Pillowcases for Avi and Nini

Some time ago my sister asked that I make pillowcases for my niece and nephew. She purchased the actual pillows and gave me an unused quilt for the fabric. I had purchased a great book Simple Sewing by Beth Baumgartel last month and it has been a huge help with techniques, especially neatly finishing seams and construction tips. I used the book to make the pillows - super easy to follow.

Here are the finished products. I figured I'd embellish the pillows with some hand-embroidery. I am pretty pleased!

Matching Jumper and Burp Cloth with Dinosaur Applique

Pillowcase Tote Bag

Started: March 7 at 1.30 pm
Finished: March 7 at 3.30 pm
Pattern Used: Free Pillowcase Tote

My most recent project falls under the "green" sewing category. Green for two reasons - I reused an old pillowcase and the final product can be used as a small grocery tote. Overall, this project was VERY easy. Two aspects required a little thought. First, I didn't really know what "squaring off" the corners meant. I really needed to use my common sense for that and envision the bottom of the bag. Second, THE STRAPS!! Ugh. Whenever I need to sew something that is narrow or has a narrow hem or BOTH as in this case, the quality of my work decreases. The bag actually required two straps but the first one I made did not look very good. So, my hubby quickly suggested I just use one strap! Quick thinking! I think one strap works just fine.
My suggestions for this bag: I might try to find a way to make it more structured...
Areas to work on: narrow hems and detailing