Pillowcase Pattern Tutorial

I was going to email my tutorial for this simple pillowcase to a friend, but since I just followed Tia's very cool tote tute, I thought I'd share with everyone. It's so quick and easy, but an awful lot of fun. You can change the look of your own room or guest room, or make a bunch and donate to a worthwhile charity to warm someone else's heart!

The tute is in two parts - first, how I was taught to make the pillowcase, then how I actually do them now that I threw the rules out the window. Let's get to it!

Pillowcase Pattern Tutorial

by KZK

Sibe Tested, Sibe Approved
Thank you, Zim

Fabric Requirements/Cutting:
     Body of pillowcase: cut fabric 25 x 40”
     Cuff of pillowcase: cut fab 11 x 40”

Step 1: Take the large piece of fab and lay it flat, right side up, in all its 25 x 40” glory. Take the cuff fab* and fold it in half LENGTH WISE, with the WRONG sides together. (So you have a longer, skinnier piece of fab, with the right sides showing.)

Step 2: Place the long cuff piece and place it along one of the 40” sides of the main fab, lining up the raw edges. Pin in place. Using a ¼” seam allowance, sew the cuff to the pillowcase body. Overcast the seam. (Meaning, do a zigzag stitch to prevent fraying.)

Step 3: Fold the pillowcase in half, right sides together. Pin along the “bottom” seam and the side seam. Sew along those two edges using a ¼” seam allowance. Overcast those seams, too. Turn right side out - you’re DONE!

That’s a simplified version of how I learned. I’ve changed how I make mine; here’s what I do!

Follow the directions above up to the * in Step 1. Take the hem fab. Put the SHORT sides together, RIGHT sides together, and sew that short 11” seam. Use a ¼” seam allowance. Set it aside.

Sew the body of the pillowcase as described in step 3 ... you just don’t have the cuff on it. Once you’ve done that, grab that cuff. It’s already a “tube”, basically, but now you want to fold that tube in half, WRONG sides together - instead of an 11” wide tube that circles around 39.5” (40” minus the two ¼” seams...), you want it to be 5.5” wide, forming that same circle. Make sense?

Now pin that around the unfinished top of the pillowcase, matching the side seams. Put right sides together, sew, using a ¼” seam allowance - and you’re done. What I like about this method is that the inside of the cuff looks more finished! And I don’t do any of that “overcast the seams” stuff.

Good luck!  Let me know if you give it a try!

Thanks for reading!