by MaryCatherine McCoy
Embroidered pillowcases are a great way to enjoy your hobby and make personalized gifts. The “Magic Pillowcase ” can be stitched in about 30 minutes, so it’s a quick and easy present. Depending upon your choice of embroidery designs, it only takes a few more minutes to make a one-of-a-kind pillowcase – and the back of the embroidery is completely hidden. That’s the magic!
Supplies for a standard size bed pillow:
- ¾ yard of main fabric (for the body of the pillowcase), approximately
- ¼ yard of accent fabric (for the hem of the pillowcase), approximately
- Sewing thread for the construction
- Embroidery thread for the design
- Stabilizer
- Embroidery machine
- Sewing machine (or serger)
Step 1
Select a design with an appropriate stabilizer.
Mark your preferred placement, hoop, and then embroider.
By embroidering before sewing construction, the embroidery’s back will not show.
In the example, we used the Clown design of the Baby Bibs Things collection from Designs By SiCK.
You can view the entire collection here:
http://www.designsbysick.com/details/babybibsthings
For this pillowcase, we centered this design horizontally about halfway between the cut edge and the fold, and vertically about 11” from the selvage, as shown.
Step 2
Place the accent fabric on your worktable with the right side UP and the embroidery near the top edge.
Then, place the main fabric with the right side DOWN, aligning the cut edges, as shown.
(Note: Main fabric is turned back in photo for illustration purposes only.)
Pin together, temporarily, if desired.
Step 3
Roll up the main fabric from the other cut edge.
Stop rolling the fabric about 4” from the end, as shown.
(Note: Corner of main fabric is turned back in photo for illustration purposes only.)
Step 4
Fold accent fabric up and over the rolled-up main fabric and pin.
Pin all 3 layers of fabric, as shown, to form a long tube:
A – accent fabric with right side UP,
B – main fabric with right side DOWN, and
C – accent fabric with right side DOWN.
Do not pin the loose fabric inside the roll.
(Note: Corners of main fabric and accent fabric are turned back in photo for illustration purposes only.)
Step 5
Sew (or serge) the entire seam.
Be sure to remove pins as you sew to avoid damaging your machine’s timing.
Seam allowance is approximately 5/8”.
After sewing the first seam, reach inside and gently pull out the loose end of the main fabric roll, as shown.
Step 6
Continue easing the fabric roll from the tube, as shown.
Step 7
After pulling all of the main fabric out of the tube, press the seam.
After pressing, lay the entire project right-side UP to double-check your embroidery placement.
The embroidery should appear as shown – on the outside of the hem.
(Fold back the pillowcase hem, as shown, and note the fully enclosed seam and the covered embroidery back.)
Note: If your embroidery is on the same side as the WRONG side of the main fabric, then rip out the seam.
Review the directions in Step 2 carefully.
Then, repeat Steps 2 through 6, carefully aligning the accent fabric and main fabric in Step 2.
Step 8
Trim the selvage edges.
Then, with right sides together, pin the side seam by aligning the hem (accent fabric) and body (main fabric).
Stitch (or serge) the side seam with a seam allowance of approximately 5/8”, as shown.
Repeat for last seam, at the end of the pillowcase.
Step 9
Turn your pillowcase right-side out.
Peek inside at your hem – nice and neat, isn’t it?
Press, then fold. Enjoy!
Bonus tip:
If you do not have a serger, consider French seams on the 2nd and 3rd seams for a clean finish.
Wow, all kinds of ideas are running through my head for Christmas presents using this method. I love the “magic” part!!! Thanks for the inspiration.
CUTE! I have this same fabric and can’t wait to use it on this!! Your pillowcase looks so much nicer than my past efforts.
wow that is pretty nifty! Thank you so much
I love these! Now to decide on fabric and embroidery designs!
Thanks for this well written project. I think I can follow it easly.I love how you match the fabric with the embroidery.You make it look easy and fun.I definely would make this, thanks sew much,Sandra
Excellent!
Wow. While I’ve made decorative pillows and pillowcases, this is the best I have ever seen..and, it sounds like a quick project. Thanks for sharing it!
