Toddler Pillowcase Tutorial

I've made Jack two bedding sets for daycare but didn't know until a few weeks ago that they could have pillows at daycare too. Of course I had to make my boy some matching pillowcases! I didn't want an open-ended pillowcase, but one with an envelope opening in the back. My first attempt was a success, so I made another and another. This tutorial shows you how to make an envelope opening pillowcase using one piece of fabric for a 12x16 toddler pillow. I bought mine at Wal-Mart.

Start by cutting your fabric 13 inches by 38 inches. (I cut the one pictured 13 by 40 and it was too long, but I just have more of an overlap, which is not a huge deal.)

Next, go to your ironing board and take one of the short ends of the fabric and press it down about 1/2 inch.

Fold it over again and press that down. This will create a hem for you to sew down. Do the same to the other short end.

Now you're ready to sew. With the wrong side of the fabric up, sew down the hems you just pressed.

Now that you have your hems done, fold the ends to overlap each other with right sides of the fabric inward. You want the pillowcase to be the same size as your pillow so it fits snug. So overlap the two finished edges until the pillowcase is the same width as your pillow. It doesn't have to be exact. You can also place what will be the opening in the center of the case or off-center.

Pin down the two long edges and head back to your sewing machine and sew. You have plenty fabric for a 1/2 inch seam allowance. Again, it doesn't have to be precise.  You can also serge the edges.

Clip the corners if you used a regular sewing machine and turn right side out. You're done!

Easy, right?