Fast forward to March in Seattle at Pacific Fabrics. I was trying to find the "just-right" birthday presents for my friends Melisande and Briana when I spied an Elizabethan-esque black and white pattern on a rounder. With a little bit of looking I found, on another rounder, this equally incredible Frieda fabric!
Cassandra has a vast selection of crochet thread and allowed me to rummage through to find the right colors to go with the fabrics. The edging patterns then needed to be selected. The black was an easy choice, something with a diamond pattern to coordinate with the fabric. The red, however, was more problematic. Cassandra and I tried to find a crochet border with skulls but our efforts were thwarted. Poo. In the end I decided to just crochet an edging that I liked, otherwise I would be forever searching and not making and finishing.
Purchase 1 yard of cotton or linen fabric that is 42 inches or more wide. Wash to remove sizing and pre-shrink the fabric. Measure, mark and cut the fabric 33 inches long X 41 inches wide. Fold fabric in half, right sides together, to make a 33 X 20.5 inch rectangle.
Start sewing at the folded edge using a stitch length of 2.5 with a 5/8 inch seam allowance. Sew along 20.5 inch edge, pivot at the corner with the needle in the down position and continue sewing along the 33 inch side to the end. Back-stitch at each end of stitching. Finish the inside of the seam allowance to prevent unraveling.
Turn pillowcase right-side-out. Turn raw edge, wrong side of fabric to wrong side of fabric, up 1 inch. Fold edge up one more time to form a 1 inch hem. Using a stitch length of 3.5 and stitching close to the inside folded edge, sew around the open end of the pillowcase, overlapping stitching by 1/2 inch.
If you want to add a crochet edge, whip stitch it to the open hemmed edge of the finished pillowcase (which I have yet to do).
I hope you like this simple DIY project and will consider making lots of colorful crochet-edge pillowcases for yourself, friends and family!
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