Easter Pillowcases

Easter is right around the corner and we love these adorable Some Bunny Loves You pillowcases made by American Patchwork & Quilting for the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge! Sew a few and tuck them into Easter baskets, or donate them to your favorite charity. 

Pillowcase #78 - Ruffle Trim Band

Click here to find the pattern.

Photo: APQ

Pillowcase #79 - Peep and Hop Applique Band

Click here to find the pattern.

Photo: APQ

Click here to see the entire Some Bunny Loves Your collection.

Click here to learn more about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge.

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March Madness Giveaway!

Voting for the nomination round of our March Madness Fan Favorite Pattern is still open, so if you haven't picked your favorite three, click here to vote. 

But we also wanted to share this giveaway opportunity with you--imagine what you could make with these gorgeous blue precut strips! 

The One Million Pillowcase Challenge March Pillowcase Madness competition is heating up and we’re giving away a cool prize! 

Check back daily through the end of the month for a new prize each day. Enter for our prize here, today only.

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Smudgy Cat and the Road to 1 Million

Hello, and welcome to one of many stops on American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge Blog Hop. As a sponsor of the Challenge, we're thrilled to be sharing a pillowcase made from Kanvas' Smudgy Cat collection, which we'll be donating to The Ronald McDonald House New York. We love the 1 Million Pillowcase concept--they're quick, easy and fun to make, and such a simple way to make a difference in someone's life. We're happy to help AP&Q in its quest to hit 1 million--will you help too?

We used three prints from the Smudgy Cat line along with the Rickrack Band pattern, #21 out of the 43 (!) free pillowcase patterns available on the All People Quilt website. We loved the overall cat print for the main pillow, and the two paw print fabrics provided great contrast for a wavy edge cuff. We think these friendly kitties will warm the heart of whoever receives the pillowcase--who couldn't help but smile at these cuties?!

Here's our pillowcase with a coordinating throw print made from the collection's panel--equally cozy and welcoming, we think!

And a quick peek at a few other fabrics in the collection (see them all here, and they also come in flannel!):

(psst...you'll also find a free quilt pattern using these fun felines!)

Plus the pink colorway:

Be sure to check out the other pillowcases in this hop made using Benartex fabric:

Debby Kratovil, using Cool Girl and Tropical Rainforest

Wendy Sheppard, using Made with Love

And then keep hopping! Visit all of the blogs below to see the various pillowcases that were stitched just for this blog hop, helping in the push to donate 1,000,000 cases.

·    Alison Glass (http://alisonglass.com/blog)

·    American Patchwork & Quilting (www.allpeoplequilt.com/blog)

·    Barb and Mary of Me and My Sister Designs (http://www.meandmysisterdesigns.com/blog/)

·    The Benartex Design Team: Sew in Love with Fabric (http://www.sewinlovewithfabric.blogspot.com) (YOU'RE HERE!)

·    Debby Kratovil (http://debbykratovilquilts.blogspot.com/)

·    Edyta Sitar of Laundry Basket Quilts (http://www.laundrybasketquilts.net/blog/)

·    Heidi Pridemore (http://heidipridemore.blogspot.com)

·    How To Sew (www.howtosew.com)

·    Jennifer Paganelli of Sis Boom (http://www.sisboom.com/blog/)

·    Joanna Figueroa of Fig Tree Quilts (http://figtreequilts.typepad.com/my_weblog/)

·    Karrie Winters of Freckled Whimsy (http://www.freckledwhimsy.com/)

·    Kelle Boyd of Ann Kelle (http://www.annkelle.com/category/blog/)

·    Linda Carlson (www.lindacarlsonquilts.com)

·    Lori Mason (http://www.lorimasondesign.com/news/)

·    Modern Quilt Studio (http://craftnectar.com/)

·    Nicole Daksiewicz of Modern Handcraft (http://modernhandcraft.com/)

·    Northcott: Patti’s Patchwork (www.pattispatchwork.com)

·    Shannon Fabrics: My Cuddle Corner (http://shannonfabrics.com/blog/index/)

·    Tammy Silvers (http://www.tamarinis.typepad.com)

·    Timeless Treasures: Sew Timeless (http://www.ttfabrics.com/blog/)

·    Valori Wells (http://www.valoriwells.com/blog/)

·    Verna Mosquera of The Vintage Spool (http://freespiritfabric.blogspot.com/)

·    Wendy Sheppard of Ivory Spring (http://ivoryspring.wordpress.com/)

Have you made a pillowcase for the Challenge yet? You can find more details and patterns here, as well as information about the 24-Hour Sew-a-thon, scheduled for September 19th and 20th, 2014. Imagine how many pillowcases can be made in 24 hours?! 

