Fleece Pillowcases

With holidays approaching, the kids have been sifting through decorations and asked about the Christmas Pillowcases I made them two years ago…”Will you make some more of those again??”

Who can turn down that easy request?
Of course! Let’s make pillowcases for Halloween and Christmas!

So we headed to the fabric shop and I let them pick out any print they loved (the kind of stuff that my minimalist design brain would probably walk past).  But pillowcases and jammies are the best place to let the random fabrics run free.  And free they went!, creating a halloween storm on my bed.

Lucy and Owen with their favorite picks:

And a few of my picks:

And…..an updated tutorial on the original Pillowcase post because Lucy and Owen were so brilliant to select fleece fabric for their pillowcases.   I never would have thought to use fleece on a pillow you actually sleep with (rather than a decor pillow for the holidays).  But Owen LOVES soft textures, so I said sure.  And then I quickly realized how easy they would be to sew since fleece typically comes 60 inches wide on the bolt and the edges don’t fray.  Ding!

Of course if you want to make Halloween cases with traditional cotton, it’s easy to do as well (tutorial HERE).  I sewed one for Clara and, for the man of the house, per his request.   Plaid suits him well.


But if you want the uber duber quick-sew way, here’s what you do:

If you’d like to download and print the instructions, I have a 1-page PDF for you too!  Click HERE then print to standard 8.5 x 11 paper.

I surprised the kids with their new pillowcases when they got home from school and they dove in, loving the cozy fleece.
Then it was round after round of “Timber!”

Clara seemed to love her pillowcase as well….until I put it in the crib, and put her in there with it.  She looked at it, scooped it, tossed it, and threw her precious blankie and paci out with it.
Hmmm.
Baby steps to a new pillowcase for her.


And then I figured..if you’re making 4 cases, you should probably make 8 more??
I mean, naturally.

So we made a few for our good friends and our cousins who go crazy for Halloween too.


And there you go!  A simple Halloween project with some bite in it.
Enjoy!

  1. very cute and so simple 🙂 perfect project for my girls to do since they’re just learning to sew 🙂 tks love all your tutorials 🙂

  2. 2) Lori Faas

    My mom (Mimi) has made flannel pillowcases for the kids for many Christmases. My 14 year-old son still uses his Scooby-Doo one on occasion. (SH! Don’t tell him I told you!) 🙂

  3. 3) Nicole

    Oh boy! I recognize those names!!! They will be over the moon for this fun surprise & I LOVE the fabrics you found. Adorable!! And THANK YOU!! 🙂

    • 4) Dana

      haha. I hope they like them! And sorry….Lucy and Owen wanted to give them fleece pillowcases :)….so they’re not as quite cute as the other prints (in my opinion) but they’re super cozy!

  4. Oh my gosh! What a great use for that Halloween fabric my boys keep begging for and I keep refusing to buy! Will be making tomorrow. 🙂

    • 6) Dana

      haha. exactly how I felt! 🙂

  5. Smart way to use the fabrics they pick! Thanks for that. I have a pile of fabrics i was trying to figure out haha. I usually just use them as surprise linings in clothes but this is better since i buy a yard or more each time.
    I love that picture where Lucy is blurry jumping on the bed. Little Clara and that smile! I can just imagine all the laughs and giggles. What is she holding? Looks like a bottle?

    • 8) Dana

      haha. She’s holding my lotion! She’s obsessed with it 🙂

  6. 9) Lucy

    …and now I know what to make the aunts, uncles and cousins for a Christmas present!! Can’t knit them a reindeer jumper each, so this is the next best thing 🙂

  7. 10) Laura B-L

    I love Halloween! I made a Halloween print pillowcase for my son last year. I just uploaded it to the MADE flickr group. Pillowcases are such a quick project. It’s nice to sit down and have something finished in half an hour or so.

  8. nice! i never do anything special for halloween. but the halloweeny material is just darling!

  9. 12) Rachele

    why zigzag? I know for cotton it would help to keep fraying in line but with fleece…?

    • 13) Dianna

      Fleece is of the knit family and zig zag stitching allows the fabric to stretch without breaking the stitches.

  10. 14) shelley

    Sew cute! Did you do any in Christmas fabrics and if so, share your photos? Would love to make some for Christmas.

  11. Very nice. I love the choice of patterns.

  12. I’m always impressed by how generous you are, Dana, and how often you send sweet gifts to your family, no matter where you live. I should totally do that more–these are so quick and simple, but so thoughtful! I bet our babies’ cousins would love something like that… I wonder what the market is like in Thanksgiving fabrics?? (Probably pretty slim. Poor turkey.)

