Showing posts with label pillowcase. Show all posts
Showing posts with label pillowcase. Show all posts

Thursday, October 5, 2017

New Season, New Pillowcase Patterns!

American Patchwork & Quilting has released its two newest pillowcase designs, and we love how they look in our fabrics! Two weeks ago, the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge held its annual Sew-a-thon, and the pillowcase count is not at 744,000+! We're proud to partner with AP&Q in their quest to provide one million pillowcases to local charities. 

Pillowcase 66: Doubled Up Triangle Square 
featuring the Building 101 collection
Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

Pillowcase 67: Owl Applique 
featuring the Woodland Friends collection by Charlie Zabarte
Photo: AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

Find all of the pillowcase patterns here.
Learn more about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge, including how you can get involved, here.

Tuesday, September 5, 2017

Ready, set, sew! It's Sew-a-thon time!

American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge is still in full swing, and we're ready for some night owl sewing! 

As a sponsor of this worthwhile challenge, we're happy to help spread the word.

So, You're Invited!
...to join American Patchwork & Quilting magazine as we sew pillowcases for charity for the weekend of September 15-16, 2017. Quilt shops, guilds, and groups around the country are hosting events in conjunction with our 24 Hour Sew-a-Thon in Des Moines, Iowa. 

Visit www.allpeoplequilt.com/sewathon to find an event near you (note: some events are held on alternate dates). No event nearby? Sign up to host one or join in virtually! APQ will be sharing videos and photos on social media throughout the event.



And if you're looking for an idea of a pillowcase to sew, check out the super-adorable new Owl Applique Band pattern on the AllPeopleQuilt website, featuring Charlie Zabarte's Woodland Friends collection. 
Download the pattern here.

Find plenty of pillowcase inspiration and more information on the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge here

Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Pillowcases for the holidays

Today, Giving Tuesday, seems like the perfect day for a post on pillowcases. 
Giving Tuesday was started five years ago to turn the post-Thanksgiving focus to giving rather than just focusing on gifts for the holidays. According to a USA Today article, "Giving Tuesday is the brainchild of New York City cultural center 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation. The official Giving Tuesday organization describes the post-Cyber Monday event this way: 'Entering its fifth year, #GivingTuesday is a global day of giving fueled by the power of social media and collaboration. … #GivingTuesday kicks off the charitable season, when many focus on their holiday and end-of-year giving.'"

As you work on your holiday to-do list, consider adding a pillowcase or two. 
You can make pillowcases to donate as part of American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge as they push toward the 1,000,000 goal (the number of pillowcases donated is currently 702,800+). They also do make great gift ideas, and what's better than a homemade gift? AllPeopleQuilt has 60+ different patterns to choose from!

We have two new designs from AllPeopleQuilt to share with you, shown in some of our newest fabric collections:
Pattern #60: Argyle
featuring Ro Gregg's Valor collection

Photo from AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

 
Pattern #61: The Pillowcase Dress

featuring Barbara Eikmeier's Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures collection
Photo from AllPeopleQuilt.com; find the pattern here

Learn more about the One Million Pillowcase Challenge here.

Wednesday, August 24, 2016

Summer of Sewing: Pillowcases!

Welcome back to our Summer of Sewing tutorials here at Inspired by Fabric! 

We've been featuring regular tutorials as part of our Summer of Sewing series, all using our newest fabric lines that you can find at your local quilt shop! Our tutorials include a chance to win a bundle of the fabric line being used, so make sure to enter each time! 
(p.s. Next week will be our last Summer of Sewing tutorial for 2016!)


For our second-last Summer of Sewing tutorial, we've joined the American Patchwork & Quilting 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge Blog Hop! 


The Pillowcase Challenge is gearing up for their annual 24-Hour Sew-a-Thon (see more details below the tutorial) and we're excited to help spread the word! We've used prints from our Sports collection to make four pillowcases which we'll be donating to a local charity, helping to push the current count (689,000+) closer to 1,000,000. 



We love to make pillowcases using the burrito (or Roll-It-Up) method--it's quick, easy, and fun! We've demonstrated how to do it below.

The prints we chose from our Sports collection:


Let's get started!

You'll Need:
7/8 yard main fabric
1/3 yard cuff fabric
1/8 yard accent fabric

Cutting:
From the main fabric: 
(1) 27" x 41" piece

From the cuff fabric:
(1) 11" x 41" piece

From the accent fabric:
(1) 2-1/2" x 41" strip

Make the Pillowcase 
1. Press the 2-1/2" x 41" accent strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. 
2. Lay out the cuff fabric lengthwise in front of you, right side facing up. Pin the folded strip to the top edge, raw edges matching. 



3. Lay the main fabric piece on top, right side down, aligning the raw edges along the top edge. Pin in place. Fold or roll the main fabric piece up so it is all contained inside the cuff strip as shown. 

4. Fold the bottom long edge of the cuff strip up over the main fabric and pin in place. You'll be creating a tube with all of the fabric tucked within the cuff strip. 

5. Stitch along the long pinned edge, catching both cuff edges, the folded accent strip, and the main fabric edge. Be careful that the rest of the folded over main fabric strip doesn't get caught in your stitching. 
6. Pull the fabric inside the tube out, as shown in progress below.

7. Your pillowcase in progress will look like this now, with all seams encased inside the fabric cuff. 

8. Fold the pillowcase in half, matching raw edges of the cuff and accent strip. Square up the two raw edges (top and right in photo below). Pin raw edges and stitch, backstitching at both ends. 

