Easiest Pillow Cover You'll Ever Sew - A Tutorial

Just recently, a friend asked me to remake drapery panels into a valance for her bay window, and if there was enough fabric leftover from the panels, she also wanted some pillows. She wasn't looking for anything fancy, and she certainly wasn't looking to pay the price that the custom drapery maker was going to charge her for each pillow! As it turned out, I had just enough fabric leftover after making four valance panels to also make four 16 inch pillows, and today I'm going to show you how to sew the easiest pillow covers ever! I'm serious - the absolute easiest! All you have to sew is four straight lines! Keep reading and you'll see...

I made 16 inch pillows, but this method will work for any size pillow form you want to cover. So here's the formula:

Pillow width + 1 inch = fabric width
Pillow length + pillow length + 8 inches = fabric length

So for these 16 inch pillows I needed my fabric panels to be 16 + 1 inches wide, so 17 inches wide, and 16 + 16 + 8 inches long, so 40 inches long.

I used one solid piece of fabric leftover from drapery panels for each pillow, but you could use a piece of an old curtain, tablecloth, or even strips or pieces of old jeans or other sturdy clothing sewn together, or leftover pieces of upholstery from having a chair or couch reupholstered. Be sure to ask for the leftovers since you paid for them anyway!

First, press your fabric panel and turn over each short end 1 inch, then 1 inch again and press the folds. Top stitch close to the first fold through all 3 layers of fabric on each end of the panel.


This is what the short edge will look like after stitching along the first fold.


Lay fabric right side up and mark the center of one long edge. Place a ruler next to the edge with the 8 inch mark (or half the pillow length) of the ruler at the center mark on the fabric.


Bring short end from left towards center so fold is on the 16 inch (or pillow length) mark on the ruler.


Then bring short end from the right towards center so fold is on the zero mark on the ruler.


The two hemmed short edges will overlap each other by about 2 inches in the center.


Pin the raw edges. Stitch a 1/2 inch seam along both sides. Do not stitch folded edges.


Turn pillow cover right side out, using a crochet hook or other object to poke out the corners. Slide pillow form inside one half of the cover.


Then bring other half of pillow cover over the rest of the pillow form, smoothing out the form and the cover and making sure the corners of the form are in the corners of the cover.


And there you have the absolute easiest pillow cover you will ever sew! One piece of fabric, one pillow form, a little measuring and pinning, four straight lines on the sewing machine, and you're done!

Now that your sewing confidence has been boosted just a bit, head on over to my Good Eggs Giveaway and put your name in the Easter Basket for a chance to win my Petite Point Flowers Spring Table Runner, or the pattern and charms to make your own! The giveaway ends Sunday evening so get hopping or you'll miss it!

Happy Stitching!

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Closure solution for Authentic Bag - A Toggle Button!

Remember the super fabulous Bagalicious Club I joined? And that lovely little bag I made from the first kit, which was called Authentic for the fabric line that was used? I was not entirely happy with the fact that there was no closure included in the pattern, and was thinking of adding a magnetic snap during construction of my bag. But I forgot in my excitement to finish the bag!

Well now I have a solution that I think looks great and works well for the bag. What do you think?


I found this black toggle button at Joann's and thought it would be a nice addition to the bag with its black outer shell.


I sewed a strip of leftover fabric just as the instructions said for the straps, only shorter, and made a little loop to sew onto one side of the bag. Then I sewed the toggle button on the other side. Now that the bag won't open on its own, I would feel more secure using it to carry things like my wallet and cell phone.

I've seen this fabric popping up in other projects lately too and it looks great. One was a quilt that used more than these four fabrics from the line and it was really a fun quilt.

I should be receiving my next Bagalicious Club kit in the next few weeks so I need to wrap up a few other projects to make room for sewing another fun bag. How exciting!

Happy Stitching!

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First Bagalicious Club Bag Complete

Bags are so fun and functional too! Depending on what you need to haul along with you, you may need a super huge tote bag like this one, a generously sized tote bag like one of these, or a kicky little over-the-shoulder bag like the one I finished just yesterday. It's the first in the Bagalicious Club series from Quilt Fabric Delights. I just love how it turned out. Take a look...


This cute little 10x10 inch bag is made using Authentic by Sweetwater for Moda Fabrics.


Don't you love the detail of the ruffled edge on the pocket?


And those delicious polka dots? YUM!


I had to make sure the word fabric pocket lining faced the right way so it could be read when peeking into the pockets!


