Sewing pillowcases for kids with cancer

That's it folks. Another Paula's Pillowcase Day in the books.  This year marks seven years of my friend Paula gathering her friends and her friends friends from near and far to spend a weekend cutting, sewing and wrapping up handmade fleece pillowcases for kids with cancer.

Paula's son was diagnosed nearly ten years ago with a rare form of cancer called Sarcoma. While he was in the hospital getting treatment they realized how uncomfortable the pillowcases were on bald Chemo heads.  A handmade pillowcase that was a gift from a friend became a treasured item and Paula's Pillowcase Project was born.

Paula is one of the most organized people I know and she has mastered the art preparing for this event.  Paula and her two sons line up ungodly early on black Friday morning picking up bolts of fabric when it's at it's lowest price. Volunteers wash the fabric and iron the bolts and then a team gathers on Friday night to cut out the several pieces of fabric that is required to piece together the pillowcases.

I'm a show up "sew your buns off" Saturday gal so pardon my lack of pictures from the Friday night events.  Lots of prep work goes in to make the event run smoothly so as many pillowcases can be made as possible when the team of ironers, sewers and trimmers comes in.

The morning starts off and continues with pinners.  People who put together the several pieces of fabric in a hot dog shape so that they can have their first seam sewn.

There are lots of different steps involved in making these signature Paula's Pillowcases.

After the hot dog step, the pillowcase is turned and opened and ironed. The fabulous trimmers with rotary cutters in hand trim down the cases so that they are ready for their french seam.

Paula says she has yet to find a volunteer that she can't use! People who can't sew pillowcases have just as important part in the day.  Ironers keep the process moving along and are a sewers right hand man.

The famous Paula giving instructions before lunch.

The crew

Who knew you could work up such an appetite sewing all day!  That's when the food crew comes in.  They provide delicious goodies from breakfast to snacks to lunch and desserts.

It sometimes feels like a slow process, but after lunch things really start to pick up as pillowcases in their various stages start to come to completion.

This little girl loved running from sewer to sewer grabbing completed cases and ringing the bell to let the group know a case was finished.

Then we keep track by changing the number on the board to keep count of the cases that have been completed.

 A group works on making cards and writing messages to the pillowcase recipients.

Each pillowcase then gets a card attached and a lovely ribbon tied to it.

Rows and rows of completed pillowcases ready to be delivered to Seattle Children's hospital.

I am so thankful for Paula and her willingness to put together this event every year.  I am blessed just by being a part of it.

Last year I created a sew along for those of you who are reading this and can't be here in person.  If you are interested in following along with my tutorial and sewing a pillowcase or two or ten for Paula's Pillowcase Project, I'm happy to send along an address for you to mail them to. Just let me know at rachelteodoro@yahoo.com.  Or feel free to whip some up for your local children's hospital, nursing home or family friend.  

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Pennies for Pillowcases another way to help with Paula's Pillowcase Project +$100 for your cause!

This week has been such a fun week crafting for a cause.

It's not too late to sew along with us and make pillowcases for kids with cancer.

But, if sewing isn't your thing, I have the perfect option for a way to help.

Recently, I learned about an on-line fundraising tool called Razoo.

Razoo is a place where people who make generosity a part of their everyday life gather.

Razoo allows you to donate, fundraise and collaborate to spread the word, raise awareness and support organizations, groups and causes all around the world.

For years, I've been a small part of Paula's Pillowcase Project.

I have spent a Saturday once a year sewing my buns off as Paula likes to call it.

I've stood side by side talking with moms about their kids treatments quietly thankful that the worst thing my kids have had to be treated for is a small gash in the head from a run in with the staircase.

I've pinned and ironed next to teenagers with frail bones and wispy hair talking about the excitement of graduation and their future college plans, all while having to be half cautious just in case their current treatments don't work.

I've sewn seams with cousins and siblings who have lost their playmates to cancer or who got a little too close to comfort knowing that they could have been lost.

I've rejoiced in seeing Paula's son Gary, who is now completely cancer free, make an appearance like any young teenager can at a sewing event.

Each year, Paula's Pillowcase Project grows.

Each year, we hear about how more lives have been touched by the simple act of a handmade pillowcase.

We meet families who have been recipients of the pillowcases and are now coming to donate their time to bless another child with a pillowcase.

Every year, as I sew pillowcases I am blessed beyond measure.

I share my day with you on my blog and always receive comments about people wanting to participate too, if only they lived closer, or if only they could sew.

Each year, Paula spends black Friday, in line at Joann's before daylight has even thought of breaking.

She hand selects bolts of fabric for kids that she hasn't yet met, but who she can probably guesses will like the airplanes, or the smiling penguins or sock monkey fabric.

She finds coordinating fabric to go with each and then stands in line for the bolts of fabric to be measured and cut.

When she gets to the checkout, she pays with her own money.

Recently, Paula has been receiving some donations to support the cause.

Each year a jar is set up at the event for "coins for cases", 

but those donations are just a small part of what it takes to buy the materials for this worthy cause.

This project was started and has sustained itself for years on money from Paula's pockets.

Thanks to Razoo, now you can help!

I've started a cause called Pennies For Pillowcases.
It was super easy for me to create an on-line fundraiser and with just a few clicks,
 I'm on my way to helping to make a difference.
You can find my fundraising page here.

