DIY Valentine Pillowcase & Free Printable

My daughter and I had lots of fun working together to get these easy sew Valentine’s pillowcases and free printable done! The idea came from several years ago. While I was serving as a missionary our clothing had to be pretty conservative ( it is very different now), and I felt like I was not able to have a lot of fun color in my life. My oldest sister Elisa was so cute and made my companion and I Christmas pillowcases – my bedding was about the only way I felt I could add some fun in my surroundings 🙂

Fast forward a few years.

Enter my Mormor and Poppy. This was them when they were young, weren’t they such a beautiful couple? I always thought they looked like movie stars! Mormor means grandmother in Danish as she was from Denmark. She met my handsome Poppy while he was serving an  LDS mission there. They wrote letters after he returned home and he eventually returned to Denmark and brought her back to the U.S. to be married. I was named after my Mormor – Kirsten Marie. I always felt so special and thought I was the favorite, but later speaking with my siblings and cousins, my Mormor made all of us feel that way. She had such a way for showing kindness and love.

Well, I was lucky enough to be able to take care of both of my grandparents the last few years of their lives. It was hard at times, tiring, and sad to see them decline and deal with cancer for my Poppy and dementia for my Mormor, but I would never change those years for anything. After my Poppy passed away my Mormor became basically home bound. It was the same day in and out. After getting dressed for the day and having breakfast she was basically in her recliner the remainder of the day. We tried to convince her to let us take her out on a drive or a walk in the neighborhood but it rarely happened.

We were trying to think of things we could do to make her happy. Bringing her treats had lost its luster as she was having less and less an appetite. As I was getting her ready for bed one night it dawned on me that we could make her a happy pillow. The next day my daughter and I went to JoAnn’s and got some fun Valentine’s fabric and I made a few pillowcases. My daughter and I made a card and we went and knocked on the door and left it on the porch and ran. It was so much fun for my daughter, she still remembers pressing the pedal to help me sew. I have to say too that it was fun for my sweet Mormor. She was so happy with that pillowcase. She told everyone about it and when I would put her to bed or get her up in the morning she would tell my daughter or I “I love my pillowcase. You are such a sweetheart”. Something so small and simple, but a reminder each day that she was loved.

If you still have your grandparents or your mom and dad, please give them a call. It means more to them than you know. Send them a card. Bring them flowers or a favorite treat. Make them a Valentine’s pillowcase. Brighten their day. Our parents and grandparents lived their lives to take care of us and help us and watch us grow, and now when we are raising our own little families and so busy I think many times they feel lonesome and forgotten. Some days I miss my Mormor and Poppy so much it hurts and I wish I could call them or stop by and say hello.

You could make some for your own little family, make their bed and surprise them.

When they turn the covers down there will be their fun Valentine’s pillowcase!

Or you could print off this free printable and roll it up, add a ribbon and leave it on someone’s doorstep!

I made this printable to say “Hope your dreams are as sweet as you. Happy Valentines Day!”

We chose some patterns that were obviously Valentine’s, but my daughter loved the pink elephants. She went and got all our pillows and replaced them with the new pillowcases and lined them up so I could take a picture. She is already thinking like a blogger 🙂

These pillowcases are super simple. I have to give a heads up and say that I am in no way a professional sewer at all. There is probably another way to do these, but this is what I did 🙂 I found a few fabrics that were all different widths. I did a range of 40 inches wide to 44 inches wide. Your standard pillow will just fit a bit more snug the smaller you go, but I would not go less than 40 inches, that will make it too small. So choose one yard of fabric.

Lay the fabric flat on the wrong side meaning the inside will be showing. On the shorter side of the fabric, measure 4 inches folding the right side over as pictured above. This will form the cuff. Pin this down every 6 inches or so to keep it in place. If you are a super person and want to do it “right” you should probly iron it, but I didn’t 🙂

Place the foot of the sewing machine down and line the foot up with the right side as pictured above. This is where you will sew the cuff. Sew it all the way down the straight line.

Once you are done, lay it flat on the table with the outside facing up. Fold it over and match the corners so the inside of the fabric or the right sides are together, this will make it so you don’t see the seams. You will again match the foot of the sewing machine with the edge of the fabric. This will act as your guide as you sew down the edge.

When you get to the corner, don’t go all the way to the edge. You will stop about a quarter of an inch when the needle is down in the fabric, pick up the foot, and turn the fabric and match it up with the foot again and put the foot down. and begin sewing down the other edge. When you get to the end you will make sure you back stitch to end the stitch and cut the thread.

You will then use fabric scissors and cut the two corners, (not the cuff corners) just so it has a rounded corner, it will lay better that way.

This step is optional. You can cut the fabric if it is fraying or will fray and apply Fray Check to the edges. Sometimes I do this, others I don’t. I have several pillowcases I made that I did not do this to and they are still fine, it is really up to you.

And there you have it! A super simple pillowcase that can make any bedtime routine a little more fun!

You can download this Valentine for FREE via Dropbox. Just click on the link HERE . As a reminder you do NOT need to have an account. Just click “No Thanks” and it will take you to the download page.

I hope you take some time to brighten the day of a loved one. You will see that they are not the only ones who will feel happy.

See the Happy!

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