How To Sew A Pillowcase With Flap

Pillows have an inner flap to hide your pillow inside them. You can include measurements of king-size pillows, queen-size pillows, or any other type of pillows.

Can you do it with or without a serger machine? This step-by-step tutorial will provide you the entirety to do so.

Keep reading the article to know how to sew a pillowcase with a flap.

How To Sew A Pillowcase With Flap

We usually make flaps in the pillowcases to stop the pillow from falling out. The inner flaps of the pillow hide all the finished edges of the fabric you are using. This is indeed a great way to make the inside of the pillow better.

For a short description, a pillowcase flap can be made with the front and back pieces. Several other times, the pillowcase is designed from one piece of fabric and just the folded one in the middle.

The folded inner flap is then sewn so that the flap will not get separated from the piece. The top and the bottom raw edges of the fabric are finished using the overlock stitch. One of the special machines can be used to create this, and it is known as Serger or the overlocker machine. The other raw edges are then turned under two more times and then stitched.

Let’s now have a detailed description of how to sew a pillowcase with flaps in these further steps.

Before getting to the steps to sew a pillowcase with flaps, you must know how much fabric you will need for that.

Selecting the measurement of fabric depends on your pillows, but you can take about 1.1 yards of it and a little more to be on the safer side. You can select fabric with distinct sizes and styles. You will need some tools for better sewing a pillowcase with flaps.

You will need some tools to start with sewing the pillowcase with a flap. It includes the universal sewing machine needle of size 80 of 12 as this is designed especially for light to medium weight and non-stretchable fabrics, the basic sewing machine, measuring tape, fabric marker or chalk pencils usually sharped, fabric scissors, or the rotary cutter or mat, an iron, the sewing pins, a serger machine or the overlocker machine, and the hand sewing needles. Here we begin!

Step 1 – Prepare Your Fabric

Preparing your fabric means you need to pre-wash and dry your fabric before beginning to sew the pillowcase with a flap. This will diminish any shrinkage in the future.

Step 2 – Cut Your Fabric

The next step for you is to cut the fabric you are using into two rectangular pieces. For example, for the standard pillowcase of measurement 20 inches by 30 inches, you need the front piece and a back piece with specific height and weight.

The front piece of the fabric should be longer as it includes the inner flap for the pillowcase. The standard measurements for a pillowcase are suitable for a queen size pillowcase as well, but for the king-size pillowcase, you need the measurement of 20 inches by 40 inches.

Step 3 – Sew The 2 Pieces Of Fabric Together On The Shorter Edge

After cutting the fabric, you need to sew the front and the back of your fabric together on one of the shorter sides. While sewing them, make sure that the right sides of the fabric are facing each other. Sew those faces and sides together with a seam allowance of 1 centimeter or three-eighth inches. You will then have one long rectangle.

You can set your sewing machine to some settings including, the straight stitch and usually the 3 millimeters of stitch length, as professionally made pillowcases have this stitch length for the pillowcase. Next, set the tension in the machine to 4 and use the sewing machine needle size of 80/12 as it is ideal for lighter or medium-weight fabrics.

Step 4 – Finish The Seam

After that, you need to finish the seam with the help of a serger machine. It is the pro method; otherwise, to avoid this, you can also prefer the zigzag or overcast stitch on your sewing machine. This will reduce or stop any fraying.

Step 5 – Finish The Short Raw Edges

Now, you will have to neat the two shorter edges, both on the left and right sides of the fabric. First, with the wrong side upwards, fold a single short edge by two-eighth inches or 0.6 centimeters and fold it again by three-eighth inches or 1 centimeter.

Your hand must be pointing at the accomplished middle seam of the pillowcase, and that is how you will get to know that you are working on the wrong side upwards. The folds must be made on the wrong side of your pillowcase. It is so to prevent them from appearing on the visible side of the pillowcase.

Step 6 – Iron and Pin, and Repeat

Next, you need to iron and pin the fold of your pillowcase in place. The raw edges will then be hidden. Next, you need to repeat the procedure to attain the other shorter edge and sew the two folded edges. You can use one-eighth inch for the fold. Both the shorter edges on both the left and right sides of the rectangle will attain the finished, neat, and tidy edges.

Step 7 – Sew The Sides Together With A Flap

Now, turn the rectangle piece you made over to the visible side facing upwards so that you could see no finished or raw edges. You can look at the front piece as it is a longer rectangle and then measure it for 17 centimeters or 6.69 inches away from your shorter edge.

Mark the line at both the bottom and top of your fabric and pin them there. Bring the backward piece of the shorter rectangular piece to the mark you made. The wrong side of the back piece should be facing upwards now.

You can tell that the wrong side facing up as the finished middle seam is visible with the black thread.

Also, you need to fold the inner flap or the left side over everything. The pin or mark you made is now visible at the top edge of the pillowcase. You can also sew the bottom edge with a seam allowance of 1 centimeter or three-eighth inches. Repeat the method for the top edge as well.

Step 8 – Finish The Raw Edges

Now, you need to finish the two seams with the help of a sewing machine or the zigzag stitch or overcast on your sewing machine. This will prevent any fraying.

Firstly, you can do it by knotting the ends of your serger thread and then trim the rest of it. The second way is to slide the serger thread via the hand sewing needle with massive eyes. Now, slide the excess serger thread via ten stitches and then trim the excess.

Step 9 – Turn The Pillowcase Inside Out

Finally, you need to turn the pillowcase you sew with a flap inside out so that all the finished seams you did get hidden inside it. Also, you can iron the pillowcase to attain flat and crisp edges. Finally, place the pillow inserted inside, and the inner flap will stop the pillow from coming out.

Some Common Problems While Making A Pillowcase

1. The first one is all the folds you desire to sew can be mind-boggling, so always pay special attention. Make sure that you are working from the wrong or right sides, both at the same time.

2. The second one is don’t prefer using the quilting cotton as it is smooth enough to slip on.

What Are The Measurements For A Standard Pillowcase?

You can look at the size of pillowcases from various brands, and the standard size of the pillowcase measures about a height and width of 20 inches and 30 inches. However, some brands also prefer using 20 inches to 32 inches.

The inner flaps of the pillowcase are measured as 5.68 inches to 7 inches long. This flap size is big enough to stop your pillow inserted from falling out. Some also prefer about 6.69 inches long inner flap size.

These are just the measurements of finished pillowcases, and while sewing one, you need to cut the fabric in a larger measurement than these to include the inner flaps and seam allowances without causing mistakes.

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Jessica

I'm Jessica Flores, a professional fashion designer and an expert seamstress.

Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.

I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.

It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.

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