Christmas Craze | PUTTING UP THE TREE & DIY CHRISTMAS ENVELOPE PILLOW CASES

DIY Christmas Envelope Pillow Cases | Motte's Blog

IT SNOWED! FINALLY! My blogging prayers have been heard! The first snow of the season!

My excitement is beyond measure!

Tiny ice crystals falling from the sky and melting on our little noses, it even sounds wonderful!

(Snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes

Silver white winters that melt into springs

These are a few of my favorite things)

True, it only snowed for a few minutes and yes, it dissolved fairly quickly;

Also, I didn’t have a chance to admire the little patches of soft cotton balls dancing around my eyelashes for long because I was at work. Which means I couldn't even leave the building. Instead I simply stared out of the window longingly.

Also, none of my colleagues seemed even remotely as excited as I was about this winter wonderland that was pretending to unfold before us, but were much too concerned with wondering whether the trains would be running later that day. Let’s all caaalm down. Every single train was running, because that didn’t even come close to a true snow storm!

And yet, I am now more convinced than ever: It is time to get out the hot chocolate, the candles, the non-existent fireplace (we’ve covered this before), grab some cushions and get cozy!

Or, as in my case, make some cushions and get cozy!

See, while I do have several red pillow cases that could go well with my red and white Christmas color scheme, they are not quite fitting.

Plus, I like new things.

So I decided to make some new, really simple Christmassy pillow cases.

Now although my sister really wants to be named in this blog as the loving, caring, endearing sister that she is ever since I outed her in my Halloween post as a creature with no understanding of color scheming, it's not really going very well for her.

You see, I spot this wonderful fabric in the craft store, immediately know it is the most Christmassy thing there, my sister stares at it with a look of disbelief and retorts 'It looks like Britain'...

Oh for Christ(mas) sake, I won't be making a kilt!!

So, dear mister sister, it just so happens that I find these pillows very fitting. The Christmas vibe in my crib is only getting more visible and it is partly due to these non-Britain-y, but very Christmassy pillows, so you better get used to them!

(But I still love you.)

(We'll try again in the next post.)

I opted for envelope pillow cases because they don't require putting in a zipper and are therefore incredibly easy to make if you know how to use a sewing machine.

After washing and ironing the fabric, I measured and cut my fabric into a rectangular shape. For the width, I added 1 inch for a ½ inch seam allowance on both sides and for the length, I multiplied the length by two and added 2 inches, which allows for a 1 inch turn over on both sides, as well as 4 extra inches for the overlapping part that will create the envelope effect.

My pillow was 40cm by 40cm (15 ¾”), so the fabric I cut was 37 ½” long ([2 x 15 ¾]] + 2 + 4 = 37 ½) and 16 ¾” wide (15 ¾ + 1 = 16 ¾).

Next, I hemmed the shorter sides of the rectangle: I turned over the edges ¼” and ironed, repeated this a second time and top stitched the double fold into place.

I then placed the fabric onto my work surface right-side up and folded the shorter, hemmed sides over the center (right sides together) making sure to overlap the extra 4" and checking that the sides are aligned.

I pinned both sides of the fabric together and top stitched with a ½” seam allowance.

I turned the pillowcase right side out, inserted a pillow through the flap in the back, done!

I thought about adding some stitching / quilting but then figured the pattern was eye-catching enough.

While I was decorating, I also managed to hang up my Christmas tree, which is essentially this amazing printed fabric from IKEA and the perfect alternative for anyone who doesn't have the space for an actual tree or for those who won't be around for Christmas anyhow (the hanging took me quite the effort and a bit of eye-balling help from my sister, so, actually, good job you!). I also added some bunting and a few Christmas balls...

I must say, I like this look! Red and white (and green) is just so classic; you can never go wrong there! Although, there is some crazy colorful Christmas decor out there that I find absolutely delightful. I'm curious, how adventurous is your color scheme?