Pillowcase Talk

After I complete a long-term project I like to do a short, quickly completed item for instant gratification. I sewed up a pair of sepia toned pillowcases. The soft subdued hues were an about face from the bright orange and large graphic fabric of the quilt I just completed in my previous post. My favorite part about making pillowcases is selecting the three fabrics.

I am in love with the postcards print focal fabric. It is by British artist Faye Whittaker for Elizabeth's Studio. This postcard print was one of my finds in search of her seaside fabrics for a master bedroom update. I love the fabric designs of Elizabeth's Studio but can usually only get yardage at quilt and craft shows. I spoke with a vendor and learned that the supplier requires a large minimum amount of purchase so is prohibitive for small local shops to carry. I bought 4 yards of this as a discontinued design on eBay - not enough for curtains but enough for two king-size pillowcases with 1¾ yards leftover. A closeup reveals checks, stars, stripes, and geometric borders all gathered informally and whimsically. The images of the children are so adorable. Seeing them from the back view only gives a sense of undisturbed intimacy - almost in a "fly-on-the-wall" kind of sense.

The pillowcase band is made from Sandy Klop's Pezzy Print. It is strongly graphic but used in just the right dosage I find this line of hers to be very versatile. I have it is a whole array of colors. The accent band is a funky itty bitty wavy stripe by Becky & Me fabrics. I had only a fat quarter but two strips off that can easily be pieced for an accent band if you do not have a strip the whole width of fabric. I especially enjoy combining fabrics not from the same coordinated fabric line.

Here is one of the completed pillows. Looks like all that is missing from being at the beach is sand between the sheets. I used the assembly method where the side seam is sewn and then the contrast band is topstitched on as the final step, rather than a method where a sandwich of all three parts, body, band and accent are sewn first and the side seam of the pillowcase is sewn last. For those interested, I compare these two methods in my post for April 1, 2015 titled PillowcaseMethods...

When making a pair of pillowcases out of a directional fabric, note there is a handedness to the them. Since I want the print to be upright and the band to be toward the outer edge of the mattress, I needed to be aware of whether I added the band to the left or the right side of the focal print.

My husband looked at my accomplishment and wisecracked, "Hmm... looks like we need some new pillows." He is so right. I had not noticed until he pointed it out. They are quite bumpy and lumpy having been agitated in the washer and fluffed in the dryer many, many, countless times. I consider myself quite organized and write the month and year of purchase on the label of our pillows. Then I ignore it! Dare I admit it? These said Nov '07. Perhaps I've been giving the good ones to the guests...? For now I will go check out Let's Bee Social #138 and then I am off to the store to buy NEW pillows.