As there is hardly any sunshine in the Netherlands over the past couple of weeks, we need to create some sunshine ourselves. And what´s a better way to do this than by creating some crocheted flowers. Unfortunately I haven´t saved the pattern description to my favourites, so I can´t share the original source where I got his idea. So I googled, and this description shows the instructions on how to crochet such a flower. Enjoy!

I recently rediscovered the blog of Sarah London. In one word it is Awesome. It is such a colourful blog with lots of inspiration for new crochet projects, sewing and other DIY. On her blog I immediately fell in love with her Hawaiian flower blanket and tutorial.  As I still have lots of different colours of yarn I could start with my own attempt of this lovely pattern.

The description of Sarah is very detailed and easy to follow. Here's my progress of the first six flowers. Lot's more to come!

A couple of weeks ago I started a new blanket. I found this new yarn, really soft and thick, and just had to buy it. Not that I needed any more new yarn, or a new blankie, but it is always good to have some nice stash to start a new project :)

I created the pattern myself, by modifying the previous ripple pattern I used in the baby blankets. This pattern is a little more open than the one used in the baby blankets. The only problem I have now, is that the grey yarn seems to be sold out in stores. And that is actually the yarn I need most. So I really hope to find some more grey, otherwise this blanket will remain work in progress forever....

During pattern class we created a pattern for a jacket. I modified that pattern to have a cardigan jacket, in my own size. Today I created a cardigan jacket in light blue/ grey, to go with the work in project dress. The latter one will be finished soon. The lining is in bright purple to give a nice contrast. It fits perfectly and I am really happy with it. Looking forward to wearing it soon.

When working on the pillow cover tutorial I created some more pillow covers. See here the one with the faces. Fabric by IKEA.

Today I want to show you how to create a pillow cover with a zipper. There are a lot of YouTube videos out there that more or less show you how to do this (there is a good instruction as well at prudentbaby.com) but I always had the feeling that 'something' was missing. So after many attempts, and unfortunately also many mistakes, I now have the hang of it, and would like to share my experience with you. I actually find this way of working quite simple, and you can create your own pillow cover, WITH zipper, in 30 minutes or less! Advice: Before you start read the entire tutorial, so you get an idea where we are heading.
What do you need:
Fabric
Zipper
Ripper

You need two equal parts of fabric, e.g. 32 by 52 cm. Make sure to add room to create seams on all sides later. In this case I have added 2 centimeters on all sides. This means the actual pillow case will measure 30 by 50 cm.
Next you need a normal zipper, see a picture below.

First both parts of the fabric need to be pinned together, see below.

The line on top in purple has three different parts: A - B - A.

Both parts A measures approximately 5 cm. Sew both parts A in stitch length 3. Part B forms the middle of the purple line, and needs to be sewn in a larger stitch length e.g. 4,5. (Part B needs to be opened up by a ripper after the zipper has been added. This is easier if you use a larger stitch length). Make sure to leave a small space between part A and B (see break in purple line in picture above). By having a space between part A and B it is easier to track back where part B begins and ends, and use your ripper later on. After sewing parts A, B and A via the purple line, the outer and inner side of the pillow case look like this.

The seam on the inner side is flattened by ironing it, creating the following:

Make sure to indicate on the left and right side where your part A starts, as the gap might not be clearly visible anymore due to ironing. See the small purple line in the 3rd picture above. Now the zipper will be added.

Place the zipper exactly in the middle of the seam face down on the inner side.

When pinning the zipper to the seam check regularly to see that the zip is in the middle.

After the zipper has been pinned to the seam, you can sew it using a zipperfoot.

A zipper foot looks like this. The right side will be placed against the zipper, and will follow the zipper nicely when sewing. 

Start at the end of the zipper and work your way to the front (part where you can open the zipper).

When you are almost at the end of your zipper, leave the needle in the fabric and lift your zipperfoot. Now push the zip behind the zipperfoot. This might take some effort, but will always work. When the zip is past the zipfoot you can drop the foot again on the zipper/fabric.

Continue towards the end of the zipper. Turn, and continue on the other side. Make sure to make your turn beyond the start of part A, indicated earlier by a purple line (within the 5 cm range of part A).

When you meet the zip again, perform the same trick as earlier to push the zip beyond the zipfoot. Then continue along the zipper towards the end. Turn at the same point where you started and finish off.

The outer side of your fabric should now look like this.

You can use your ripper to open up part B, and your zipper is visible!

Turn the fabric inside out and pin the other three sides together. Leave the zipper open otherwise you cannot turn the fabric to the right side once sewn together. Sew all three sides together.

Cut the corners from the pillow to get really sharp corners after turning inside out. Make sure not to cut your thread, otherwise you get a hole in your work. Your pillow cover is now finished!

Tadaa there is your pillow cover!

Now you know how to make a pillow cover, you can make more!

Lots more!

Fabric used in this tutorial is from IKEA.
Enjoy making your own pillow covers!