Sewing a pillowcase, like this magic pillowcase is actually quite simple. There’s a few steps to it, but these pillowcases turn out beautifully every time!
This past Christmas, I made a bunch of pillowcases as Christmas presents because for the past few years, we have been doing a homemade Christmas. It also makes a great gift bag! I have made the body of the pillowcase all one material and I have made it in strips to use up scraps. It’s quite versatile and you really can do anything!
Let’s get to it.
I am using cotton fabric that you’d use for quilting. I like it the best and is quite durable. You’ll have to cut 3 pieces of fabric — one for the body, one for the zinger and one for the cuff. I like using coordinating fabric, or colors that look good together, but you can use anything you like!! You have creative freedom here and that’s what I love!
We will keep the material folded and cut 27” for the body if you like the pillowcase longer. I’ll be cutting mine at 25”.
The cuff which is the piece at the end of the pillowcase will be cut at 10“.
Since I am using a fat quarter (I have so many and thought I’d use them!) I sewed my two pieces together for the cuff. This is not ideal of course, but I wanted to show you that if all you have is fat quarters or scraps, you can piece them together to create a pillowcase!
The zinger which is the narrow piece of fabric that separates the body from the cuff and simply looks pretty will be cut at 2-1/2”.
Next, we will iron the zinger in half.
Let’s start assembling our magic pillowcase. Lay the cuff down on a large work surface. This will take up a bit of room! Open it up and place the “good side” up.
Open up the body of the pillow case and place that on the cuff, “good side” up. Line up the top edge together.
Place the zinger on top. The folded zinger edge will be closest to you, the salvage edge away.
Pin together so pins are facing outwards.
Carefully roll up the body. Do not get too close to the edge or it will be easy to accidentally sew the main part of the body into the pillowcase, and then it will not open.
Fold cuff over.
Remove the pins, pin by pin, and re-pin it together. Any extra fabric that does not line up, or hangs past the cuff, cut now.
Sew 1/4” seam. I always use my presser foot as a guide.
This part is all sewn up. Next up…the fun part!!
Now for the magic!! Pull all of the material through one of the ends.
Voila!! Here’s the pillow case!! Cool right!?! It’s “magic!!” I love seeing how it turns out each time!!
Iron.
Fold in half, good sides out, and trim any salvages.
Fold “bad side” to “bad side” (good side out), and sew down the one side and bottom edges. We won’t be sewing the folded edge quite yet. We are sewing on the good side — it looks wrong, but we are making a French Seam because it looks nicer.
Here is what it looks like now.
Next, let’s flip the pillowcase so it’s “good side” to “good side”. We will sew from the top of the cuff all the way around to the other side. Be sure to sew about 1/4” to 1/2” in otherwise when you flip the pillowcase, you’ll see the raw edge on the good side.
Here is the pillowcase. It has been sewn from the cuff, down the side, across the bottom and up the folded side to the cuff.
Flip the pillowcase again. Now you have a nice looking seam on the inside. Iron if you like.
The pillowcase is complete.
I enjoy making these “magic” pillowcases because they are quite simple. This was one of the projects my daughters made when they first took sewing lessons. It’s fun. Kids can make these for themselves or as gifts. An assortment of fabrics and colors can be used — the options are endless!!
Here’s a set we made for my brother — it was a bag, blanket and pillowcase.
