September : National Sewing Month

Happy Tuesday everyone ! Hope you had a great holiday weekend. Today starts my post about National Sewing Month. I come from a family of seamstress- My Mom sewed and my Grandmother sewed and I followed there footprints. Today I am starting with the basic a pillow case-

Materials:

For one pillowcase:

3/8 yard fabric for band
7/8 yard fabric for pillowcase body
All-purpose sewing thread
Marking pencil or pen and ruler

Cut Fabrics:

From band fabric, cut:

1 — 10×41″ strip

From pillowcase body fabric, cut:

1 –26-1/2×41″ rectangle

1. Unfold and place the band strip printed side up on a table. Matching up the long edges, put the pillowcase body rectangle printed side down on top of the band strip.

2. Beginning at lower long edge, roll the pillowcase body toward the band that is underneath it. When you get to the band, don’t roll it up. Just keep on rolling the pillowcase body only.

3. Stop rolling when you reach a point about halfway up the band. The long edges that you matched up in Step 1 should still be straight and together.

4. Bring the band’s bottom edge up and over the pillowcase body roll to form a tube. Match up all three long edges. Pin the three long edges together, making sure the rolled pillowcase body is out of the way and doesn’t get caught by your pins. When you have it all pinned, peek in the tube and check to make sure that all the layers are lined up evenly. If they’re not, remove a few pins, adjust the layers to even them out, and repin.

5. Sew along the pinned edges with a straight seam using a 1/2″ seam allowance. The bulk of the tube will be in your lap when you start sewing this seam. Do not sew over pins. Instead, remove each pin just before it reaches the sewing machine’s presser foot.

6. Now for the magic! It’s time to turn the tube so the printed side is out. To do this, fold over a cuff at one end of the band. With your fingers holding on to the band and gently pulling it down, pull up on the roll inside the tube. Continue pulling the band and the roll in opposite directions, as if you were pulling a sleeve from a sweater, until you’ve turned it completely right side out.

7. Unroll the pillowcase body. All the seam allowances should be enclosed inside the pillowcase band. . Tugging slightly on the folded edge of the band, press the seam flat on the printed side where the band and body come together. The seam allowances should be going toward the band. Turn over and repeat to press the seam on the faded (wrong) side.