Want to make vs need to make

I've made things almost as long as I can remember - one of my earliest memories is of sitting under my mother's sewing table, pinning scraps into "garments" for my dolls (I don't think my mother knew about my hoard of straight pins.)  If I go too long without making something, I become a very cranky person, which is Not A Good Thing.  On one level, it's always about needing to make stuff.  But when it comes to what I choose to make, sometimes it's all about making whatever I feel like, and sometimes it's about making something I need.

The other day I pulled an old and much loved pillowcase out of the dryer, smoothed it out with my hand, and watched it rip right down the middle.  No salvaging that -- I love how soft this pillowcase was, but a seam where my face would be?  No.  So today I went through my stash of baby blanket flannel, found some that would work reasonably well with my sheets, and made new pillowcases.  

It's been awhile since I made a pillowcase and I had forgotten how easy these are.  It took me about an hour and a half, from going through the stash to choose fabrics to fluffing the pillows inside the new cases.

I used the "burrito" method, which leaves you with no raw edges on the inside.  The Twiddletails tutorial for this is very nice, as is this video tutorial from the Fat Quarter Shop, which is what I was following today.  I will do a few things differently, though, the next time I make these. 

•  The cases came out a bit larger than I like -- I don't like to have so much of the cuff hanging off the side of my pillowcases.  The tutorial I used calls for cutting the body at 27.5" x 41", and the cuff something like 8.5" by 41".  I cut the body at 26" and the cuff at 8".  I'm happy with the cuff but next time I'll go an inch smaller with the body.  

•  The tutorial calls for a scant 1/4" seam plus a hefty 1/4" seam for the French seams that finish the sides and bottom of the case.  That wasn't enough to make sure all the lose threads on the edges were caught inside the seam.  Next time I will use a 1/4" seam for the first seam and a 1/2" seam for the second seam.  Cut at 41" wide, there's more than enough room to lose a bit more to the seam allowance. 
  
• I will NOT be making flannel pillowcases again.  There's a step that involves pulling the body of the case through as you turn the cuff right-side out.  The flannel sticks to itself and it was so hard to pull it through that some of the (very small) stitches came loose and had to be re-done.  Flannel is nice and cozy but next time I'll stick to quilt-weight cotton.

Overall, though, I'm pretty happy with the pillowcases - and I still have time to get in a little knitting this evening!