In this course, we’ll sew an 18” square color-blocked pillow case. This case is designed to be removable so you can clean it or change out the pillow insert.

We'll start by covering the essentials of fabric and drafting patterns from scratch:

Which fabric works best with machine sewing
What is fabric grain and why it matters
Creating re-usable sewing patterns
Cutting on the straight of grain

Then we'll sew our pillow step-by-step, learning these seven essential skills in the process:

Straight stitching
Curve stitching
Gathering
Topstitching
Hemming
Pivoting
Seam finishing

Here is an overview of the materials you will need – more details can be found in the downloadable PDF guide.

1 yard of lightweight cotton fabric (such as quilting cotton)
1 yard of the same fabric in a different color
Thread
Chipboard, poster board, or thin cardboard for making templates
Pencil, tailor’s chalk, or disappearing ink fabric pen
Yardstick or 24” L square ruler
Large dinner plate to trace (around 12” in diameter)
Fabric scissors or rotary cutter
Iron/ironing board

Since you might have a different sewing machine than me, I’m not going to get into the specifics of threading or bobbin winding, so to follow this lesson, you should have a basic understanding of how to use your particular machine.

The skills I will show you are applicable no matter what brand of machine you are working with. I love starting beginner sewing classes with a pillow project because you can get great results even if you don’t have much sewing experience. This project is endlessly adaptable and riffable, so once you learn the basic steps you can create your own designs that reflect your personal style.

When you’ve completed the project, please post a photo to the Project Gallery, and as always, post any questions you have to the Class Discussion section and I’ll be happy to answer them.

Diana Bare

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