Custom Pillowcases for Your Bed
I’m sure you’ve seen blog posts on making pillow cases before, so why should you read this one? Well the problem I’ve seen with other posts is that they are always for standard sized pillows and don’t give you options for the finished look. I wanted to make pillow cases for my kid's toddler pillows. Another issue with toddler pillows is, they are all different sizes! So how can we make this work? In this blog post we are going custom, so you can work with any size pillow to get exactly what you want.
How much fabric do I need? If you are working with a standard pillow size of 20 x 26”, you will need 1.25 yards of fabric for your main and cuff. I recommend reading on to determine your cutting sizes before ordering fabrics.
Custom Option #1: Before we start cutting our fabric, I want you to think about how wide you want your pillowcase cuff to be. This is the part that hangs off the edge of the pillow and is very much a personal preference. In the photo above, the hummingbird fabric has a 3” cuff and the bunnies a 5.25” cuff. I personally think my preference is between these two at 4”; which is what these instructions will provide. If you want to switch it, I will guide you through that.
Let's begin! First we need to measure the pillow in question. In this example, the toddler pillow was 12” H x 20” W. Adding 1.5” to the height will provide the finished pillow case height. For our example, 12 + 1.5 = 13.5”. The height you will cut all your fabric pieces is 2x the finished height plus 2 inches. (13.5” x 2) + 2" = 29”. Follow this formula to get your cutting height.
So what size to cut my pieces? The main fabric will be the height you came up with (29”) and the width should be the width of your pillow plus 1” (20" + 1" = 21”). Your trim (accent piping) will be the height you came up with (29”) and a width of 2”. For the cuff, the height will be the same as the others (29”) but the width will depend on what you chose in custom option 1. For a 4” cuff, the width you will cut is 8.5”. For each 1” you add or subtract from the cutting width, it will widen or narrow your cuff by 0.5” finished. Ex. 10.5 cutting width will get you a 5” cuff.
So in our example, our final cutting measurements are main 29" x 21", trim 29" x 2", cuff 29" x 8.5". Extremely important note: Be mindful if your fabric is directional! The height of your cuts should follow the direction of the print; see the below diagram.
Custom Option #2: Now that your fabric is cut out, you have to decide which side of the pillow the cuff will be located on. See how in the above photo, the hummingbird and bunny pillows cuffs are on opposite sides? This is really only important if your fabric is directional and how much you care. Maybe you are making two pillowcases and want the cuffs to hang different directions off the bed. If you want your cuff on the left, in the next step, you will align all your fabrics on the left side of the main fabric. If you want your cuff on the right, you will align all your fabrics on the right (this is what is pictured in the photos going forward).
Take your trim and iron it in half lengthwise, WST. Lay down your cuff fabric, right side up. Lay your main fabric on top of the cuff, right side up, along the right side long raw edge. Lay your trim on top of the main fabric, matching raw edges. Make sure your prints are all going in the same direction. Line up on the left for a left cuff.
Roll the unstacked end of the main fabric up but not all the way; do not roll the cuff. Fold the cuff in half so that the loose raw edge is now on top of the trim, matching raw edges. Clip or pin along the long raw edge.
You will have made a sort of burrito. Sew along the clipped edge with a 1/4” seam allowance. Then grab the insides of the burrito, and pull it all out until you have a flat piece of fabric again, now with cuff and trim attached.
Custom Option #3: I personally like to pause now and sew the floppy side of the trim down. I find this gets very distorted and wrinkly in the wash if it’s not sewn down. This is a personal preference though.
Fold the pillow in half height wise, WST, clip or pin. The cuff and trim will line up with them selves. Sew along the 2 raw edges only with a 1/4 seam allowance. Clip the two sewn corners of the pillow (not the cuff side).
Turn the pillow inside out so that it’s RST. Take time to poke the corners out, and iron the two seams so the pillow is flat. Sew the same two sides as before (where the seams are), but this time with a 1/2” seam allowance. This is a french seam, which leaves no raw edges on the inside or outside!
Turn your pillow right side out and you’re done! You have a custom pillow case with fully inclosed seams and no raw edges.
