Want to make your own? Based on the amount of mail I got about the Sweet Dreams Little One pillow, I thought it best to give you the basics on how to D.I.Y. It's simple. Very basic patchwork + an embroidered panel = one sweet pillowcase, or pillow sham (whatever you like to call it) for a standard sleeping pillow.
The patchwork is easy peasy. The bottom portion is made up of 28 - 4 1/2" squares. With a 1/4" seam, that'll leave you with 4" finished squares. Four rows of 7 squares across.
{click on pic to see it larger}
Attach lace if you'd like and then add a 4 1/2" panel across the top of your finished patchwork. Next, trace the embroidery patterns onto the top panel.
You'll need to purchase the Sleepy Time Animal Pals embroidery pattern PDF from my shop, unless, of course, you already have. It costs a mere $3, so I promise it won't break ya. (And please note that the pattern is intended for a smaller doll quilt, so for this pillow sham you'll need to trace or print out the pattern at 115%) Next, click here to download my new free PDF pattern, "Sweet Dreams Little One" ~ which includes the text along with the tiny stars, moon and big sleepy star. It looks like this:
After tracing on the patterns, lay the pillow-top on a piece of cotton batting, or whatever batting you prefer and pin in place. Put on a good movie and stitch away! I use three strands of floss and do a running stitch on everything except for the text... for that, a simple backstitch.
Next, add the backing, so you now have a quilt sandwich ~ backing, batting, and pillow "quilt" top. I hand quilted mine, but you could just as easily run it through your sewing machine in minutes. Yay!
For the pillow back, I use an envelope closure with an overlap of about 3". So, if the pillow is 28" inches wide: I have one piece of finished backing at 23" wide and another piece that is 8" wide. Like this:
Fancy pic... I know ;) Sew these two overlapping pillow back pieces onto the back of your quilt sandwich. Lastly, bind the pillow like a quilt. Again, I stitched mine on by hand, but it would be just as wonderful and a whole lot quicker if you sewed it on by machine. And now you're done!
Obviously, this is just a guide on how to make the pillowcase for those of you with basic sewing skills, but if you are totally new to sewing there are unlimited resources on the web... just a short "google" away... and a thousand different tutorials on anything you'd like to know... like "how to bind a quilt" or "how to transfer an embroidery pattern" or "how to sew an envelope closure pillow"... etc. And, of course, I'm here to help.
I've been sewing more hexagons lately. Shocking, right? It was fun trying out my new 3/4" hexagon papers. I've almost always worked with 1 1/4" hexagons so it was fun to make these tiny hexies and boy, do they sew up fast. Now, of course, I want to try the 1/2" hexagon papers ~ find them all at Kerri's shop.
I wish you all a great weekend, everyone! If yours is anything like mine, it'll be slow... and easy... and restful. :)
1. Pink with a dash of Lime!, 2. Pincushions, 3. Untitled, 4. Art wall, 5. Impossible?, 6. Feb. Issue of Martha Stewart, photos by Jen Causey, 7. Cotton Time Sept 2010, 8. Cotton Time no.77 - Book Vol. 1, 9. Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies with Fleur de Sel (Gluten-Free), 10. Quilted Vest, 11. 1hour skirt II, 12. Loulouthi Swoon so far..., 13. Molly and ABC
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xo amy