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How to Sew a Pillowcase

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One of the many things we love about Christmas is having family from interstate come to stay with us. We love to create a welcoming guest room. This year we freshened up the guest bed with some pretty new pillowcases. They are so easy to run up and were a great way to use some of the pretty florals and polka dot fabrics from the Vintage Modern range we had in our stash.
The Pillowcase is white with a contrasting double thickness cuff on the front, and an internal flap to hide the pillow from view. You can mix and match your favourite prints to make a colourful range of bed linen. It is a nice way to jazz up your bedroom, and they would make a lovely Christmas gift – for friends and family, young and old.

Finished Pillowcase Size: 28 1/2 x 18 1/2 inches (This is sized to fit a standard Australian pillow. Check your pillow size if you live elsewhere and adjust accordingly).

Materials:

  • Pillowcase Front: 19 x 23 inches (white homespun)
  • Pillowcase Cuff: 19 x 13 inches (floral print); and 19 x 2 1/2 inches (polka dot print)
  • Pillowcase Back: 19 x 35 1/2 inches (polka dot)

Method:
1. Press both fabrics for the pillowcase cuff in half lengthwise, with wrong sides facing. Place the folded dot strip, on top of the folded floral strip, with the raw edges aligned. Baste together.
2. Lay out the pillowcase front with right side facing upwards. Place the cuff on a short edge, so that the right sides are facing and the raw edges are aligned. Pin in place. Stitch the cuff to the pillowcase front. Overlock (serge) the raw edges.

3. Press the cuff. Topstitch 1/8 inch from seam.

4. Take the pillowcase back panel. To create a hem, fold over 1/2 inch along a short edge. Press. Fold up another 1/2 inch. Press. Stitch in place.
5. Lay the pillowcase front on top of the pillowcase back with the right sides facing, and the short, unfinished edges aligned. Pin in place. To create the flap, fold the hemmed edge of the pillowcase back, back over the cuff. Pin in place. Stitch along the two long sides and the short edge. Overlook raw edges. Turn pillowcase out the right way, and press.

We will be making more pillowcases – they really are a quick project!

I remember when my teens were in primary school. One summer holidays, I took them to a fabric store to pick out three fabrics each for a pillowcase to match their bedrooms. It was a great first sewing project for them, with lots of straight seams. They were so proud to use their new pillowcase that night.

Check out our Hexie Pillowcase, which is a variation of this tutorial. Full details over here.

If you enjoyed this project, check out our tutorial for a Santa Sack – it is made from a pillowcase with a handy drawstring feature, so it can double as a Santa Sack for those difficult to wrap presents.

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Comments

  5. Didee May says

    I love your pillowcases! Whilst they would be delightful for my nieces, I think I will be making some for me with left over fabric from some of the quilts which I have stashed to make for my new bed.

    Reply

  7. Elena says

    Thank you so much for the great tutorial! I am working on a pillow case for my son right now. 🙂 Very excited when he will get it for Christmas!
    I love you blog so much! You are really inspiring! Thank you so much for sharing your crafs!

    Reply

  11. tusen says

    Great tutorial, thank you so much. I’ve adjusted the measurements to fit smaller, square size and I’ve just finished two pillowcases for a Christmas gift to Grandma.

    Reply

  13. Anonymous says

    I just made four of these in one sitting!! WOW! Loved how fun it was to mix and match the fabrics. I was able to use some smaller pieces of fabric that most pillowcase patterns were too big for! Thanks so much!

    Reply

  14. Kathy says

    I made something like these for my family for Christmas and they loved them. I plan on making some of these too using some calico prints quilting fabric, also team fabric would do great too. I think I can adjust the newspaper pattern I made from a kit to work on this pattern. By the way these and the others I have and will make are great fun to do. I am sure these will be just as big a hit as my other ones were. Thank you so much for this pattern.

    Reply

  16. Anonymous says

    Just the inspiration I needed! Straight on ebay for fabric to co-ordinate with current theme …..now just waiting for the postman to arrive.

