Great First Project–Pillowcase

I found what I think is a super easy project and it would be fantastic for a first project to try out sewing.  It is a basic pillowcase!  I can’t believe I haven’t made one until now!  I followed this tutorial and got the measurements for the travel pillowcase from here.

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The pillowcase is so easy to make because it’s only a few cuts and straight line sewing.  The tutorial that I followed was super easy to follow and she even included a video at the bottom.  But, the video shows a way that is slightly different than the written tutorial.

If you are new to sewing, then when you do the French seam, I suggest going with the video and sewing with wrong sides together at 1/4” and then with right sides together at a 1/2”.  I think there is less room for error this way.

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I don’t know if the new travel pillows are thicker than they used to be, but I would make the pillowcase at least 2 inches longer.  So instead of making the main fabric (the owls) 15 x 26, I would make it 17 x 26.  You could probably even add a little more to it and be safe.  As you can see in the picture, the pillow hangs out a little and that isn’t just because Lillian is leaning on it.

This is also a great beginner project because you don’t have to think about interfacing and you don’t need any weird tools or needles.  All you need is fabric, a sewing machine, scissors (a cutting mat, ruler, and rotary cutter would make it much easier, but you could manage with scissors), thread (it doesn’t have to match), and a basic needle.

I hope all of you beginners out there try a pillowcase and realize how exciting it is to finish an easy and quick project.  Good luck!

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5 Responses

  1. Thanks for finding and posting such good beginner sewing projects! I’m adding this to the list of things I am going to create 🙂

  2. Oh yes… I am going to give this a try! Thank you. I have been looking for an easy, fun project to do in between some other more involved ones. BTW, I love how yours turned out with the owls on it! Super cute. 🙂

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