Sewing My First Pillow Case (and Learning the Hard Way)

I know. I know.

“Oh look, another pillow case blog.”

And you’re not wrong. Pillow cases might be one of the most covered beginner sewing projects on the internet. They’re simple, useful, and a great confidence booster. But here’s the thing — most of those posts skip over the messy middle. The part where things don’t line up. The part where you cut something wrong. The part where you sit back, stare at your fabric, and quietly say, “Well… that’s not right.”

This post exists because I want to share not just the wins, but the mistakes too. I haven’t seen many tutorials that talk honestly about mistakes and frustrations. Mistakes feel like where I’ve learned the most, not just in sewing, but across MYOG projects, 3D printing, ham radio, and pretty much anything hands-on. If you’ve read my post on What MYOG Means to Me, you know this mindset runs through everything I build.

So yes, this is another pillow case blog. But it’s also a story about my first attempt, my mistakes, and why messing it up actually made the project better.

Why Copy an Existing Pillow Case?

There are plenty of free pillow case patterns out there. You could print one, tape it together, and get sewing. That works.

But I already had a pillow case that I liked. The fit was right. The cuff looked good. The proportions felt balanced. So instead of reinventing the wheel, I decided to reverse‑engineer it.

Using an existing pillow case as your pattern has a few big advantages:

You already know it fits your pillow
You can see how the cuff is proportioned relative to the body
You’re working from something that’s been tested in real life

It also should help you avoid silly mistakes.

Keyword there being should. We’ll come back to that.

Tools and Materials Used

This was a pretty straightforward setup — nothing fancy, nothing exotic.

For fabric, I used a simple cotton for the body and a coordinating fabric for the cuff. Cotton is forgiving, easy to press, and great for a first pillow case.

On the cutting side:

Rotary cutter and cutting mat
Scissors for cleanup and trimming
Clips instead of pins (mostly preference)

I’ll say this though: if you’re working with multiple layers — especially during the burrito method — pins might actually be the better choice. Clips are great, but they can let layers shift if you’re not paying attention.

For measuring:

A long ruler
A tape measure
And most importantly… something to write things down

Ask me how I know that last one matters.

Taking Measurements From an Existing Pillow Case

The key to copying an existing pillow case is how you measure it.

Don’t measure edge to edge. Measure seam to seam.

That little detail matters more than it seems. Measuring edge to edge ignores seam allowances, which means your finished piece can end up larger or smaller than expected.

Here’s how I approached it:

I laid my body fabric flat on a table, folded over on one side
I laid the pillow case on top of the body fabric as flat as possible, lining up the folded sides
Smoothed it out so there were no wrinkles or twists
Pulled the body down a couple extra inches
Measured the body length separately from the cuff
Wrote every number down

That last step helped me later.

Fabric laid out on a table with a pillow case being used as a reference.

Final Pattern Dimensions

After measuring and double‑checking, I landed on these dimensions:

Body: 27 x 42 inches
Cuff: 8.5 x 42 inches (This seems big, but keep in mind you will fold it in half)
Overall finished length: 31.25 x 42 inches

These measurements assume standard seam allowances and a folded cuff, just like the original pillow case I was copying.

At this point, everything looked good. Numbers made sense. Confidence was high.

Choosing the Burrito Method (and Why It’s Worth It)

I decided to use the burrito method for this pillow case. If you’ve never seen it before, it looks a little like sewing magic.

At a high level, the burrito method lets you enclose all the raw seams inside the pillow case. You roll the fabric up like a burrito, sew around it, then turn it right‑side out.

Here’s how the burrito method works in practice:

Lay the cuff fabric right‑side up on your work surface
If you’re using an accent fabric, fold it in half along the long side right side out, add to the stack, aligning the raw edges
Lay the body fabric right‑side up on top, aligning the raw edges
Starting from the body fabric side, roll the body fabric tightly toward the cuff — this is the “burrito”
Once rolled, pull the cuff fabric up and over the roll, sandwiching everything inside
Carefully align all raw edges, then pin or clip in place

At this stage it looks ridiculous. If you’re a visual learner like me, I found watching this step done in video form especially helpful. I found this video to be very helpful.

The result:

Clean interior seams
No exposed raw edges
A pillow case that looks finished on the inside and outside

Is it beginner‑friendly?

Yes… once you see it.

The first time you do it, it feels wrong. You’re rolling fabric into a tube and trusting the process. But once it clicks, it’s one of those techniques that sticks with you.

Attempt #1: Where It Went Sideways

Armed with my measurements and a healthy dose of confidence, I cut my fabric.

And I cut it wrong.

My dimensions were meticulous, but I put the fold in the wrong place. Everything technically matched the numbers I had written down — but the orientation was off.

I didn’t notice immediately.

It wasn’t until I stepped back and looked at the pieces laid out that something felt… weird. The proportions didn’t look right. The layout didn’t match what I expected. (DOH!)

That’s the dangerous part of mistakes like this. They’re subtle enough to slip through even when you are focused.

Let’s All Giggle for a Second

This is the part where we laugh a little.

Because this happens all the time.

Most tutorials show the perfect cut. The perfect alignment. The version where nothing goes wrong. But in reality, especially when you’re learning, mistakes are part of the process.

And honestly? They should be talked about more.

Attempt #2: Slowing Down and Doing It Smarter

For my second attempt, I changed my approach.

Instead of trusting measurements alone, I grabbed the original pillow case I was trying to copy. I clipped it directly to one side of my fabric.

This did a few important things:

It gave me a visual reference
It forced me to think about orientation
It made the fold placement obvious

I also intentionally cut the fabric slightly oversized.

Not by a lot — just enough to give myself room to trim things cleanly later.

This time, everything lined up the way I expected.

Why Cutting Extra Saved the Project

Fabric is cheaper than frustration.

Leaving extra material meant I could square things up after sewing instead of having to recut everything. It gave me flexibility.

More importantly, it taught me something bigger.

I realized I’d been procrastinating on this project because I was afraid of making mistakes. Once I accepted that mistakes are part of MYOG, it became easier to start.

You can’t learn without messing something up.

Just do it.

Sewing the Pillow Case (High‑Level Walkthrough)

Once the cutting was sorted, the sewing itself was pretty straightforward.

Lay out the burrito stack and roll it up
Sew along the long raw edge of the burrito
Gently pull the rolled up fabric out of the cuff
- it may help to turn part of the cuff right side out, the gently push and pull the fabric to work through the length
Press the seam
Place wrong sides together, sew along the raw edge starting at the cuff and ending near the fold
Turn it inside-out
Press the seam if needed
Stitch around the long edge and edge opposite to the cuff up to the fold
Turn right-side out

Nothing fancy. Nothing stressful.

And this time, it worked.

A completed pillow case using the burrito method.

What This Project Reinforced for Me

This pillow case reinforced a few lessons that keep coming up in MYOG:

You learn more from mistakes than first‑try success
Perfection isn’t the goal
Documenting failures helps other people
Confidence comes from fixing errors, not avoiding them

It also reminded me that confidence comes from small wins. Finishing one seam. Cutting one piece correctly. Setting small goals makes the project feel achievable.