Crochet Edge Pillowcase Tutorial Part 1

I cannot afford a housekeeper. Man, I wish I could. There aren’t enough hours in the day to do everything I want to do and clean the house on top of it. So I’ve come up with a simple, elegant solution: I stopped cleaning the house! Yes, you could get a great homemaking tip from Sara on this blog, but you won’t hear one from me because I just decided to give up on it entirely.

Lovely crocheted pillowcases.

As a result of this decision, I have time to make things like these lovely crocheted pillowcases. Details are what make home crafted goods special, don’t you think? Details like you find in these pillowcases can’t be found “off the shelf.” It’s why I bother to do the things I do. The uniqueness. The quality. Plus, they’re just darn pretty which distracts people so they don’t notice how bad my housekeeping is.

I’ve come across some photos of pillowcases like these in my “pinning” adventures (check out my pinterest boards here). It inspired me to make some of my own. Since everyone has their own way of doing these things. I thought I’d share mine.

In this shot, you can see that the interior cuff is a contrasting fabric just to up the cuteness.

This tutorial is going to come in two parts: making the pillowcases (today) and crocheting the edge (tomorrow).

My pillowcases are not as fancy as some out there. It’s just a plain old pillowcase like you could get a Target with a pretty, contrasting interior cuff. If you want to make a pillowcase with an interior pocket for hiding the the pillow, check out You Go Girl’s great tutorial here.

To make two generously sized pillowcases, you’ll need:

• 1-3/4 yards of your main fabric
• 1/3 yard of your lining fabric
• Matching Thread

True up the ends of your fabric so they are straight. Cut the main and lining fabric to an even width if necessary (width meaning so they measure the same from selvedge edge to selvedge edge).

Cut both pieces of fabric (main and lining) in half from selvage to selvage (i.e., lengthwise). The larger pieces will measure approximately 30 inches by WOF (width of fabric); the small pieces will measure approximately 6 inches by WOF. (I say “approximately” because it will depend on how generously your fabric shop cuts its fabric and how much you have to lop off to true up the edges; as long as my pillowcases match each other, I don’t really care if they come out exactly to a specified size).

Match up main and lining fabrics and sew seam from one selvedge to the other.

With right sides together, sew lining pieces to main fabric pieces. You are sewing the entire WOF. Press seam allowance toward the lining piece. Do not fold the lining piece under just yet.

Fold the fabric so the selvage edges meet, with right sides together. Starting on the long edge of the pillowcase, sew the long seam, turn at the corner, then sew the short edge of the pillowcase. The edge with the lining piece should be left open. It’s nice to finish these seams with a serger, a zigzag stitch, or do a French seam if you want to be super-duper fancy-pants.

Fold so selvedge edges meet.  Sew on sides that are marked.  Note:  if you are not using a serger, cut the selvedges off before you sew.

Last step! Fold the lining piece so wrong sides are together.  Turn the raw edge under 1/4 inch to finish the edge.  Pin in place (trust me, you want to take a second to pin at this point or your seam will go all wonky on you). Edge stitch the lining into place. Turn and press. Done!

Fold edge under 1/4 inch to finish the edge.

Edge stitch  cuff in place.

This is a very simple pillowcase. It’s a little on the large size so if you don't like that, make it a bit smaller by cutting off some of the length and/or width. I tend to buy plump, fluffy pillows so I like my pillowcases a little on the large side.

Check back tomorrow and we’ll chat a bit about how I crochet the edging. There still won’t be any talk about housework as I still won’t be doing any!

See Part 2 here.