    Reply

  17. Merrilee says

    I made a cuff on the top of the sheet to match with the flowered as the main piece and the poka dot as the small 1.2 inch trim between the main sheet and the cuff
    used 12 inches folded in half with a hem turned under on both sides making it 4 inches over the normal hem that is on all sheets. Tucked a folded piece of the Poka dot with about 1/2 inch showing below the hem of the main trim. Really made the bed cute for visitors

    Reply

  19. Anonymous says

    What a great tutorial. I have seen lots of pillowcase tutorials but these have the flap to hide the pillow, so are better by far. Thanks for posting.

    Reply

  21. Grace says

    I love how you finished the end, so that the pillow can’t be seen. I am going to have to try that technique. I also love your Hexie Pillowcase. It’s beautiful!

    Reply

    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      Thanks Grace 🙂 I do like pillowcases with the internal flap – so much nicer than seeing the pillow itself.

      Reply

  23. Cheryl says

    My friend shared your tutorial with me. Just made my first set…and it will not be my last. Nicest pillowcases ever, and they go together so beautifully! Thanks for sharing this tutorial!

    Reply

    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      Thanks Cheryl – glad you enjoyed making them. It is fun to co-ordinate the different fabrics.

      Reply

  24. Maria Henderson says

    Thanks for the tutorial. I, too, love the little inside flap. I adjusted the measurements for a toddler pillow to match a little quilt that I made. This will be my go to pillowcase pattern.

    Reply

  25. Kathy says

    I made your pillows and featured them on my blog last week. So easy and turned out great. Today I adapted your pillows to a smaller size for my granddaughters and posted them on my blog. Thank you so much for your inspiration and tutorial!

    Reply

  26. Kathy says

    I think I’m going to make pillow sacks to place clean sheet sets in and also they would be great for laundry bags in the kids rooms…. could use applique letters for whites and darks, could also use them as toys bags.

    Reply

  27. Pamela Frederick says

    I love your pillowcase tutorial and am anxious to make some for my king size bed pillows.

    Would you be able to help me with the dimensions for king size pillows? I really don’t want to cut my fabric pieces too small.

    Any suggestions will be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    Pam Frederick

    Reply

  28. Pamela Frederick says

    I commented previously but, I failed to mention that I live in the US. A king size bed pillow here is 20 inches x 36″

    Any help you can provide on what sizes to cut the fabrics for the pillowcase will be appreciated.

    Thanks,
    P. Frederick

    Reply

    • A Spoonful of Sugar says

      Hi Pamela

      The measurements for a larger pillowslip would be:
      20.5 inches x 29 inches for white homespun
      20.5 x 15 inches for floral cuff
      20.5 x 2.5 inches for polka dot cuff
      20.5 x 43 inches for pillowslip back
      This will be a firm fit on a kingsize pillow. If you want it a bit roomier, just add another 1/2 – 1 inch to each dimension. You may wish to make a sample one out of an old sheet first to check the sizing is to your requirements.

      Reply

      • Pamela Frederick says

        Thank you SO much for the measurements. I look forward to trying this tomorrow.

        Have a great weekend!

        Pam

        Reply

  31. Krystal says

    I just used this pattern to make a Christmas pillowcase tonight and it turned out great

    I’m planning To make more for my nieces and nephews, but would like to personalise them with their name down the side on the cuff. Do you have any suggestions on what to bring use? Eg iron on transfers

    Thanks

    Reply

  32. Nicky says

    Thank you for sharing this! I have made around 7 of these so far. So quick and easy, and I love that the pillow is hidden inside.

    Reply

  33. Barbara Harris@sewingmachinesview.com says

    these are called ‘housewife’ pillow cases. the frugal way to make them would be to cut across the fabric, as opposed to lengthwise, though I can see that you cut lengthwise to make use of the pleated border. Thank you for the beautiful pictures and the detailed tutorial!

    Reply

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