I feel like I am messing up my patchwork pillowcases - help needed
05-13-2018, 01:18 AM
#21
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Join Date: Feb 2018
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,414
You have received great advice here and your determination will take you far. Since this is your first attempt at piecing, you are doing a good job. You will gain skills as you go. We'll be looking for pictures showing your progress. 
05-13-2018, 01:32 AM
#22
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Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: Saskatchewan
Posts: 838
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.
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.
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.
05-13-2018, 02:14 AM
#23
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Join Date: May 2018
Location: Congo
Posts: 38
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.
05-13-2018, 04:15 AM
#24
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Location: Davenport, Iowa
Posts: 3,808
Welcome to the board. I live in Iowa, USA and can't tell you how many times I've jumped into making something with my eyes closed only to find my error. So you are in good company as more than myself has done this from time to time. In the end we all find a way to rectify our mistake....and the finished product is gorgeous.
05-13-2018, 04:36 AM
#25
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Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Illinois
Posts: 9,018
Vandamme - so you are cutting the fabric, shipping it to USA to be sown together? Completely assembled there and then what happens to the finished product? Are you planning to market and sell these pillows? Where? Are you partoff an organization or is this a private endeavor you have decided to take on. Very intriguing.........
05-13-2018, 06:12 AM
#26
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: N.E. England
Posts: 1,171
I always make cushion covers an exact fit. So if the insert is 16 inches I make the cushion cover 16 inch. I find this ensures a snug fit and a plump cushion. So I think your sizes as are should be perfect.
05-13-2018, 08:37 AM
#27
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Join Date: May 2018
Location: Congo
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Welcome to the board. I live in Iowa, USA and can't tell you how many times I've jumped into making something with my eyes closed only to find my error. So you are in good company as more than myself has done this from time to time. In the end we all find a way to rectify our mistake....and the finished product is gorgeous.
Thank you for the encouragement, it's very nice not to be alone and be in company of such knowledgeable, experienced quilters.
05-13-2018, 08:38 AM
#28
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Location: Congo
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That's a relief! I'll post an update picture as soon as I get through my first batch. I am now the proud owner of a Sewing Machine! But the instruction manual is entirely in Arabic, so I think I found an English one online, not sure if it's the same model though. The brand name is Janome. Ever heard of it?
Last edited by QuiltnNan; 05-16-2018 at 05:05 PM. Reason: remove shouting/all caps
05-13-2018, 08:39 AM
#29
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05-13-2018, 08:44 AM
#30
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Vandamme - so you are cutting the fabric, shipping it to USA to be sown together? Completely assembled there and then what happens to the finished product? Are you planning to market and sell these pillows? Where? Are you partoff an organization or is this a private endeavor you have decided to take on. Very intriguing.........
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