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Pillow Talk

Today we're checking in with American Patchwork & Quilting's 

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. 

The official counter currently reads 530, 794. That's quite a number! 

Each quarter, AP&Q features pillowcases made from the fabrics of the Challenge sponsors, including us. 

Here's the Rows of Ruffles pillow, featuring our Cherry Blossom Festival fabric by Mitzi Powers:

Rows of Ruffles pillowcase, from American Patchwork & Quilting. Find the pattern here.

See the entire Cherry Blossom Festival fabric line here.

And the Feather Applique pillowcase, featuring Op Art Reflections by Maria Kalinowski for Kanvas:

Feather Applique pillowcase, from American Patchwork & Quilting. Find the pattern here.

See the entire Op Art Reflections line here.

Find all the patterns the Challenge has offered (37 so far!) here.

Find out more about the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge here.

Would you like to see additional pillowcases made from Benartex and Kanvas fabric? 

Check out blog posts for pillowcases made by our design team here, here and here!

And don't miss this one for a tutorial on making a drawstring bag pillowcase!

See additional pillowcases made by American Patchwork & Quilting using our fabrics here.

Be inspired! Make a pillowcase!

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Pillowcase to Drawstring Bag Tutorial

Yesterday we showed our drawstring bag version of the train pillowcase design as part of American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase blog hop; today we're sharing how to make it.

Drawstring pillowcase, featuring Nancy Halvorsen's Ho-Ho-Ho Let It Snow collection

We used the basic pattern directions that you can find here (thank you, AP&Q and 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge!) with just a few changes.

In addition to what you find listed in the directions, you'll need:

(1) 4" x 42" strip for the casing (ours is the green tonal you see below)

(2) 1" x 42" strips for the drawstring (we used solid gray)

We also used a 13" x 42" strip for the pillowcase sleeve; making it slightly wider means more of it shows beyond the casing.

Add the train pieces to the pillowcase as directed (you'll see we added ours at the bottom of the bag, rather than along the side).

Press the 4" x 42" casing strip in half lengthwise, wrong sides together. Trim 2" off of one end and then press each short end in approximately 1/4" to create a finished edge. Lay out the 11" (or 13", your choice) x 42" sleeve strip and center the folded casing strip on top, raw edges matching. Center the casing strip so the sleeve strip extends at each end. Pin in place. 

We used the burrito method of assembly (find it here if you're not familiar with it--super easy!). So with the casing pinned to the sleeve, add and roll up the pillowcase, and then fold the opposite raw edge of the sleeve around and pin. 

Stitch along the raw edges and pull the pillowcase out of the tube. Press the casing and sleeve away from the main pillowcase. 

Topstitch the opposite long edge of the casing strip down. 

Join the short ends of the two 1" x 42" drawstring strips. Press the long strip in half lengthwise, then open and fold each long edge in to the center fold line and press. Fold again on the center crease and topstitch. 

Use a safety pin to feed the drawstring through the casing. Trim drawstring as desired and knot each end. 

Your drawstring pillowcase is complete! 

Note: If you decide to use this as just a pillowcase, remove the drawstring from it to avoid potential strangling from the drawstrings.

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All Aboard!

Hello! If this is your first time visiting our blog, welcome! If we're already old friends, thanks for stopping by! 

Today we're joining with American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge to show off our version of the Pinterest contest winning design. 

We used the festive, cheery prints from Nancy Halvorsen's Ho-Ho-Ho, Let It Snow collection to stitch this Candy Cane Train pillowcase.

The three middle train car appliques are open at the top, creating pockets for holiday treats (like candy canes!). This concept could also work to make a single pocket on a pillowcase for the tooth fairy to retrieve lost teeth and leave a surprise in return. 

We are proud to be sponsors of the 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge and think it's fantastic that the Challenge has passed the halfway point (508,000+ pillowcases donated...congratulations, sewers!!!!). 

We'll be sending this pillowcase and the others we showed last week to Quilts of Valor. 

If you haven't heard about the Challenge, the premise is simple: Sew a pillowcase and donate it to a local charity. It's that easy! Just make sure that you update the pillow counter on the website so that your pillowcase counts in the push for 1,000,000.