This was a fun bag to make and the fabric is just lovely to work with. I had thought about adding a magnetic snap to the top of the inside lining before sewing up the top edge, but in my excitement to see the bag finished, I forgot to do it. Now I'm not so sure I want it anyway. I suppose I could unstitch the facing around the inside and snip the basting stitches holding the top edges together then slip the two pieces of the snap in and sew it all back up again. What would you do? Snap or no snap? I'm still deciding. But for now, it's finished and I love it! My next Bagalicious Club shipment won't be for another 5 weeks or so, just long enough to get me excited about the next surprise!

Happy Stitching!

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Jane's 6 1/2 Hour Purse

Subtitle: A fun day spent sewing with an old friend.

Jane and I met about 18 years ago (!) at the wedding of mutual friends. Our conversation over dinner that day revealed our shared love of crafts, sewing, quilting, basically all things needlework. We have been friends ever since. You've met Jane here before. She's the one who made this darling quilted and appliquéd Christmas wall hanging.

Jane had a medley of six fat quarters from Keepsake Quilting that she wanted to use to make herself a purse, but couldn't find a pattern she liked with all the features she wanted. I suggested she just make one up for herself and put into it the features she desired. She laughed. I invited her over for a day of sewing. She left with a finished purse. It was FUN!

We began our purse making marathon with a cup of tea and some scrap paper. So many good times start with a cup of tea! After figuring out overall dimensions, we headed down to the sewing room and started picking out fabrics. Since we had only fat quarters to work with, some piecing was in order and this is what we came up with...


Isn't this fabric just lovely? I didn't catch the name of the line, but it is from Benartex and was available in a fat quarter medley at Keepsake Quilting when purchased. So this piece pictured above is the outside shell of the purse. We figured the overall finished height and width of the purse, added in the depth of the bottom and sides and seam allowances, and came up with the dimensions for this piece. Then Jane lined it with fusible fleece and top stitched across the pieced seam on both ends.


Jane wanted outside pockets, so she made two and lined them with fusible fleece. She added the diamond quilting detail to give them a little more stability.


The pockets were stitched onto the outside shell so that the bottom of each pocket would be just above the bottom edge of the finished purse.


Then we moved on to the inside lining. Jane wanted a hidden zippered pocket on the inside as well as six open pockets around the inside edge of her purse so we set to work choosing fabrics, figuring and stitching to come up with the lining pictured above.


To save a 2 hour round trip to Joann's to purchase a zipper that would match, we just used one that I had on hand which happened to be a 12 inch aqua colored zipper. Not the perfect size or the perfect color, but we made it work by installing it in the seam between the top trim and the main lining fabric. Using a similar method as I used for my expandable zippered tote bag, we also stitched the hidden pocket onto the zipper. To finish off the ends neatly, Jane stitched the little covers over the ends of the zipper, effectively making the usable part of the zipper just the right size for the inside of the purse.


Doesn't that look nice and neat? Jane's first zipper installation too! Nice job!


Then a divided pocket panel was added to both sides and the whole thing was lined with fusible fleece.


A super cool magnetic snap was added to the lining towards the top of the trim to hold the purse closed...or just to play with because it makes a cool sound!

I showed Jane how to box the corners so that the depth of the bottom and sides would be 5 inches, using a method similar to the one I used HERE, only marking the corners with a 2 1/2 inch square which makes it a little easier. Then handles were added, and a swivel hook too...all the little details that make the perfect purse! The lining and shell were combined, turned and top stitched.


And here's the finished product...Jane's 6 1/2 hour purse! We figured that's how long it took from the time she arrived until the time she left, less the time we took for tea and planning and also a break for dinner.


The pocket on the other side of the purse is a little smaller than the first one and a useful feature for this purse.


I think the inside came out just as nice as the outside, and look at all those pockets!


There's a little peek into the hidden zipper pocket...so practical and pretty too!


That little swivel hook hanging down over the edge will help keep keys from getting lost in the great abyss our purses sometimes become!


And there you go - Jane's 6 1/2 hour purse! A fun project and a fun day!

In case you didn't catch the moral of this story, it really is simple. If you have an idea for something useful that you want for yourself but cannot find a pattern that fills all your needs, go ahead and design it yourself. Whether it's a purse or a tote bag or any other item, think about what features you want, check out how other people have incorporated those features into things they have made or try to figure it out for yourself, practice it with some scraps and work it into your next project. And if you have a friend who is willing to help, spend a day together and see what you can create. You'll be happy you did!

Happy Stitching!

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Tote Bags for Sister Margaret

Bags are my thing. I just love bags. I love making bags, having bags, using bags, giving bags as gifts. I guess you could call me a bag lady! People have even started asking me to make bags so they can use them or give them as gifts.