9. Turn the pillowcase right side out, stuff with a pillow, and enjoy!




Want to learn more about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge? Check out the details here.

Find more pillowcase patterns (AllPeopleQuilt has 59 different designs, including many pieced cuff variations to add something special!) on their website here.

Want to be part of the 24-Hour Pillowcase Sew-a-Thon? Find details here
Last year participants in Des Moines made 1,480 pillowcases! 

Visit the other participants of today's hop:


See our entire Sports collection here.

For a chance to win All Sports fabric to make two pillowcases, make sure you follow our blog! Leave a comment below letting us know that you do, as well as telling us if you've ever made a pillowcase. The giveaway is open through Sunday, August 28th at 11:59 pm EST. We'll draw a winner and share it next week. 

Congratulations to the winner from last week's Vintage 30s Ruby's Treasures bundle and thread box: Greebly Greebly



Tuesday, October 6, 2015

New Pillowcase Patterns!

We've teamed up again with American Patchwork & Quilting in the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. The idea is simple: make a pillowcase and donate it to an organization in your community. Add your donation numbers to the online pillowcase counter and watch as the number creeps closer to the 1,000,000 goal. A small amount of fabric and a half hour's worth of sewing can make such a difference in someone's life! 

Here are the latest free patterns on AllPeopleQuilt.com, shown in our fabrics. 


Pattern 52: Simply Squares Band 
featuring Tribal Instincts by Ro Gregg
Photo from allpeoplequilt.com; download the pattern here.

Pattern 53: Double Diamond Band
featuring Notting Hill
Photo from allpeoplequilt.com; download the pattern here.

Learn more about American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge here.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Pillowcase Party!

Happy Friday, everyone!
American Patchwork & Quilting's 24-hour Sew-a-thon kicks off this afternoon! 
You can find more information on the sew-a-thon and an abundance of pillowcase patterns here

But we also thought we'd share a little eye candy here--the One Million Pillowcase Challenge's two most recent band patterns, stitched in our fabric. 



Pattern 50: Bull's Eye Band

 featuring Briarcliff fabrics
Photo from Allpeoplequilt.com; download the pattern here.


Pattern 51: Square-in-a-Square band
featuring Vera Cruz fabrics
Photo from Allpeoplequilt.com; download the pattern here.

Happy pillowcase sewing! Have a fantastic Sew-a-thon, AP&Q!!
Learn more about American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge here.

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

It's Time Again: Pillowcase Sew-a-thon

You’re invited to the biggest pillowcase party of the year! Paintbrush Studio is proud to join American Patchwork & Quilting as they host the One Million Pillowcase Challenge 24 Hour Sew-a-thon on September 18-19, 2015. 

American Patchwork & Quilting is hosting in Des Moines, IA starting at 3pm on Friday, September 18th and ending 3pm on Saturday, September 19th

Various quilt shops and groups around the country are also hosting events this weekend. 

Visit www.allpeoplequilt.com/sewathon to find an event in your area.

No events in your area? Join us from home! Get social with us by visiting our website and posting photos using the hashtag #APQSewathon. 


Here are some pillowcase pictures to get you in the spirit!







And some of our favorite patterns (and fabrics!) from the One Million Pillowcase Challenge:


 #48 Triangle-Square Band; featuring Four Paws 
(this is a sneak peek--this fabric is so new, it's not quite available yet! Watch for it on the blog and in your local quilt shop soon)
Photo from AllPeopleQuilt.com; download the free pattern here


#49 Stepping Stones Band; featuring Bear Hugs
Photo from AllPeopleQuilt.com; download the free pattern here
Sawtooth Star
featuring the Who's Who collection by Ro Gregg

Photo from Allpeoplequilt.com; Download the pattern here.


Diamond in the Rough 
featuring the Tweet collection

Photo from Allpeoplequilt.com; Download the pattern here.

Find out more about the Challenge and see all 48 unique pillowcase designs here.

Monday, June 15, 2015

A Pillowcase Party!

Sewing pillowcases is ALWAYS a party! 

And when those pillowcases benefit a charity as part of AllPeopleQuilt.com's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge, it's even better. 

Last week the lovely ladies of the Miriam Circle at Trinity Lutheran Church in Kalamazoo, Michigan transformed some of our favorite prints into 15 pillowcases to donate. 


For some of the group, this was their first experience with rotary cutters and rulers; others already knew how to sew. Regardless, they were all hooked on the simple burrito method of pillowcase making by the end of the evening! 
First, a demonstration of cutting fabric using a rotary cutter and ruler

Getting right to work!

One of the fabric groupings--from the Briarcliff collection.

Pressing the flange
Pinning the "burritos."
(If you aren't familiar with the burrito (or "roll it up" method of making pillowcases, check it out here--it's so quick and easy--just 2 seams!)

Time to stitch!
One seam done--flange and cuff added (with no exposed seams!) All that's left is to press it and sew it into the pillowcase shape.
Pressing the cuff

A finished pillowcase! Ta da!

The pillowcases will be donated to the Gospel Mission, serving the homeless in the Kalamazoo area.
Thank you, ladies, for using our fabric and for helping the Pillowcase Challenge get 15 cases closer to 1 million!

Have you sewn a pillowcase for the Challenge? Let us know!

Find out more about how you can get involved in the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge here.
See the fabric lines used in these pillowcases: