Disney DIY: Road Trip Pillowcase

As a kid, we made many a road trip to Walt Disney World. From our place in the Midwest, it was about 18 hours. That's a LONG time to be on the road for any kid. We were lucky to be traveling in a motorhome most of that time; my heart goes out to those who must travel in a car.

These pillowcases, looked like they would be perfect for a Disney road trip. Anything to make the magic last a little longer! I think they would also be a perfect surprise for your kiddos at the start of the trip. Of course I used my fairy wand to make them Disney-ready. I could EASILY get carried away with themeing these! As always, think about the color palettes of your kid's favorite Disney characters, licensed fabrics, iconic images. The list seems endless!  And of course, you could use a Mickey or Minnie silhouette in place of the monogram. Anyhoo, on to the tutorial.

Materials Needed for Standard Pillowcase:

24" x 43" rectangle of main fabric (Toy Story)
2.5" x 43" strip of fabric for trim (wagons)
12" x 43" rectangle of contrast fabric (orange)
2  15"x12" rectangles for pocket (yellow polka dot)
1 fat quarter for monogram (wagons)
3" piece of velcro
22" piece of cotton webbing
matching thread

I combined two tutorials to get just the look I wanted: for the case, I used this 15-minute Pillowcase Tutorial from The Cottage Home, and for the pocket and handle I mostly used this tutorial from Amazing Mae. I recommend printing them to reference as you follow these directions.

Specifically, I followed steps 1- 7 of the 15-Minute Pillowcase. Trust the directions, they are amazing!

Because I wanted this case to be completely washable I chose to use quilting cotton for the monogram. I also wanted to hide as many rough edges, hems and seams as I could, so I chose to do the monogram at this point in the process. I ironed-on sewable interfacing from Silhouette to the fabric for the monogram. I sent it through the Silhouette to cut out a "J" in Franklin Gothic Medium Font, ironed it onto the right side of one pocket piece (12" x 16"), and zig zag stitched all around it. (If you don't have a Silhouette machine, just print out a letter in a font you like, trace it onto the wrong side of your fabric and cut it out.) Now it can go through any number of washings without that the monogram falling off.

At this point, I picked up Amazing Mae's tutorial at step 5 to make the pocket.

At step 7, I pinned one side of the velcro in the middle of the top edge of the pocket, so that the middle of the strip was 1" from the top edge and directly over the monogram. I then topstitched 1" from the top edge of the pocket with a decorative stitch sewing right over the strip of velcro. This way, the stitching for the velcro doesn't show.

From here on, I referenced Mae's tutorial, but followed these steps instead:
Fold your pillowcase, right sides together, aligning the opening edges (in my case, the orange fabric). Iron the crease (or the bottom of the pillowcase). Open the fabric and place your pocket (but don't pin) on the pillowcase where you want it. Remember, you will have a 3/4" seam allowance around all raw edges. Pin the other piece of velcro on the pillow case, aligning it with the piece already on the pocket. Remove the pocket and sew around all sides of the velcro so it is firmly on the pillowcase. Now pin your pocket back on the pillowcase, aligning the velcro pieces and topstitch around all three sides.

Take your cotton webbing (handle) and pin it along the top of the pillowcase so that is it aligned with both sides of the pocket. Pin it in place. Fold your pillowcase in half (along the pressed crease), right sides together, making sure that the webbing is tucked into the right sides and not twisted (so when you turn it right side out it will indeed be a handle). Sew around the two unfinished edges (side and bottom) of pillowcase.

And that's it! You have a pillowcase that is road-ready! Fill it up and enjoy the ride. Until next time, may all your days be filled with fairy dust.