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!
These pillowcases where
a commission for a young girls first full-sized bed. The fabric came
from 2 super-king sheets off the bed she used to sleep in as a baby,
that got torn. A fitted single sheet was also made, but that is a
different story altogether! 
