Retro Pillowcases

A
Jun 14, 2020
2 min read

Updated: Oct 3, 2020

At the beginning of the year Joann's put out a new fabric line based on vintage Simplicity patterns. Like a sucker I fell in love with the fabric right away, but I wasn't sure what to do with it. I wasn't sure if I had the guts to wear a garment made out of pictures of garments* or not so I held off on buying it. I daydreamed about the fabric online, and quarantine meant that I wasn't buying anymore. The local Stay at Home order was lifted, but by then the fabric was no longer listed on the website and I bemoaned that I would never get my chance to make something with it. Then, of course, inspiration struck: pillowcases! A project that wouldn't use too much fabric (it's about 2 or 3 times what I usually pay per yard), wouldn't make me self-conscious about wearing a dress of dresses, and would be a way to decorate my new sewing space.

I walked into my local Joann's recently and low and behold they still had some of this fabric. Like I said, there was a whole line of these designs to choose from, and they still had my two favorites: the print of multiple dresses in colored boxes and the vintage pattern covers. I couldn't decide which of the two I liked best, then I realized that this was yet another advantage of making pillowcases - they didn't have to be the same fabric. So I got one yard of each.

Unfortunately 44in fabric isn't quite wide enough to fit the full length of a pillow, and I didn't want to buy any more fabric than I absolutely had to (again, it was really pricey for me). I decided to place the design sideways and will lean the pillows against the wall longways so that it appears as though the design is facing upright.

I just measured some old pillowcases that I already had to estimate the size of the new ones. I tried to cut and sew them based on the boxes in the fabric design, but they weren't fully printed on the grain. Fortunately pillows are squishy, so I think that they'll hide the delicate balance between grain and printed image.

All seams are finished with a zigzag stitch and I made both pillows in just under 2 hours. I never finish projects that quickly so this was very rewarding for me.