Patriotic Pillowcases

Carol over at Brown Quilts has an interesting story about these pillow cases.  This morning, I made these 3 pillow cases and sent them out to her in Florida.

The main reason I am sharing this with you, is that each of these take about 30 minutes to make.  If you have not learned the "sausage" method of making pillow cases, here is a link: Quilt of Valor Presentation Cases.  There are a lot of other tutorials online--some with different names--but this is where I learned this fantastic quick and easy method of making pillowcases.  The band, the flange, and the body of the case are all sewn together at once.  Besides being super quick, when you are done, the interior of the case is completely finished with an easy French Seam and no seam allowances showing.

I had not made a French Seam since high school.  Back in the day, when we used to make all our own dresses, this is how I learned to finish the interior of my garments.  This was way before zigzag stitches.  This was way before other finishing and decorative stitches were available on sewing machines . . .

 . . .and light years away from my serger . . .