Monday 13 November 2017

Christmas Pillowcases ~ cutting the right number of items

I so don't want to think about Christmas yet, but it's fast approaching whether I like it or not. Last year I began sewing for the festive season quite early, and paced myself throughout the year. It's a different story in 2017 - pillowcases are the first items I've sewn.


After calling it quits on seven out of twenty drawstring bags, I've decided, that to be more efficient, I need to cut out less of the same.

So when Nanny + Friends Charity Sew put out the call for Christmas pillowcases, I only put my hand up to make two.


I've never really liked the red star fabric. It's been patiently sitting in my Christmas stash for years. Funny how when it's teamed with the cute reindeer fabric, it totally changes how I feel about it.

The reindeer fabric was a win last year from Ho Ho Ho and on We Sew.


The polka dots weren't stored with my Christmas fabric, but again, teamed with the star fabric, the whole thing suddenly looks Christmassy.


As you can see, I actually made three pillowcases, after initially offering to make two. That feels so much better than in my enthusiasm, offering to make lots, and falling short.

I think I've finally worked out how to stop some projects from stalling. Starting with less multiple items should help prevent boredom setting in.

And as far as worrying about me not sewing a lot when I see others sewing huge amounts - Little by little, a little becomes a lot... Tanzanian proverb. All the small amounts of sewing add up.

Links to 35 free pillowcase tutorials ~ Threading My Way

Because I frequently sew pillowcases, I have pattern pieces cut to size, originally taken from measurements for the pillowcase tutorial by Flower Press. The tutorial gives measurement for Australian, UK and US pillow sizes.

For more pillowcase tutorials, check out... 35 Pillowcase Tutorials. I've grouped them by style of pillowcase and location.

Last post I said my next project would be to finish off my mini log cabin quilt, but I squeezed in the pillowcases first. No new projects till I get a few UFOs finished!!!

Do you have a pile of UFOs hiding somewhere?

... Pam




9 comments:

  1. I made my 3 children pillow cases several years ago, all matching their favorite things at the time. One got puppies, one got penguins, and the other got pigs, all made from a nice quilting cotton. They still use them. I'm amazed at how well the quilting cotton has held up from the numerous washes. I was so new to sewing that I bought a pillow case pattern. LOL Pillow cases are such a special gift, especially for children I think.

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  2. Hi Pam,
    your pillowcases have become great. I also like to make pillows, they are wonderful gifts and are so good for Christmas.

    Thank you, for featured Lottas yesterday.

    Greetings Klaudia

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  3. I am amazed that you are still getting value out of that reindeer fabric Pam! It definitely lifts the red star fabric from ho-hum to lovely :)

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  4. Nice pillowcases - better to promise less and make more, than the other way around! ;)

    I had to bring 2 UFO's out of hiding (they were in a Rubbermaid container) so I could hide my bags of colour sorted scraps in the container instead. The scraps had been piled on top of the containers I have down there, and were starting to fall off because the bags are so full, lol. So - now I have a QAYG quilt top and a bunch of QAYG quilt blocks sitting on my table mocking me! But at least the room doesn't look cluttered with bags falling all over :D

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  5. Have you seen this tutorial, to make a pillowcase that doubles as a gift bag? I was so wowed by it, that I immediately knew I had to make some. (This isn't my site, so I haven't submitted it through the normal channels.) http://aspoonfulofsugardesigns.com/2011/12/santa-sack/

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    Replies
    1. Great idea to combine the two. Thanks for the link, Ann.

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  6. LOL! Yes, I do have UFO'S hiding in bins that have labels and everything, they are the rest of the projects I cut out too many of and got bored sewing !
    Pillowcases sound like a good quick project, I think your's are lovely. 😊

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  7. I thought I'd made a mistake when looking at your pictures and counting three pillowcases!
    My UFOs aren't hiding they're taking over my study!

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