I definitely will have to try this some time. I make a lot of pillowcases for our grandchildren, but have never seen this done before. Thanks for sharing. Cheers Shirley
This is so funny to me. Yesterday I was looking at the Connecting Threads catalog and I had decided to order the instructions for making this pillowcase! Thank you very much. Your tutorial will stand me in good stead.
Betty
Love this project! Will definitely try it. Thanks so much.
Thank you for the instructions. It is always interesting to see new and different approaches to the same tasks. I will give your idea a try.
Thanks for the tutorial. I make heaps of pillowcases but could never remember which way to do the embroidery. Thanks now I will be able to do names that wont end up upside down.
My sewing club did this pattern 2 yrs. ago. The nice part is, you can pick all different fabric to match the holidays. A few of us went on a sewing retreat, and we had our pillow cases on our pillows. I’m so glad you brought this pattern up. After a few years, we forget what we made.
I can get started to make some for the new great granchildren. Yours is darling
That is so clever. Have wanted to do that type of finish for ages but didnt know how. Now I do. Thank you.
Love this method! Sometimes I will add an extra strip of contrasting fabric b/t the main and accent fabrics…sort of a faux-piping, so to speak. About 1″ wide, folded in half, wrong sides together, using a 1/4 inch seam to stitch the pieces together (if using a 5/8″ seam, then use a strip of fabric that is about 3 1/4″ wide, again folded in 1/2 WSTog). Is this clear as mud? LOL
MARY CATHRINE, THANK YOU SEW MUCH FOR THE GREAT ILLISTRATIONS,.YOU HAVE MY BRAIN GOING CRAZY NOW.LOVE IT , LOVE IT, FRANCES
I will certainly give this a try!!! Thanks, Doris
It is said we should have a new pillow each year. So for Xmas each year I give each of my 15 great grandkids a new pillow. Tis is great, Thank you
thanks for the great idea, just got my embroidery machine, everything seem overwhelming. love everyones comments.
What a wonderfully precise, well written tutorial complete with pictorial support! Great idea, you have helped me considerably on my Christmas gifting this year. I am new to sewing and embroidery, and this project is PERFECT – easy AND special.Thank you for taking the time to share!
I want to say – thank you for this!,
Will definitely give this a go, good idea!!
Very cute
))),
Can someone PLEASE tell me what measurements the two pieces of fabric are to be cut to make this Magic Pillowcase?
[editor's note: The instructions read: # ¾ yard of main fabric (for the body of the pillowcase), approximately
# ¼ yard of accent fabric (for the hem of the pillowcase), approximately]
OK, I just tried this. I have to admit, it was confusing at first and before I tried it on my actual pillowcases pieces, I cut up an old T Shirt and drew a design on it and set it up just like a pillowcase.
This is SOOO easy and it has SUCH a professional look! I was making custom pillowcases for everyone this year anyway and this just makes them perfect!
Thanks MaryCatherine!!!
rob
I tried the pillowcase which is my first attempt at making a pillowcase and it was easy to follow. I thought it would be complicated but with the pictures and step by step WOW, that is all I can say. I will be making a lot more now.
Thank you so much for the idea.
Joy
This would be great for small grandchildren using their name stitched in “Glow In The Dark” thread instead of a design.
Thank you so much for this wonderful, clear, info on how to make these pillowcases! Pictures are great and help so much. Can’t thank you enough for this, you have made my project list so much easier now that I know how to make these, and I know everyone, young and old alike, will just love them. I had seen other instructions like this, but they never “clicked”…yours did and I am so happy. Hugs and blessings, Penny in Pigeon Forge, TN
Thanks so much,
This is so funny, I am in the process of making
a pillowcase for a co-worker called:
“JASON’S DREAM’
Now I know how to hide the design.
I enjoy this site so so much.
God Bless,
Sharon
These pillow cases are very easy to make. Last year I made several pillow cases in Christmas print. I then made up a poem about how wonderful and magical Christmas is, when you place your head on this magic pillow you will have wonderful dreams about the wonders of the holidays. The children loved them. And it made me feel warn and fuzzy,
Guess I’m a “Late Bloomer” as I have just discovered Magic Pillowcases. I was about to order a Magic Pillowcase kit from Connecting Threads but didn’t really care for the color choices so I decided to check on-line. I’m so glad that I did. Your tutorial is wonderful! Can’t wait to get started. Thank you so very much for sharing your pattern.