Hobbies And Interests
Things You'll Need
Instructions
Cut one 17-by-17-inch panel from cotton fabric. It will be the pillowcase's front panel. Cut an additional panel that is 17 by 23 inches from the cotton fabric. Fold the bigger panel in half along its shorter side. Cut on the fold, and the result is two back panels, each 17 by 11 1/2 inches.
Pin the panels together so that the two back panels overlap each other and fit along the edges of the front panel. Attach them so that the pillowcase's "right side" is visible and its "wrong side" panels face each other.
Sew a straight stitch along the sides of the pillowcase with a sewing machine. The area from the edge of the fabric to the stitching line -- the seam allowance -- should be 1/4 inch. The first seam must be smaller than the second seam, which you will sew later, so that the second seam encases, instead of overlaps, the first seam.
Trim the fabric using scissors until you achieve a 1/8th-inch width from the stitch line to the raw edge of the fabric. Then open the panels so that the seam is visible on top and at the middle of the pillowcase. Press the seam open and flat with a hot clothes iron. Iron the pillowcase.
Fold the panels inside out in order to hide the first seam. Place the right sides together, facing each other. Stitch along the folded edge 1/2 inch from the edge. The goal is to encase the first seam; it will not be visible when you are done.
Open the panels inside out to reveal the fabric's right side. You should be able to see a stitch line running across the fabric's length. Iron over the edge of the second seam by holding the panels together tightly.