It doesn't take me more than a minute to come up with a handful of social causes that I think are worthy of some attention.  I've spent years as a PTA parent, Razoo can help you create a no fuss fundraiser for your latest PTA project.  I've gone to countless garage sales people are hosting to help raise money for their friends international adoption.  I've stood outside the doors to our local grocery store collecting money and supplies for our local peanut butter and jelly project that makes sandwiches for our local homeless population each week. 

Razoo is a fantastic resource for these causes, allowing others to become aware of your cause and enabling the generous spirit of those around you.

I know that you probably have a cause or two {or more!} that you can think of too.

Razoo is donating $100 to one of my readers to help support their fundraising cause.

Just take a second to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway here.

a Rafflecopter giveaway
You will be well on your way to meeting your goal!

If you would like to help me meet my goal of providing funding for one year for Paula's Pillowcase Project {only $500!}, please visit my on-line fundraiser here.

You can connect with Razoo on Facebook, twitter and instagram

Check out some of the other Razoo fundraisers for a good cause. disclosure:This is a sponsored post on behalf of Razoo Fundraising.  All opinions are 100% mine and I fully support Paula's Pillowcase Project and it's cause. Everything is totally legit.

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Sew along with Holy Craft! Make pillowcases for kids with cancer!

On Monday, I announced my first ever Holy Craft sew along!

I am so excited about it!

I want to help my friend Paula take the 2013 total of 222 pillowcases made up to 300!

Think we can do it?

**If you want to help by donating money, please visit this link**

I shared a supply list with you on Monday.

In case you missed it you will need:
7/8 yard main flannel fabric

3/8 yard wide flannel trim

1/8 yard narrow trim

I will be making three cases.

I have this material all washed and ready!

Start by cutting your main body fabric down to 27"

I also used this fabric as coordinating trim.

Cut your smallest trim down to 3"

Your wide trim will be cut down to 11"

Press all of your pieces

Press/tamp narrow trim to 1 1/2 inches

Make sure you don't stretch it!

After all of your pieces are pressed, 

you will be making a hot dog.

To make a hot dog:

Lay your wide trim with the cut edge at your tummy

Layer narrow trim with raw edges matching wide trim raw edges

Layer main fabric right side DOWN with raw edges matching

Hopefully this image will help explain it a bit better

 Roll main fabric up toward you from the un-stacked raw edge toward the stacked raw edge

Bring the wide trim over rolled up main fabric and pin your raw edges together

This is a very important step!

If the edges aren't straight and even, the trim will look bad!

Pin
You now have a hot dog!

Sew it:

Stitch the raw edges of the hot dog with 1/4 inch seam allowance

Turn the hot dog right side out

It's like magic!

Iron the trim from BOTH side really well

Apply a decorative stitch to the lower edge of the narrow trim

For years, this is a step that we didn't do, but Paula noticed that once the pillowcases were washed this piece of narrow trim gets all wonky.

It helps to add a decorative stitch to keep in looking nice after the case is washed.

If you can, great, if you can't no worries!

Square it up

Match trim and raw edges WRONG sides together

Cut off selvage to make it even, cut off the bottom edge to even it up too.

Watch for your printed logos on selvage and make sure you trim all of those off.

Sew it again

Stitch with a very narrow seam allowance along your raw edges (1/8-1/4 inch seam)

If you need to re-trim your seam to make it more narrow, go for it.

We are trying to keep this seam from being bulky

If you find there is bulk in the corners you can trim those as well.

Turn inside out {right sides together}, poke corners out

Iron making sure to open up the seams

Stitch 1/4-1/2 inch seam allowance to encase your previous seam

This is the seam that you are making to encase the previous seam.

 Your seam should look like this

Turn right side out

Poke corners to make square

Iron making sure to open seams

Trim any loose strings

Press entire pillowcase

That's it!

It took me less than an hour to complete three pillowcases.

Once you are finished gathering your friends and making pillowcases,

you can send them along to:

Paula’s Pillowcase Project

C/O Light of Christ Lutheran Church

2400 SW 344^th St

Federal Way, WA 98023

If you would like to include a hand written note for the kids, that would be awesome!Let me know if you have any questions!

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Holy Craft sew along-sewing pillowcases for kids with cancer

For the past four years, I have been participating with my friend Paula in a thing she callsPaula's Pillowcase Project.Several years ago, Paula's oldest son was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer called Ewing's Sarcoma.While Gary was being treated at Children's Hospital in Seattle, the itchy scratchy hospital pillowcases were downright uncomfortable for a bald kid going through chemo.
Once Gary was finished going through treatment, Paula started Paula's Pillowcase Project with some soft flannel fabric purchased on black Friday and cut and stitched with loving hands from her friends in the community.
This past year, after a weekend of sewing our buns off as Paula likes to say, the team of volunteers completed 222 pillowcases.I have shared with my blog readers a recap of the event, and every year, I get people expressing their desire to want to help in some way.
Well, look no further!You too can help.
I am excited to launch my first very first Holy Craft sew along!
We will be making pillowcases for kids with cancer to be distributed at  Children's Hospital in Seattle.

On Wednesday, I will have a full tutorial for you on how to sew flannel pillowcases for this great cause.

Here is what you need to do to be ready for Wednesday.

 7/8 yard main flannel fabric

3/8 of coordinating wide trim in flannel

and 1/8 of coordinating narrow trim in flannel

Of course, if you want to double {or triple} these amounts, 

since you are already at the fabric store, feel free!

Pre wash your material by Wednesday and you are ready to go!

Please share this event with your friends.Pin this on pinterest
We want to get as many pillowcases sent to Paula to deliver at Children's as we can.I would love to take that 2013 total from 222 to 300!Think we can do it?

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