Toot-torial Tuesday at RocknQuilts #10; 16-19 Aug, 2011

Serge or Sew Ruffled Travel Pillow Case Cover

Instructions:

serger or sewing machine

piping foot

ruffling foot

4" x WOF (width of fabric) = ruffle

2 - 17"x13" rectangles; cut one in half

fabric to cover cording:  2" x WOF, then fold in half lengthwise; cut in half for 2 - 15" pieces

fine 1/4" cording 30"; cut in half for 2 - 15" pieces

15" of "Create a Zipper" roll, separated into two pieces, one zipper pull

optional:

Heat 'n Bond clear vinyl - cover both 17"x13" pieces on wrong sides before serging or sewing

Place the 4" WOF for the center ruffle

under the ruffler foot.  The trick to a great ruffle is to hold the fabric with your right hand while your left hand hold the ruffles behind the foot.

Here's what a serger ruffler foot looks like.

All done!

Place your prepared cording and fabric along one edge of the 17"x13" piece that was cut in half.

This will produce piping along each side of the center ruffle down the front of your pillow case.

This is a serger cording foot - see the white bit of cord in the center?  It's easy to use because even though the cord is underneath the fabric, it keeps going along the cord.  One trick here is to go slowly for best results.

After you've completed the cording on both halves, now it's time to pin the halves to the center ruffle you created earlier with the 4" WOF fabric.

It's important to pin the corded side wrong side down onto the ruffle.  Also important is to make sure the 17"x13" cut in half piece with the cording attaching to it lies just beneath the edge of the ruffle.

Use the cording foot again to "follow the cord" so that it looks fabulous like this:

Oh, yeah...this rocks!  ;-)

Time for the second half to be attached.  Cording faces down towards the ruffle.

It's OK when your ruffle piece is a bit longer - you can square it up later.

Here's the front piece with the ruffle you created running down the center, nicely corded on each side.

Cut a 15" length of zipper, pull the zipper apart and set aside the zipper pull.

Keep the cording foot on for your zipper.

Be careful to make sure the zipper is applied with teeth down to the 17"x13" ruffled front piece that was just completed.

See how the open center of the cording foot allows you to run straight along the zipper's teeth?  

Very cool!

Here's how it will look.

Turn it over and there's the teeth - the cording foot attaches the zipper easily and perfectly - love this!  

It ROCKS!!!

Now time to attach the other half of the zipper teeth up on the full-sized 17"x13" back piece.

The zipper teeth are facing up and are on the left.

Here's where the cording foot comes in handy again :-)

Here's a better foto for you!

What do you think of this?

Plus the serger cuts the excess off as you serge - love it!

I used the Pfaff Coverlock 4.0 at J&R Vacuum and Sewing

where we have Serger Club every third Mon. from 2-4 p.m. and from 6-8 p.m.

Here's the roll of zipper that we used in class - this way, you can make a zipper whatever size you need.

Grab your zipper pull (keep it in a dish so it doesn't disappear - just ask me how I know about this! ;-)

Insert the zipper pull into each side of the bottom of the zipper you had attached to both the front and the back of your travel pillow case.

Zip it up so that it closes all the way, then pull the zipper pull right off and put it back on the bottom and zip it up again!

This is what it'll look like once you've zipped it up for a second time.

Don't worry that edges aren't even because the serger will zip off the extra as you go!

Once you've zipped up twice, then lay right sides together and serge the two open sides, open the zipper about six inches, then serge across the open bottom.

It should look like this.

Turn it right side out and ta-dah!!  

You've got yourself a great-looking travel pillow case...no more yucky airplane pillows that have been slept on hundreds of times for you - this will give you a nice, clean pillow to rest your weary head upon in-flight.

Here's a second pillow cover - which do you prefer?  Purple and turquoise batiks or....

green and purple batiks?

I just can't decide!

Thank you for joining me for Toot-torial Tuesday here at RocknQuilts!

What have you created recently?

I'd love it if you'll share!

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