How to Make Crafts with a Pillowcase

Crafting with pillowcases is a way to recycle and craft green. Make crafts with pillowcases you have in the back of your linen closet or check out your local thrift stores for those with unusual prints or vintage embroidery. These craft projects use the existing hem and width of a pillowcase to create easy projects that are good for a beginning sewing class or as activities for a teen girl's birthday or sleepover party.

Things You'll Need

• Measuring tape
• 2 pillowcases
• Pencil
• Scissors
• Iron
• Straight pins
• Sewing machine
• Seam ripper
• Craft glue
• 1/4-inch cord, 40 inches
• Safety pin
• 1/2-inch-wide grosgrain ribbon, 2 yards

Instructions

Teen's Pillowcase Skirt

1. Measure your teen from the waist to the desired length of the skirt. Add an inch to the total.

2. Lay a pillowcase on your work table. The hemmed opening of the pillowcase is the hemline of the skirt. Using the teen's length measurement, measure up from the hem of the pillowcase and mark with a pencil. Cut across the width of the pillowcase at this mark, removing the closed end of the pillowcase.

3. Turn the pillowcase wrong side out. Fold the cut edge to the wrong side 1/2 inch and press. Fold over another 1/2 inch, press and pin. This forms the waistband casing on the pillowcase skirt. Sew the pinned casing.

4. Turn the skirt right side out. Measure to find the center front of the casing, and mark with a pencil. Insert a seam ripper at the mark. Insert the point of the ripper in the top layer of the casing only. Using the ripper, cut a 1/2-inch slit. Apply a small amount of craft glue to the cut edge of the slit, to prevent fraying. Wipe most of the glue away with your finger, leaving only a thin residue. Do not glue the front of the casing to the bottom layer.

5. Cut a 40-inch length of 1/4-inch cord. Attach a safety pin to one end of the cord. Insert the safety pin through the hole in the casing, and guide it around the waistband, coming out the same hole. Remove the safety pin and adjust the ends of the cord to hang even. Tie a knot on each end of the cord. Place the skirt on your teen, pull the cord to gather the waist and tie in a bow.

Pillowcase Apron

1. Turn a pillowcase wrong side out and lay it on your work surface. Measure 14 inches up from the hemmed opening, and mark with a pencil. Cut across the width of the pillowcase at this mark. Remove the top, closed end of the pillowcase.

2. Pin the cut edges together and sew, using a 1/2-inch seam allowance. Turn the apron right side out and press. Note: The top of the apron is the closed edge.

3. Cut a 2-yard length of 1/2-inch grosgrain ribbon. Lay the apron with the front side up. Measure to find the center of the ribbon's length. Pin it to the top center front of the apron, with the long edges of the ribbon even with the top edge of the apron. Continue to pin the ribbon along the top edge. The excess on the ends are the apron ties.

4. Top-stitch the long top edge of the ribbon across the front of the apron. Top-stitch the long bottom edge of the ribbon across the apron.