Recently I showed some of the fabric I purchased for my latest bag-making spree, and now the bags are complete and ready to be delivered. Here they are...


I love this floral fabric, and I think the stripes make it look like a beach bag, which reminds me of warm sunny weather. That's something we haven't had in quite a long time around here!


Here you can see the zippered extension tucked down inside the bag, with the little D ring perched on the top edge, and the swivel hook hanging down just below the zipper.


There's the swivel hook hanging on its strap underneath the zippered extension. This could be used to clip keys onto so they don't get lost in the bag, or any other item that has a ring on it.


And here's the second bag. How do you like that cool fabric? Sr. Margaret wanted the outsides of these bags to be made of darker fabrics so as not to show dirt quite as easily, so I used the lighter fabric for the pocket and on the inside.


And here's the same bag, looking down inside through the zippered extension and into the large inside pocket. You can see the D ring peeking over the top edge. There is also a large pocket on one side made out of the same fabric, so it blends in.


And here's the last bag for Sr. Margaret. She is giving these to three of her nieces so I made them all the same, except out of different fabrics. I think this one is just plain fancy fun! I couldn't resist the silver lined circles with stripes inside them. And the pretty blue floral paisley has silver lines around the designs too.


A silver D ring and swivel hook are on this bag too.


And this shows the zippered extension pulled up to reveal the swivel hook strap and the inside of the bag with its large pocket on one side.

So that is what I've been working on lately, besides all the usual household and family things of everyday life. I'll be delivering these bags to Sr. Margaret on Friday at the convent which is just behind the school where my son goes. It's the retirement home for the retired sisters, and they are such a joy to visit and spend time with. I think she will enjoy giving these to her nieces next time they come for a visit!

Happy Stitching!

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Gingerbread Family for Kindergarten

Gingerbread people are so fun and easy to make, and not very messy if you make them with brown felt and odd bits of trim and fabric from your stash! So fire up a gingerbread flavored candle, pull out your scraps of ric rac, lace, yarn, fabric, buttons and anything else you want to use, and whip yourself up a little family! Here's how I did mine...

The first thing you need is a shape to trace. You can freehand one yourself if you are talented that way. I am not, so I found a shape online and printed it in several sizes so I could pick which would best suit my purpose.

Then I traced two large and two small shapes onto my brown felt which was still folded just like it was on the bolt, so that I would have two pieces exactly alike for each little person. Looks a bit like a crime scene after something horrible happened. Oh my!


After pinning around the inside edges of each shape, I used my pinking shears to cut each person out.


I think the pinked edge adds to the character of the gingerbread people, but you could always use regular scissors if don't have pinkers and yours will still look great!

The next thing I did was to pick out ric rac, lace and other trims for each of my gingerbread people and sew them on in the appropriate places, but only on the front layer of each, since cookies are only decorated on the front, right? So that I would not have to keep changing my thread, I used invisible thread on the top of my machine. I thought that would be better than having lines of white thread through the colored ric rac.

I sewed on buttons for the eyes and down the fronts too, and made little fabric skirts for the mom and girl. So that the ladies would have proper undergarments, I stitched a row of pretty lace on the felt just under where the skirt hem would fall.

Then I sewed around the outside of each with about a 1/4 inch seam, stitching the fronts and backs together, and leaving an opening for stuffing. After filling each gingerbread family member with just a medium amount of stuffing, not too much but not too little, I stitched the opening. Then with some yellow cotton yarn, I gave the two ladies some hair.

And here they are, Gingerbread Man, Gingerbread Girl, Gingerbread Boy and Gingerbread Woman, just waiting for their adventure with Mrs. O'Neil's kindergarten class.

(By the way, don't you just love my electrical outlet just above my ironing board? The electrician thought I was crazy for wanting to leave it in the middle of the wall. Besides choosing a pocket door for my sewing room so as not to waste space for a swinging door, leaving that plug right in the middle of the wall was the best decision I could have made...so handy!)


I see a little family resemblance, don't you?

Could be the eyes, or perhaps that mischievous grin they all have. I think they are planning something fun for the children! Hopefully they are not thinking about running away, like that other little gingerbread boy who ended up on the nose of a sly fox and was never seen again! We'll have to wait and see.

I realized after stuffing this family that the traditional shape of the gingerbread man was sort of lost in the process. If I were to make these for myself, or smaller to use as ornaments, bookmarks or on a garland, I would use very stiff interfacing between the layers of felt instead of stuffing so that they could remain flat and retain the proper gingerbread man proportions but not be floppy and limp. Perhaps that will be a project to save for next Christmas.

Happy Stitching!

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