Pillowcases for the Soldiers - A Process Piece

One of my Quilt Guilds has issued a personal challenge to the membership.  Make pillowcases for the children of soldiers from Louisiana bases.  One member collects photos from the base headquarters, prints them and distributes them to guild members.  This week I received my two photos.  One is complete and I am looking through my stash for another patriotic fabric to complete the other.  Here is the first one.

I used what is called the "hot dog" method.  First you have to remove the paper from the picture.  (Don't laugh, there were several who did not remove it!)  And you cut a main fabric 42 inches wide by 30 long and another contrasting fabric for the cuss 42 wide by 11 inches long. 

Sew the picture on to the pillow case body remembering that you will fold it in half. 

Then I sewed the cuff to the body on one side matching the 42 inch sides.  Some people like to put a decorative piece in here like a folded strip of fabric or a piece of ribbon.

Roll the main portion from the bottom up to about the center of the cuff.  You want to fold up the unsewn edge of the cuff up over the roll (this would be the hot dog part) and pin.  When you sew it be careful not to catch any of the hot dog in the seam.

When you have sewn all the way  across, then you can pull the hot dog out of the side of the cuff and you have enclosed seams on both sides! 

I sewed the long side with a french seam by putting worng sides together and sewing down the side with a 1/4 inch seam then turning to the inside with right sides together and sewing a bit larger  seam so it would catch the edges inside the seam case.  Before turning it back to the right side, I sewed across the bottom of the case.

And voila! you have a nice pillowcase!

And a soldier's kid gets to sleep near their dad. 

glen