sew what?

As well as all this knitting and beading, I do a fair amount of sewing. Well, some of my acquaintances would call it an unfair amount of sewing, but I'm happy either way! Well, due to an injury I have been less able to knit so far this autumn, and my creativity has been more aimed at my cooking and sewing, “sew” here is a recent project!

When I moved into my current house, the previous owners left us most of their crud. There where 10 or so bin bags in the back garden, and I couldn't just put them out as trash, I had to check for treasures, recyclables, and charity shoppable items. I got it down to a pretty low refuse count in the end, and reclaimed some bed linen, bedding, curtains and blankets. After a lot of laundering and airing (they where smokers, and I have sensitive smelling abilities as one of my super-powers), sorting, blah blah blah, I got to a single brushed cotton sheet with a tear. After a few years on the toddlers bed, tucked in various ways round, it then became redundant. But I did need some pillow cases...

you can get 3 oxford style buttoned pillow cases out of a single flat sheet.

Some will be a bit thin in places, but try to place these bits on the back of the pillow case.

So, I cut my sheet sideways into thirds. I lost 1 third due to the tear:( Inside out, layed it down next to another pillowcase for size guidance, and folded it so that the opening is on the top, with the larger side on the very top.

Pinned this all together, and sewed down the sides. The sheets edging will provided me with instant finishing for the flaps!

Turned this the right way out, and pressed. Measured how much wider my case was than the pillow that is going in it(this may well be a standard size?). Divided this by 2. checked the ends too, as they where a bit different. Using a rule on my machine, I then stitched a border around my pillowcase this wide.

I then popped a pillow in at this point to see whether I was happy with the closure. I wasn't. The pillow inside was bulging out a bit, so I sewed 3 buttons on to the top flaps border, then marked button holes on the lower flap, so they would button to the inside of the case and not be uncomfy if(when) the pillow flips in the night.

Sorted.

I find the children appreciate these upcycled projects I do, as they recognise the new pillow as being their old sheet that was useless, and love it even more!