Zakka Style Sew Along week 20 - Pillow case

Yep, I know, loads of Zakkaing recently, but I'm on a roll!  Want to see this week's project?

You can see this week's post and linky here, and you can see this week's host here.  This week we made the pillow case with a pocket for a little teddy.  The project was quite ominous to start with.  Lots and lots of diamonds to cut out and sew together.  It took me ages to get the points in the same galaxy, never mind matching (which they don't).

An in-progress shot.  I think you can just make out the ripped out seam on the left.  Well, if I'm being honest, I'm pretty sure I ripped all the seams out at some point.

But finally it was done.  I made it in blues as it's for my nephew.  I couldn't resist adding a fussy cut bunny in there.  The patchwork pocket should sit this way up, but because of the bunny, and the fact it was square once trimmed, I rotated it.  I didn't use linen for the pillow case, I don't think it's very practical for a little boy, too creasy.  I just used white cotton.

I quite enjoyed the piping, but then I've never had a fear of piping.  Perhaps because I made a bag with piping before I knew there was anything to fear!  Can you see how the pillow case goes in where the binding is?  No idea what happened there.  I could not get the two seams (main part on the left, pocket part on the right) to meet, no matter what I did.  In the end I decided I just didn't care anymore!

Oooh, who's that in the pocket?

It's the world's strangest looking teddy bear!  Yes, I did intend him to have strange square ears.  And yes, I did intend his face to be wonky.  The uneven filling?  Totally on purpose.  The book said to use wool felt, I used the sleeve from an old sweatshirt, this is the lining as I liked its softness.

Time for bed Mr. Bear.  Must come up with a better name for him.  Jonathon maybe.  Or Desmond.  I'll give it some serious thought (the scary thing is that I probably will spend more time thinking up a name for him than anything else this week).  The name thing runs in the family, my mum names things and my brother names all of Jacob's toys, if I don't get there first.  He has a large giraffe called Big Leonard. 

This is what happened when I got fed up with the seams not matching.  But it's the back!  Who looks at the back of someone's pillow??  And I'm using pillow in the British sense of the word, this is to put a pillow in for Jacob to put his head on in bed. 

I had problems with the opening end of the case.  The book was a bit vague.  It said to fold over a 1/4 inch hem, then to fold the hem in half and stitch it near the piping.  Folding the hem in half left me a long way from the piping, following the whole flap type thing in half also left me a good half width away... in the end I tucked it all in and stitched it to the back of the piping. 

Whilst I was at it, I thought you might like to see where I work.  Not at my day job of course, I mean sewing work.  Which isn't work, it's fun.

What a mess.  You can just make out the pincushion sent to me in the Travelling Stash by Gill.

See my OCD?  I just can't help it.  It's because it's patchwork.  I tell myself I'm being stupid and to just stick the pins anywhere.  Then I get anxious and have to stop sewing to sort it out.

Katherine set off my OCD too. 
Want to see what else I'm working on?

Yes, that's right.  So now you know.