything with them. So last weekend, I pulled out some fabric and went crazy.

diypillowcase

First things first. I have to admit that I am a fabric hoarder. I’m getting better. I haven’t purchased fabric in quite some time, and I’m actually getting rid of stuff I’m no longer in love with. That said, the blue minky fabric I had in my stash was one of my favorites – but I HATED sewing with it.

diypillowcase3

My toddler has a travel pillow as his pillow. We’ll move to a standard pillow one day, but this works best for him right now. (And he really still doesn’t always use a pillow, but he started pulling one off a bed when we were vacationing in September, so I got him one of his own.)

So here’s the thing with the travel pillow case. I needed the fabric to be folded in half and measure 14.5″ x 21.5″ And then I’d only need to sew two of the sides together. One side needed to be sewn for the hem (the opening of the pillowcase) and I could fold the piece right sides together, sew down the sides and be done.

I have an issue with buying fabric remnants, so I wasn’t in control over the initial size of my fabric. The minky had to be trimmed down the top edges (and a little on the sides).

The flannel was folded with the bottom/top and one side open. I hemmed the top (opening) straight across. I folded it over a half inch and again a half inch for a cleaner hem. Then I folded it over (right sides together) and sewed along the bottom and open side. I cut the bottom corners, for easier turning, and trimmed any excess fabric. Flipped it outside-in, and it was perfect!

diypillowcase2

Hopefully these photos will help if you decide to try something like this yourself. It really was easy and it took less than an hour for me to pull together two pillowcases!

This was project two of my 12 projects for the year. My first project was the no-sew fleece blanket.

Have you ever tried making your own pillowcases? For yourself or your child? I have several other fabrics that will more than likely be turned into pillowcases in the very near future! It might be worth having a spare silk pillowcase just in case the project doesn’t go the way you planned.

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25 Comments

  1. Pillowcases are a great beginner sewing project. They’re easy, and take pretty much no time at all. My mom used to let me sew with her as a toddler, so it could be a great way to introduce your little one to sewing as well.

  2. I have never sewn anything other than a button back on a jacket and a sweatshirt I made in home-ec class in high school. I’m always so impressed with people who can whip up things like a pillow case. These instructions look pretty straight-forward though, so maybe I’ll try one day. Pinned for later!

  3. No sew? Sounds like an easy enough project to try. I always take a pillow with me when I travel and this would make for a better pillow case than the ones I usually use. I usually take one from home and alays worry about breaking up the set.

  4. I stink at sewing! I know enough to be dangerous, haha! Pillowcases would be an easy project to practice and start with though, if I could make myself just START the project! Thanks for the tutorial. It really does seem easy enough.

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