by Carrie Schutrick

Created on: December 16, 2008

Pillowcases, being both easy and practical, are a great project for a beginner. They don't take up much fabric, either, so if you decide you're not interested in the project after all you won't be out much money.

First you'll need to decide what kind of fabric you want to use. White linen is traditional, but these days cotton is much easier to find and colors other than white are popular. For winter pillowcases, you might consider cotton flannel. In any case, try to stick to natural fibers; synthetics tend to not breathe as well, and no one wants their bed to get damp with sweat in the middle of the night.

How much fabric you need depends almost entirely on how big your pillows are. You'll need enough to wrap around the pillow, with an extra several inches for seam allowance and to make it easy to get the case on and off. About three quarters of a yard, in 45 inch wide fabric, is a good rule of thumb. Be sure to pick up matching thread and any embellishments you want while you're at the store.

To make the pillowcase, you're essentially making a bag. Your pattern pieces will be either one piece of fabric that can be folded to cover the surface of the pillow, or two pieces, each of which can cover one side. Either way the pieces should be large enough that they'll have about four inches (10 cm) of spare fabric when wrapped around the pillow, not including seam allowance, and be about 8 inches (20 cm) longer. (Remember to wash the fabric before cutting so as to get any shrinking out of the way.)

Place the pieces right sides together, or, if you're using one big piece, fold it so that its right sides are together; in either case, all the sides should line up. Sew seams so that both long sides and one short side are closed, but leave one short side open so the pillow can be inserted. Then fold the extra length at the open end in half back on itself to the wrong side, press, and sew it down, folding a hem to hide the raw edge. At this point, if you wanted a plain pillowcase you're done; just turn it right side out and put it on the pillow.

If you want to add embellishments such as lace or embroidery, there are a few changes you can make to this basic pattern. For one thing, you might want to add embroidery before the pillowcase is sewn together, so as to make it easy to hide the ends of the thread. If you're using an edge treatment of some sort, you can leave out the extra length and use the treatment to hide the raw edge of the pillowcase instead of folding it in. Regardless, remember that pillowcases are right up against the sleeper's face and head; be sure not to pick anything too textured, or at least confine bumpy decorations to the extra fabric that doesn't cover the sleeping surface of the pillow.

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