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Cozy tumpta pillows

 by Linda Theil



When I saw the "Timber Gnomies" flannel panel by Shelly Comiskey for Henry Glass & Company, I thought the panel would make cute, soft and cozy pillow cases. The gnomies resemble a beloved Swedish tumpta figure that I bought on sale at HomeGoods last year.

I made some pillowcases for presents last year and posted a how-to, "Burrito-style holiday pillowcases", on this blog that you can use to make pillowcases out of the "Timber Gnomies" panel, too, with the following additional information.

The "Timber Gnomies" panel measures 24-inches wide by 40-inches long, but I needed a piece 27 x 40-inches to make a standard-sized pillow case, so I sewed a 5 x 40-inch piece of coordinating fabric from the collection to the right side of the "Timber Gnomies" panel. Four inches would have been fine, but I like to give myself some leeway in my seaming, plus I figured I could trim the length later if it was too long -- better too long, than not long enough! After stitching, I topstitched that seam to give it a little bit of a finish inside the pillowcase.

Extra strip of coordinating fabric added to right side of panel
 to make proper width for standard pillowcase.

Detail: topstitching

I used the same coordinating fabric to make the cuff for the pillowcase with a piece cut 10-inches wide by the width of the fabric -- approximately 40-inches. I also cut a 2.5-inch piece of solid red fabric to make the narrow decorative band on the cuff -- measurements according to the original "burrito" directions.

Once you have attached the cuff using the "burrito" method described in my previous post, follow the directions to create a French seam on the side of the pillowcase. At that point, instead of French seaming the bottom of the pillowcase with the seam you just made on the side, you must center the side-seam down the back, and make the bottom French seam with the pillowcase folded so that the gnomes are centered on the front of the pillowcase.

Back of "Timber Gnomies" pillowcase before bottom French seam is sewn

Front of finished "Timber Gnomies" standard-sized pillowcase


UPDATE: April 13, 2021

I just made another set of pillowcases from printed panels that were constructed in the same way the tumpta cases above were constructed by making the side seam down the center of the back of the pillow, as described in this blog post above. 

This time I used a panel from the "National Parks: Second Installment" collection by Anderson Design Group for Riley Blake designs, published in 2019. I used the "Grand Canyon" and "Bryce Canyon" panels for the pillowcase set. Since these panels measure 36 x 42-inches, I was able to make a king-sized pillowcase from each panel. 

Front of king-sized pillowcase made from Grand Canyon panel of "National Parks: Second Installment" collection by Anderson Design Group for Riley Blake designs. 

Back of king-sized pillowcase made from Grand Canyon panel of "National Parks: Second Installment" collection by Anderson Design Group for Riley Blake designs. Note center seam, necessary to use the panel as printed.

I cut a 10-inch wide by width of fabric piece of orange cotton to use as the cuff for each pillowcase, and I cut a 2-inch piece from the 42-inch width of each panel to make a trim piece for the cuff. Press the 2 x 42-inch piece in half lengthwise to create a 1 x 42-inch trim. The cuff and trim will be attached to the 42-inch width on the side that you have cut the 2-inch piece from. 

If you wish your set of pillowcases to display with cuffs on outside edges as appearing on the bed display, you must cut the 2-inch trim piece, and apply the cuffs on opposite edges of your panels when oriented properly for viewing.

Follow the directions to make a burrito-style pillowcase using the directions for make a pillowcase from a panel with a seam down the center of the back of the pillowcase described above, and generally in the "Burrito-style holiday pillowcases" post on this weblog.

Comments

Cathy said…
Too cute and once again so creative. You are so talented!
Cathy said…
Too cute! You did a wonderful job!

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