Flannel Pillowcases

It's my Brother's 23rd birthday today and I made him some awesome pillow cases. Ever since we were kids Elliot has always loved flannel sheets and pillowcases. It got to a point where the one set we had for him that was covered in Christmas themes (snowmen, Santa, Christmas trees, etc) started to be used year round. I could even venture to guess that the pillowcases could still be in use today... but I think I'd rather not know. So for the last few years I've been making Elliot flannel pillow cases for his birthday as an ode to our childhood.
I used a regular old pillow case I had in my closet as a measure and made them a little long so that I could cuff the opening. They're fun, they’re soft, and they're used - which makes them all the more special. No, they do not usually match his sheets. But he's 23... and he could really care less.



1. Measure your pillow case on a fold if you are using one fabric. I used two, so I had to cut two rectangles.

2. Sew three edges together with right sides - two long sides and one short. (if you cut on a fold and have only one piece of fabric, sew on long side and one short side with right side in).

3. Cuff your opening and pin - remember, your pillowcase is still inside out at this point. Sew the raw edge down.




4. Flip your pillow case right side in and press.

It is THAT simple!

Note: when sewing the edges I found it best to serge them - this presents with less fraying later and holds up better than just a straight seam.

Fun fabrics make this project the most fun - and personable!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridget XOXO

Sweet Baby Bibs

Another wave of babies is coming! A handful of my friends and coworkers are pregnant or new moms! What a perfect way for me to get back into sewing. I fell off the wagon a tad earlier this Summer and have been struggling to find inspiration – and to save all of you from weak, half-*ssed posts, I decided it would be best if I just wait until inspiration strikes again. And thank god it did… I was getting worried for a little while there. And really, I am so much happier when I am making something out of inspiration and not necessity or force. Can you relate?
So here are some simple but pretty and practical baby bibs. Made with beautiful fabrics but backed with terry cloth for those dribbles and drools, piped with bias tape for a finished look. Great practice for edging curves!


What you will need:
- Patterned fabric (preferably cotton – washes and wears better)
- Terry cloth by-the-yard (can get expensive- use a coupon or get on sale)
- Biased tape (I bought mine this time, but you can make your own or use ribbon)
- The Usual Suspects: Sewing machine, scissors, thread, etc.

1. Use a pattern to trace the shape of a bib on your fabric. You can download a bib pattern easily from Pinterest or trace an old bib or sketch your own like I did. Here, I used my mock-up to trace.

2. Because I’m making more than one bib, I doubled up my fabric and cut two bibs at once. I then did the same for my terry cloth. I bought one yard of terry cloth and cut it into squares to maximize the amount of bibs I could get out of it (I think I got about 12!) (my bibs are 9 inches wide by 13 inches long)

Beware: terry cloth makes a mess – just a warning. It will get annoying.

3. Topstitch your terry cloth bib and your fabric bib together.

Note: I traced the bib as one piece with a hole for the neck first. Then once I sewed all the edges I cut the middle of the top to separate. It made keeping track of my lines and pieces much easier as I topstitched.

4. Pin your bias tape and sew carefully around the entire edge of the bib.


5. Add velcro or snaps to the tabs.


6. Press and voila!


Makes a sweet, personal and useable gift for new moms… you could even make some matching door jammers!

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridge
XOXO