A PJ Pillowcase Birthday Party

What a fun way to celebrate your 10th birthday!  

Miss Special K had her 10th birthday recently and her mom and her were trying to decide what they could do special for her birthday. She wanted a slumber party, but then what?  I suggested they make pillowcases.  10 is a good age to begin girls sewing (some are capable younger than that as well) and the bonus is that it can be done in an evening and they get to go home with a USABLE project.

K and I went to JoAnn's to choose fabric, there were going to be 7 girls, including her, so that meant picking out 21 fabrics!  It takes one fabric for the main pillowcase, a coordinating one for the edge and a contrasting one for a flanged trim.   It sounded easy and fun going in, choosing what each girl might like.  But after a while choosing all those combinations became tedious.  K finally wore out and said they really didn't need the trim!  I ended up choosing them for her.  The problem was that we were making these out of nice flannels, and the selection wasn't as great.   We bought the fabric and I took it home and washed it, pre-cut it and make a little bundle of the coordinated sets to make it easier.

Birthday night rolled around and the girls were wound up!  They carpooled to my house/studio and came barreling in laughing and joking and just being girls.

They were excited to learn a new skill.  They took turns choosing which fabric bundle they wanted, and K was pretty close to being accurate in her assessment of her friends likes and dislikes.

I had all the machines ready, threaded and the speed turned all the way DOWN!   I demonstrated how to lay out all the pieces and carefully pin the layers together.

 And then to the machines.  No one, besides my granddaughter, had ever sewn by themselves.

So it was quite the experience and I was pleasantly surprised how well they really did.  Although I was glad my daughter came to help.

Teaching 7 young girls at one time took several hands.

 And of course, once done, K wanted me to embroider their names on them.  So while the girls played games and ate dinner and cake, I embroider their names on the pillowcase ends with my embroidery machine.

What a fun night!  One of the parents contacted me the next day, after her daughter went home, and asked what have I done?  Her daughter now wants a sewing machine for Christmas!!

And she got it too.  I think we might try to start a 4-H group with them this summer, and sewing is on the agenda.

I'll be posting a tutorial on making these Pillowcases.  They are SO simple and there are NO raw edges anywhere and NO serging or zigzagging the edges. It's like Magic!  Come back in a few days to see how to make these Magically Easy Pillowcases.

Sewing pals...age 8

Aren't these the cutest 8 year olds? One is my granddaughter (in the 'star' glasses--what a ham!) and the other is a granddaughter of a student. I hold regular PJ parties (they must come dressed in PJ's or get fined $5) in which we make different items (usually not quilts--but fabric related) that can be made in a few hours. I try to get different techniques or something in. Well, my DGD wanted to come and my friend asked if she could bring her DGD as well. They hit it off right away and both did an awesome job sewing their pillowcase (the PJ party theme that night). It was so cute at the end of the night, they determined they were sewing pals. And gave each other big hugs goodbye. And then both went home, bouncing off the walls with excitement at what they were going to sew the next day with their new 'pal'. And both got up extremely early in case they would miss it!

The next day was Open Sew and since our GD's were staying with us, I said they could come as well. They collaborated on making purses (where they invaded my supply closet--but my DGD said it was okay since she was part of the family!) and came up with the cutest purses. I forgot to get a picture of them. And then they spent the last hour making Heartstring blocks. I'm close to having enough for a quilt, then I'll make it for QOV. They did such a good job. I was busy helping others and those 2 just worked together, sewing and pressing their own blocks. It just thrills my heart that my granddaughter loves sewing as much as I do! I had to kind of force my daughter's to learn to sew, but they never 'loved' it like I did. Well Miss Special K does! And she is thrilled to find another girl her age that loves it too! I can see many fun days ahead!

This is everyone with their finished pillowcase(s). Notice how they are all covering up their PJ's?

It's such an awesome way to make pillowcases. I've been making them this way for about 10 years. I thought it would make a great tutorial, but then Mary put one up and why duplicate? :) So, go on to Mary's site and see her tutorial of this easy pillowcase.