  13. Awesome! I am so making fleece pillow cases to use when I go camping and maybe at home too! Maybe with Star Wars fleece. 😉
    BTW, I love Clara’s chevron sheets. So cool!

    • 18) Jen

      What a great idea. I usually take my flannel blanket to put on my pillow when camping when it feels damp.

  14. 19) British American

    So cute! I just used your earlier tutorial to make a pillow case for my son’s 6th birthday. It turned out great. I bet my kids would love seasonal pillowcases too.

  15. 20) Juanita in OH

    Very smart, TFS!

  16. Belles réalisations!!
    Ce qui m’agace le plus: votre dernière fille avec de si beaux cheveux!! Bébé Macaron n’a presque rien sur la tête!!

  17. 22) Carolyn Thornley

    Think I’ll make the grandkids some. Thanks!

  18. 23) Carrie

    Did you know there are charitable organizations that take pillow cases for children and women that are in safe houses….it makes their beds more personable and it gives them a feeling that someone thought about them….hug a pillow and you feel the hugs back

  19. 24) Deborah

    This is absolutely wonderful and although we don’t go wild in Australia over Hallowe’en we certainly love it in this household and especially love pillows…. just need a banana pillow tutorial now and life would be perfect as the boy won’t sleep without it.

  20. 26) NiCaam

    Candy corn fleece pillowcases…even a candy corn nay-sayer couldn’t object to that! U truly make some of the neatest things.

  21. What a great simple project that the kids will love. We are really big into fleece in our home (even though we live in Arizona) and use it year round on our pillows. I can’t believe I was buying them online when they are this simple to make. Thank you for the simple instructions and also reminding me to pre-wash it. I can’t wait to run off to Jo-Ann’s.

  22. 28) iHeartQuilting

    All very cute. I would not have thought to use Fleece in a pillowcase, I’ll have to try it. I particularly like the plaid one – it doesn’t look specifically like Halloween, and those are Philadelphia Flyers colors!!

  23. What a fabulous idea. And fleece? I would not have thought of it either, but it is a great idea. I’m off to the fabric store at the end of the working day and will have to sew a few of those tonight! yeah!

  24. Halloween is not such a big event here, but when I saw some dreamy Belle and Boo Halloween fabric last year I just had to make my little boy a halloween pillow. He loves it!

  25. 31) Julie C

    We should all try to see the world thru the eyes of children. Love the pillow you made with each side being a different pattern.

  26. Super cute and the best part is that it’s so quick!! Perfect!

  27. 33) Mary Lou Hart

    Fleece pillow case what a great idea!! My 7 yr old has a small travel fleece pillow he loves and sleeps on most of the time because it is warmer. He has been using it since he was 2. The fierce is note removable and it doesn’t wash well (although we do still wash it periodically because otherwise Eeew, gross!) Why I never thought of a fleece case that we can toss in the wash I’ll never know. Must make several of these.

  28. 34) Lis

    I made a circle skirt with that same fleece candy corn print! I didn’t know what to do with the leftover material, but now I plan to make a Halloween pillowcase for the girls’ dolls. Thank you!

  29. 35) Carolyn Thornley

    Have to let you know I ran with the Halloween pillowcase idea and made 13 for our grandchildren.

  30. 36) Katie

    I’m super-embarrassed to be asking this, but I’m a really new sewer and always seem to screw up the math when I’m cutting. So here goes! It looks to me like this project makes TWO pillowcases. Is that right, or am I messing something up?

    THANKS!

  31. So cute! I made fleece pillowcases last summer for camping–but my girls love using them for everyday. I sewed straight side seams and zigzagged the hem at the opening! This made me think I should make some more (my mother used to make seasonal ones in flannel for gifts) especially since apparently fleece prints have come a long way! Amazing finds!

  32. 38) Liz

    Since Owen likes soft material (as do I), make one out of minky. I made one and LOVE it! So so soft, and the dog loves it too. Always a fight for the pillow with that pillow case on it.

  33. 42) Danielle

    So have you ever thought about braiding your fleece tye blankets so they don’t come untied in the washer? My aunt is pregnant with a baby girl, So I went to the local hobby lobby and bought two different pieces of fleece born zebra print one white zebra print and the other pink zebra print. It looks pretty cool and it’s warm I haven’t thought about making a pillow I am currently crocheting two baby beanies one pale plum and the other petal pink for 2.99 each red heart 100 % acrylic and I made two pom poms for the top of the beanies making your own gifts is way cheaper and more personal

  34. 43) Maria Ramos

    Thanks for this. very easy and a good project.

  35. 44) Rosa

    Have you thought of selling them? I’m interested in purchasing some!!

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