Pillowcase Pattern

See photographs of some results from this pattern in the gallery.

Copyright/Licenses

This is just a set of instructions, so you don't need a license to use them. Go make pillowcases!

The Pattern

This is probably so simple as to require no instructions other than looking at an existing pillowcase, which is what I did, but just in case... here.

My mother-in-law has a down pillow that is too thick to fit in her pillowcases. I looked around on the web, and a queen pillowcase is most commonly listed as 20x34", but I measured my own and they're barely 19" so I'm going to bet that's shrinkage (yay 100% cotton). She was using one of the Christmas-wrapping bags I made, this one out of a full width of fabric (42-44", in this case) and accidentally the right length, so I'm going to go with the full width of my two fabrics, both preshrunk.

My sample pillowcase is 34" long, of which 3" is the... uh... end piece thingy. (Sorry... I am not a couture person. I am even less a linens person.) I'm going to call it the "cuff" and maybe someone will correct me in the comments. Therefore, one piece 32" long, 41"-or-the-width wide, allowing for 1/2" seam allowances. Another piece 7" long, 41" wide. And, if you'd like, a welting or piping piece, 41" long. You can adjust this for a wider cuff, but remember to add two inches to the cuff piece for every inch you take off the case piece. In hindsight, I might recommend a wider cuff, especially if it's a contrast piece.

There are two ways of assembling the pillow. One ends with no exposed seam in the "cuff," which is a little nicer, and one ends with an exposed seam, which is a little easier. My store-bought pillowcases are the latter method, but I did the nicer one chiefly because I'm too lazy to lug the serger up from the basement. (Between the narrow cuff and the shortcut technique, you can probably guess that my sample pillowcase wasn't high-dollar.)

Method 1: Match and pin the cuff and case RST along one 41" edge. Sandwich the welting, if you're using it, raw edge toward the seam. Sew a 1/2" seam, then press seam allowance toward the cuff. Press 1/2" down on the opposite raw edge of the cuff. Fold the cuff down, WRONG sides together, so that the folded edges match on opposite sides of the case and pin carefully. Topstitch on the cuff 1/8" from the folds. Fold the whole assembly in half RST (well, the cuff *has* no right/wrong side now, but you know what I mean) and sew a 1/2" seam around the remaining two edges. If using a standard sewing machine, trim a scant 1/4" seam allowance and zigzag-stitch the edges.

Method 2: Fold the case in half RST and sew the two edges. Fold the cuff strip in half RST and sew the two short edges together. Press all seam allowances open and turn the case (only) rightside out. Put the cuff around the end of the case and match and pin raw edges RST, sandwiching the welting as above and matching the side seams. Sew a 1/2" seam, the press the seam allowance toward the cuff. Press 1/2" down on the opposite raw edge of the cuff. Fold the cuff down, WRONG sides together, so that the folded edges match on opposite sides of the case and pin carefully. Topstitch on the cuff 1/8" from the folds.

So now my mother-in-law can put up the Christmas-fabric pillowcase, and use something a little more all-season. This fabric was 100%-cotton stuff I'd bought Back When to make scrubs, but that I then decided was a little too see-through for scrub tops, and she was too warm-blooded for a scrub jacket, so it's been parked in the stash ever since.

If you're making your own, you can use poly-cotton too... one thing I do know about linens is that poly-cotton is often used because it isn't as wrinkle-prone. Remember that the fabric on the bolt has sizing in it, and its hand (the way it feels and drapes) will change after washing - one advantage of using prewashed fabric from the stash was that I knew what it would feel like. The disadvantage, as you may be able to see in the gallery, was that it's been on the bottom of the stash getting wrinkled forever. Yes, I really did iron them a jillion times while making them, not that you can tell...