The fabric I have is in the 42/44" range so after pre-shrinking, I used it at its current width and just tore off 10" and 26-1/2" sections by type. Just line the two pieces up, right-sides together, along one long edge.
Then start rolling up the longer top piece, like this...
And roll the shorter bottom piece up around it to make a tube-ish roll and pin for sewing.
After sewing a 1/2" seam allowance, pull out the fabric as shown in the instructions (I forgot to take a picture each time.)
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| Unrolled, Shazam! |
Pin WRONG sides together and sew a 1/4" seam allowance. Here my lizards fabric is actually a bit wider than the wizards fabric, leaving an overhang. The important thing is just to line things up and sew accordingly. The additional width will be cut off later, so just sew as if it wasn't there. Here, you could actually guide on the edge of the printed section of the lizard fabric, since it overhangs by the width of the selvedge.
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| Wrong sides together, ready for 1/4" seam |
Now, if you look at your layers of fabric, you might have some parts not 100% even (could be not the straightest cut, whatever). To make sure I got everything in the seam, I put the "shorter" side on top for visibility of that edge. But then the 1/4" guide line on the throat plate is covered. However, the side of the presser foot gives you the same guide.
Good pressing is one of the top things you can do to make any sewing project come out really nice, and with these french seams where you sew one way, turn and sew back over to enclose the previous seam, it really helps. I used a combination of a sleeve board and an Ezy-Hem. First I would press over the seams with the help of the sleeve board and then put the thin Ezy-Hem inside to help hold the edge of the turned seam while I pressed it sharp. The Ezy-Hem, being a thin piece of metal, can really get hot using it for things like this, but I do it anyway. You should be careful in case you're not stupid like me and are more careful with hot metal objects!
This gravity feed iron has what I'm told is supposed to be a guard or heat shield, but damn this thing gets hot after a while too!
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| Finished seam is clean like this. |
If you're careful about matching your pieces while you sew, you should end up with a nice match like this. This cuff end is the part that really shows any mismatch, so pin and sew carefully when you're sewing the first step of the french seam on the long edge.
This makes a very nice pillowcase, though after making a number of them, I'm reminded that my mother says the other ladies normally serge their pillowcases, like you see on a lot of commercially sold cases. I'm also reminded that I have a serger I've never used, having bought it around the time I realized Susan Khalje had a wonderful plan for my sewing life.. For the time spent, I should probably go for the method that seams, trims and finishes all at once. As an Operations kind of guy, I recognize that unlike my other projects, which have no practical use and can take forever, this is something someone could actually use and should completed in a realistic time frame!
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