We also wanted to share a variation we made using this pillowcase design: a drawstring bag to use as gift wrapping! We'll be showing how we made this tomorrow, so stop back and visit again!

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Making Pillows Personal

We're back with three more pillowcases for American Patchwork & Quilting's 

1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. (See the first two posts here and here.)

Pillowcases offer the perfect opportunity to choose fun novelty prints--you can really personalize a gift by using specific fabrics that relate to a hobby.

The tennis prints, for the aspiring backhand, are from Games People Play

Here's the entire collection--not just tennis, but also ping pong, pool, and darts:

Gymnastics and soccer prints for aspiring athletes are from All Stars

Here's the entire collection:

Come back on Monday when we'll show off our version of the One Million Pillowcase Challenge's Pinterest winning pillowcase!

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His, Hers, Ours?!?!

We're back with some more pillowcase love in conjunction with American Patchwork & Quilting's 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge. (see the first post here).

We jokingly call these pillowcases "His, Hers, and Ours."All they need now is a monogram...

 The fabric? Tee Time from Kanvas. Realistic-looking golf balls, tees, and grass, with some argyle mixed in just for fun!

His

Hers

Ours?!

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Pillows that Pop!

Back in July we posted about American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge, which had recently crossed the halfway point. 500,000+ pillowcases made and donated; impressive, isn't it?!

Next Monday all of the sponsors for the Challenge (including us!) will be sharing their rendition of the winning pillowcase design from APQ's Pinterest contest. To lead up that post, we're going to show off pillowcases we've made using some fantastic novelty prints from various Kanvas collections. We'll be donating these pillows to a local organization when we're done sharing them. 

First up, Back to Cool School:

Crayon prints and rainbow stripes--these are really pillows that pop!

We chose these prints from the collection, but if you're looking for some back-to-school themed fabric, there are plenty more to choose from.

Some of our favorites, up close:

p.s. Since our last post about the Challenge one month ago, the pillowcase counter has jumped by 5,000! Keep those pillowcases coming!

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It's a Big Number!

503,666

That's the number, at least as of the time this post went live. American Patchwork & Quilting's One Million Pillowcase Challenge has inspired 503,666 pillowcases to be made. 
That's fantastic!
It's also just a little over halfway to their bold 1,000,000 goal. 

To celebrate reaching the halfway point, AP&Q is hosting a contest on Pinterest. They've chosen 20 of their favorite pillowcases and are asking readers to choose one and repin it on their own board. The pillowcase pattern with the most repins by July 31 will win. 

So, head over to AP&Q's Pinterest board and repin your favorite!
(And if you need help deciding which to vote for...ahem, cough, cough...this one below, featuring our Rockets & Robots collection by Blue Sky Studios, is ours.)

We at Benartex are thrilled to be a sponsor for the One Million Pillowcase Challenge. We love the concept--quilters and sewers making and donating a pillowcase to a local charity, making a difference in their own community. We love how easy it is--you can make a pillowcase in an hour! 

Find more details about the One Million Pillowcase Challenge, including free patterns for pillowcases, a list of charities, and the official counter keeping track of donations, here.

One more thing we love about the Challenge--seeing all the different ways our fabrics can be used to make bright, cheery pillows. Check out some of the samples made by American Patchwork & Quilting:

Lili-fied chevron pillowcase

Manhattan Modern  crazy rail fence pillowcase

Cabana uneven hourglass pillowcase

Interlude spool pillowcase

Tree Frog train pillowcase

Find the free patterns for all of these pillowcases here.

And don't forget to head over to Pinterest and repin your favorite! After the winning pillowcase has been selected, we'll be remaking it in some of our newest fabric and joining in the One Million Pillowcase Challenge blog hop!

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More Manhattan Modern

We recently debuted Michele D'Amore's latest collection, Manhattan Modern. Today we're showing some additional free patterns you can use with these bold, graphic prints. 

American Patchwork & Quilting used Manhattan Modern with a crazy rail fence band for its 1 Million Pillowcase Challenge initiative.

Download the patterns for the pillowcase here.

On our website, we have free patterns for two quilts and a table runner, 

all designed by Stitched Together Studios.

"Emerald Cut" in two colorways

The table runner version

"Modern Living"

Click here for the free pattern pdfs for any of these patterns. 

There are so many creative ways to use these large-scale prints. Have fun!

p.s. Remember Lili-fied? There's a pillowcase pattern on the APQ site for that collection as well, with a cool chevron band!

Download the patterns for the pillowcase here.

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