[Enclosed] Pillowcase Tutorial

I am loving these pillowcases! I wake up with pillows encased and there isn't pretty end flap in my face trying to suffocate me.

Without further ado, a quick tutorial.

Materials:
1 - 20" x 27" rectangle for the front
2 - 18" x 20" rectangles for the back (you can use 2 different Fat Quarters, of cut down half a yard)

* I made 2 matching pillows from 3/4 yard fabric for the front, 1/2 yard grey, 1/2 yard colorful angles *
* You should prewash the fabric before cutting *

Make it:
1. On each of the 18" x 20" rectangles, mark 1" from one of the 20" sides on the wrong side. Fold the raw edge to the line, pressing as you go. Fold over 1 more time, this time on the line, pressing as you go. Stitch 1/8" from top folded edge.

2. Lay the 20" x 27" rectangle WRONG SIDE UP. Lay the bottom 18" x 20" rectangle WRONG SIDE DOWN on top aligning 3 raw edges with the finished folded edge in the middle. Lay the top 18" x 20" rectangle WRONG SIDE DOWN on top aligning 3 raw edges with the finished folded edge in the middle. It will overlap the other rectangle in the middle. Pin!

3. Sew around all 4 sides with a scant 1/4" seam allowance. Clip corners. Trim a scant 1/8" from around all sides to eliminate any fraying.

4. Turn wrong side out and press the seam flat. Sew around all sides with a 3/8" seam allowance. Backstitch a few times where the flaps overlap.

Make LOTS of them! These are really a plain pillow sham, so you could gussy them up with ruffles if you wanted something decorative.

* If you like the quilt that matches these the tutorial is here. And if you make some pillowcases I'd love to see them! *

Pillows

Moist bathing suit.

It's gross, right? You know what else is gross?

Loose sheets.

Is that just me? I hope not. While I'm not super picky about making the bed, I do like to make sure the pillowcases and fitted sheet are snug. Not like that hotel BS where they use a flat sheet on the bottom too.

The problem was that Josh's pillows are constantly coming out of their cases. He's not very gentle with his pillows. I've tried buttons, but those aren't the nicest to have against your face. So I finally decided to just make some pocket pillowcases.

These will be for the guest room at our new house!

These are super simple, but I'll have a quick tutorial on Thursday so that you don't have to figure out the cutting dimensions. :)

Feather Dress

As soon as I saw the Anna Maria Horner Parenthetical Feathers I KNEW I had to make a Maxi dress. The hard part was finding the right pattern. Should I just make up my own or use an existing one?

I ended up with the Burda Young 7232 view A from JoAnn. I had to make a few alterations to get it to be what I wanted.

 

Modifications

1. Added length to make the skirt maxi length. I copied the waist band from the pattern and the bottom hem, but I cut the skirt piece to allow for the 40" length I needed.

2. I didn't like the square arm hole, so I drafted a muslin to round that part out

My awesome photographer. Here you can see the armhole modification that I made.

3. I lined the skirt (the lining goes to my knees) because I thought the fabric needed it and because I thought the bias tape was dumb.

4. Because of the skirt lining, I also had to install the invisible zipper a little differently. I learned this technique from AMH's Evening Empire pattern. 

Thoughts on the pattern:
1. I didn't like that there weren't finished measurements given, or ease measurement. I measured myself to be a 12, but had to trim 1.5" off the skirt so I should have just made a 8. The bust is a bit large too. Next time I would trust me gut and make the smallest size (I'm a standard size 2).

2. While I like that the pattern is fairly simple, I don't think the directions are detailed enough for a novice. I would say that this pattern is for someone who is familiar with garment assembly.

3. The dress looks much nicer on my mannequin that has an hour glass figure. Of course! I think next time I would add a few pleats to the skirt to make my hips larger and give my waist more definition. I'll have to wear this dress with a belt. 

I think the fabric is heavenly. Super easy to work with and doesn't have the wrinkling problem of linen. These pictures were taken after sitting at brunch for 2 hours. Not crazy wrinkled! And look how it blows in the wind!

Chevron Quilt

Back in January I had my photographer friend Liz take a few headshot for me. In exchange I told her that I would make her a quilt. I sent some inspiration quilts over to her to get a sense of what she wanted and she LOVED this one.

It took me a while to get around to making the quilt (sorry Liz!) but she was super happy with how it turned out.

I am too! It's big, 64" x 72". I'm hoping that Liz will get some great photos with it. ;)

The Stash Bash

Chris put together this awesome little event a couple weeks ago called Stash Bash. It was just south of Atlanta  so a no brainer that I had to go. The location was gorgeous!


And as happens at these events, there was lots of sewing...

Pouch I made for the swap

Swap with Safieh. She made the pouch and I made the tote!

Finally cut into my Modern Meadow!!

fabric....



and shenanigans...


Even if it's informal, I really urge you to just take a weekend and dedicate it to sewing with friends - old and new. The pictures may not be the best (ahem, camera phone), but it's not about the pictures, right? And if you do want something a little more structured, why not come to Sewing Summit in September??

SS13

I have a recap of Stash Bash for you, some sewing projects, and a fun new feature to announce, but right now I just have time to pop in and say...

SEWING SUMMIT TICKETS GO ON SALE TODAY at 10 am MST!!!

I'll be running around like a mad woman again this year, but I hope to see you there!

TV on the Radio Quilt Tutorial

I'm not a curve sewer. Last time I sewed curves (into clamshells, tutorial here) I did it by cutting all the pieces with templates. This time I'm going to show you how it's done with freezer paper. There is a bit more waste (discarded freezer paper), but I also couldn't figure out how to get the curves perfectly aligned without it.

This pattern is perfect for beginners. Perfect for Layer Cakes (or large squares cut from generous FE bundles). Also perfect for showing off large prints. And you can scale these blocks up or down. You just want to make sure that the diameter of your circle template is smaller than your blocks.