In this blog I will share another way to use my Fancy Jumbles alphabets. I like embroidering them on bags and caddies, but they also make a very lively addition to a pillow case for a child – or even for an adult. My friend Pauline Fisher, from Sydney, Australia, made this pillowcase for her grandson Jonah. She matched the colors for the letters to the colors in the print and then added an adorable trim as an accent. It is an easy project that will make any child eager for bed time.
Does your child or grandchild have a passion for dinosaurs? Or ballerinas? Or trucks or jungle animals? Does your teen have a favorite sports team? Does your husband enjoy fishing or hunting? Do you love bright geometric or floral prints? Whatever the interest, you can likely find a print fabric that will be just perfect. There is also a wide range of trims and rickracks that you can use as accents. You can make pillowcases for everyone on your gift list and never repeat a combination.
Below, you'll see two more pillowcases that Pauline made. The pink print with butterflies and dragonflies is just perfect for Alexa. Pauline used pastel embroidery threads to finish the “girly” look. Aiden’s bold jungle print pillowcase called for strong colors for the embroidery.
As you see, you can vary the width of the embroidered panel to suit the design or the amount of print fabric you have. The instructions include two methods for 
making the pillowcase. The band on Embroidered Pillowcase 1 goes completely around the opening, as we often see on purchased pillowcases. In contrast, Embroidered Pillowcase 2 has a band only on the front, and the back has an extra flap that keeps the pillow from falling out. Click on the Embroidered Pillowcase links above to download instructions for both styles of pillowcase. Either style will take about one hour to complete.
You will need these products for your Embroidered Pillowcase:
Fancy Jumbles Alphabets, available at http://www.annthegran.com/online_store/fancyjumbles.htm
Print fabric: 3/4 yard to 1 1/4 yards of 45 inch wide fabric (depending on construction method).
Trim: 45” or 22” rickrack or trim in contrasting color fabric (depending on construction method).
Outer band fabric: 1/3 yard (or more for wider band) of 45 inch wide cotton fabric, solid or nearly solid color. NOTE: Nearly solid fabrics include marble prints, some batiks, tiny polka dots.
Thread
Embroidery thread
Stabilizer
Sweet dreams!
— Carol
About cabrownbag
Family Status: Married with 3 children, living west of Chicago, Illinois.
Earliest Sewing Experience: Learned machine sewing in seventh grade, many years ago. Previously made troll doll clothes by hand.
Teaching Experience: Three years at Suddenly You're Sewing, pilot school of the American Home Sewing Association, 1997 through 1999, followed by one year at Kathy's Sewing & Design Studio, plus additional free-lance teaching at several quilting and sewing machine stores.
Highlight: Yearlong Bag-of-the-Month Club, for which I created all patterns and instructions.
Current Sewing Interests: Designing totes, caddies, book covers, eyeglass cases, toys, pencil pouches.
Embroidery Interests: I originally wanted an embroidery machine because Digitizing programs existed! I eventually earned enough money to buy the Husqvarna Viking Designer I and Professional Embroidery System 5 in 1999, and the upgrade to Professional Plus in 2001. I upgraded again to 3D Embroidery and 4D Embroidery when they came along. I love Digitizing as much as I thought I would, and especially enjoy creating designs to complement my various totes and caddies (e.g.: pencils for pencil pouch, design from scanned fabric for tote bag, eyeglasses design for eyeglass case).
Graphics Software Used: Microsoft Paint, CorelDraw (because I can enlarge designs, maintaining a thin outline), PaintDotNet.
Sources for Images: I use my own designs, scanned fabric, scanned eyeglasses, lettering from CorelDraw, even holding items up to the computer's monitor and "tracing" around them. My graphics tablet has made this process easier.
Publications in: Club Ed newsletter, Husqvarna Viking ZigZag Magazine, The Creative Machine Newsletter, Designs in Machine Embroidery, and American Sewing Guild Notions.