Originally Posted by
Vandamme
It's a two-person project, I'm in charge of the squares because I have the rotary cutter and mat and my co-worker is sewing because he has the sewing machine, but has no experience with patchwork, he mainly does clothes. So we're both learning. And I have to download some videos for us to watch together. It's like a mini-sewing school. We'd like the project to take off so we can offer something that is already very beautiful but the wrong size, we have some minor adjustments to make I think mostly on measurements and then on technique. Once we've assembled one with everything done right, pressing the seams the right way, all the right seam allowances, the patches the right size for the 17" panel, we will feel more comfortable.
We just found a product we liked and set about replicating it, and did a really great job but we didn't know there were so many technical parts we were missing. I feel bad having joined and being so clueless. This is probably not the type of members you're looking for, although we love what we're doing and we're enthusiastic about it. We believe in it and have the desire to do it the right way, just jumping in we didn't know what we didn't know. And now we do and it's a bit sobering.
I can't speak for everyone, but you're enthusiastic and willing to learn, which is exactly the type of members I like. Welcome to the board! We all started out where you are now, and plenty of people will enjoy helping you learn. Please never feel like you aren't wanted here!
To make a 17" square pillowcase, you will need to cut your squares at 4.75" instead of 4.5".
I really like the pillowcase in your picture; it does have some issues as you pointed out, but the fabric is beautiful, and your partner did a very nice job of matching the corners up. This seems like a very worthwhile venture to me.
One piece of advice I got from an interior designer: she always buys pillow forms 2" or so larger than the pillowcase. This makes the pillow look fuller, and look good longer even if the pillow is getting hard use. I even have a 10x16" pillow, made by folding a square pillow form in half! Pillow forms are very forgiving, so your case size doesn't have to be as exact as you're trying to make it.