Pocket Pillowcase Steps

There are many different ways to sew a pillowcase.

THIS PARTICULAR method is about making the most of a beautiful vintage flat sheet.

So, it's all about taking advantage of the already beautiful finished hem.

Or, you can do what LP did. Use the vintage sheet, make the pillowcases, and then add a decorative stitch.

With this method -- you rip the sheet into long pieces, then basically fold the piece and sew the two sides to create the pillowcase.

The finished pillowcase has a decorative hem on ONE side of the pillowcase...and a pocket on the back side of the pillowcase.

Here are the basic dimensions to yield a pillowcase 22" wide by 30" long: (customize to fit your own pillows)

24" wide by 66" long. (one end will be the decorative hem -- the other end will be the 6" pocket).

1.Sew a folded 1/2" hem at the plain end, then fold a 6" pocket to the inside.
2.Fold the fabric in half (wrong sides together), sew both sides.
3.Turn the pillowcase (so the right side is on the INSIDE) -- sew down both sides for a second time, enclosing the raw edges.
FINI. Turn again! PERFECT...right??

I did such a crappy job of explaining this to my TMBC -- most of them ripped it as many times as they sewed it. SORRY...

One of the problems is that a vintage white sheet doesn't have a discernible right or wrong side.

So -- at our next breakfast -- I used a printed stripe fabric to create some scaled down step-outs to actually SHOW THE STEPS...(and how to get that damn pocket folded correctly!)

Does this help??