How To Sew A Pillowcase By Hand

Are you looking at how to sew a pillowcase by hand?

You can make pillowcases quite plain or even add decorative trim or piping around the edges. You can use this method to create cushions in smaller forms for the living room or to decorate a bedroom.

Tools & Equipment

• Scissors/Rotary Cutter
• Needle
• Thread
• Iron & Ironing Board

How To Sew A Pillowcase By Hand

Making something for the home can be highly satisfying and fun. This is also a super fun tutorial to do with children and a great beginner project.

Learning how to sew a pillowcase by hand is really useful as you can practice sewing skills and techniques on a simple and easy to follow project.

Step One

Cut one piece in your chosen fabric the size of 19 by 37. This piece will become the piece with the envelope side to hold the pillow in place.

I chose a standard size pillowcase for my example. You can measure your pillow to double check the measurements before starting.

Tip: Make sure to iron your fabric first to make sure it shrinks and gets all creases out.

Cut another piece in your chosen fabric the size of 19 by 29. (my second piece is the wrong way around but it was purely made for demonstration)

Tip: If you are using patterned fabric like me make sure you cut it the right way around so the pattern is laid the right way around.

Step Two

To create a neat edge on the large piece take to the ironing board.

Fold down one of the shorter edges 1/4 inch and press. Repeat and fold down 1/4 again and press.

Pin or clip into place to keep it neat. Keeping the pieces pinned together is wise as when you sit and hand sew them together they can move and distort.

Using a discreet slip stitch sew the fold into place. I placed my stitches 1cm apart to create neat and even stitches.

Tip: To create even stitches you can use a ruler and mark on with a chalk pen or using your finger and mark on with a pen.

Step Three

Fold down 8 inches on the longest piece. Line up the raw edges so that it is straight and neat.

Pin or clip into place. Using your thread and needle sew up each side with a tight running stitch.

Step Four

Take the smaller piece of fabric to the ironing board.

Iron down 1/4 inch fold to create a neat edge on the right side.

Fold down again to encase the raw edge into that seam. Iron down 1/4 inch seam and pin into place.

You can use a piece of bondaweb or hemming tape to hold this in place. This is more helpful if you aren’t confident at hand sewing this part.

Using a small and discreet stitch, sew into place. I placed my stitched roughly 1 cm apart.

Step Five

Place the two pieces together right sides together and pin into place.

Make sure all your sides line up and are neat without any wrinkles and creases.

Sew together with a neat tight running stitch.

Step Six

To neat off the interior seams, you can use bias binding to cap off the raw edges.

You can slip stitch the bias binding into place.

Tip: When pinning the piping into place make sure you are lining up the edge just below the sewn line.

This way you can slip stitch the binding into place without leaving stitches on the neat side.

Slip stitch the binding on both sides to hold in place. This will give the seam extra protection from fraying and wear and tear.

Turn the pillowcase right sides out making sure the envelope is on the inside.

Press with the iron and use!

I hope you have found my tutorial on how to sew a pillowcase by hand helpful and easy to follow. If you have any suggestions or tips to help others I would love to know.