Crazy Linen...

i loved sleeping on my fresh,newly made, orange pillowcase last night,

the cotton was soft and smooth.

this morning i was thinking

what fun it would be..

to have a crazy linen set

a bit like a crazy tea set!

where you gather what ever your mood dictates

to make up the linen for your bed...

put away {or spice up} those dull beiges

and put away those elegant but terribly correct creams!

oranges and lemons,

florals and spots,

reds and turquoises,

greens and blues...

all are welcome in my rooms!

leave those neutrals

for the walls

and the floors

and the ceilings

and add pillows of colour

to bring on the dreamin'...

karen sue who left a comment on my post yesterday
had a great idea...
when making a quilt
grab a couple of yards of your favourite fabric
to make new pillowcases.

i'm taking the liberty
of including the measurements of my pillowcase here:

topside...29 1/2 " x 21" or 75 cm x 53.5 cm

bottomside...35" x 21" or 90 cm x 53.5 cm

(this uses nearly all of 1 yard of 44" wide fabric)

i firstly hemmed the opening topside edge
fold over raw edge  1/4" hem, then fold over again stitching 1" hem.
topstitch near the edge.

hem the bottomside opening raw edge 1/4" and then fold again and stitch another 1/4" hem.

match up the top and bottom pieces of fabric,
fold and press the excess bottomside fabric to form a pouch for the pillow to sit into.
{so you can't see the bare pillow from the opening}

stitch wrong sides of fabric together along side seams {1/4" seam allowance}
turn so that right sides of fabric are together,
iron so that the side seams are neat.
stitch side seams again, making a french seam, just over 1/4" from edge,
{so that your first seams are encased in the fabric}.

make sure that you catch all 3 layers of fabric at the opening end when you sew the sides.

sew the bottom of the pillowcase closed.

turn the right way and press with an iron.

ps... if you want to decorate the top, i think it is best done
after you hem it and before the side seams are sewn.

i hope that makes sense to you...
otherwise there are lots of great tutorials on other blogs and utube.

by the way...
i took the multifocal glasses back to the optometrist,
{have spoken to others who say they never get used to them either..
one old man was told he'd get used to them in a couple of YEARS!!!}

he replaced them free of charge with ordinary lenses...
they are now great!

and...
mr t and sharrie
arrived in bendigo
at 11.30 pm on tuesday night.
it took them about about 24 hours driving
over 2 days to get there...{with a trailer on the back}.
i am one relieved mum!

wishing you all a creative weekend...

naturally Carol xox