Even a novice dressmaker can handle such a simple product as a pillowcase. And even more experienced! I will make a pillow with the symbol of next year - a dog. Thus, the pillow will immediately turn into a New Year's souvenir. If you need a lot of gifts, you can sew several of these thoughts in different colors at once, for example.
I buy fabrics when I have the means and the opportunity, fold them, and, if necessary, simply take them out of the bins. And now, having rummaged around there, I found different pieces of furniture fabric. This is the most suitable material for a sofa cushion. It has many advantages:
- it does not wear out and does not fade for a long time;
- does not wrinkle;
- gets dirty a little;
- washes and cleans well.
So, I prepared the following for sewing a pillow: - furniture velor (I buy scraps at a furniture fabric store, it is much cheaper than meter fabric) for a beige base;
- small pieces of furniture fabric of different colors for applique;
- pieces of leatherette white (2 by 2 cm) and black (5 by 5 cm);
- hidden zipper to match the color of the main fabric, 50 cm long;
- holofiber (250-300 grams per pillow is enough);
- pencil, fountain pen, ruler, glue stick, cleaving needles;
- sewing machine, thread, scissors.
I decided to make the applique myself. To do this, I found a simple picture on the Internet, enlarged it using a standard program on my computer, and printed it out. I glued the individual sheets together and cut out the dog.
I cut the resulting pattern into pieces.
For appliqué, I choose fabrics that do not fray. Having attached pieces of the design to the back of the fabric, I trace them with a fountain pen and cut them out. I use fabrics of different colors. I place the pattern face down.
Since I will stuff the pillow myself, I can choose any size. If you have ready-made pillows and want to sew pillowcases on them, measure the sides of the pillows and allow a seam allowance of at least 1 cm on each side.
From pieces of beige velor I cut out a square 50 by 50 cm (this will be the front side of the pillow) and two rectangles measuring 50 by 36 cm and 50 by 16 (this is for the back side, I just had pieces of the right size). I had to have two identical squares, so I added 1 cm to each short side of the rectangles for the seam.
Having folded two rectangles “facing” each other, I made seams along the long side on both edges to a length of 5-6 cm. I sewed a zipper into the resulting groove. This will be the back side of my thoughts.Having prepared the base, I’m moving on to the most interesting part – making the appliqué.
I lay out the cut out parts of the dog on a prepared square to get an idea of how everything will look. From leatherette I randomly (based on the drawing) cut out the nose and eyes. Before sewing, I glue all parts of the applique to fix it with a glue stick. This way the parts do not move when sewing.
I sew the applique step by step. I sew the dog's body with the head using a regular stitch on a machine. I put the nose to the dog’s muzzle and sew it on. I use a regular seam in several lines using black thread to make the mouth, having previously drawn it with a pencil or chalk. I also sew on the eyes.
When the dog's face is ready, I attach the remaining parts: ears, paws, bowl.
This is the drawing you get on the workpiece. When everything is sewn, I fold the blanks with the applique and the lock with the right sides inward, and pin them with needles. I stitch around the perimeter. I trim the corners so they are crisp when turning them inside out.
I turn out the pillowcase. Again I chop with needles and, stepping back 1.5 cm from the edge, I stitch along the perimeter for greater decorativeness.
That's it, my pillowcase is ready, I fill it with holofiber. You can use foam rubber (cut it into small pieces), padding polyester, or feather for filling.
This is the New Year's gift I got. There is still enough time before the holiday; you can sew these adorable doggies for everyone.
