Punch buggy. (Or in this case, Punch bus.) Spring is here & so is the VW bus parked outside my house. (The sign in the window says: Hippies Use Backdoor.)
So in honor of the reappearance of spring and VW buses, I decided to give some old white pillowcases new life. Plus I wanted to make something for my 11-year-old who is easily embarrassed by T-shirts proclaiming anything, let alone T-shirts homemade by his mother, so I figured pillowcases were a safe zone, free from 5th grade peer review.
I cut a stencil on freezer paper from an image of a VW bus that I downloaded online. As I’ve mentioned before, freezer paper stencils are wicked easy & satisfying. Here is the complete how-to. To trim the pillowcases, I bought a half a yard of Happy Camper fabric from the Monaluna Circa 60 Beach Mod line for Birch Fabrics (available at Fabricworm). I should’ve bought a yard, but I was too cheap ($8.25 for half a yard!). It’s organic, alas.
(The print is darker than how it appears on Fabricworm.)
No room for error. The pressure was on! I sewed the fabric directly onto the existing pillow trim (I split the seam for the trim–but not the rest of the pillowcase–to make it easier to sew). For the edge that you see on the outside of the pillowcase, I folded 1/4″ of the fabric, ironed, and sewed as close to the edge as I could. For the hem inside of the pillowcase, I folded 1/4″ over twice to completely encase the raw edge. Not sure if this is the best way to add trim, but it looks decent and adds a pleasing weight to the end of the pillow. 
homemadecity.com 
Gorgeous! I love these. We are going to do freezer paper stencil t-shirts for B’s b-day party. You promise they are wicked easy, right? (I will be wielding the xacto knife, all kids go home with fingers in tact.)
The hot iron might be another safety issue. Although 8-year-olds do heal quickly. But if no one gets injured, I want to see the results! (Otherwise I’ll see the T-shirts as Exhibit A in your lawsuit with me.)
Margaret! You rock. Those are so cool. Also, I want to know the color of orange on the walls — Margot (5) wants an orange room and I’m searching for a color we can all be happy with.
Hi, Tash! Hi, Margot! The orange is Pittsburgh Paint 123-6–called “candied yam.” Yum. I couldn’t bear the thought of an entirely orange room, so I did two walls orange, two off-white–creamsicle style. Abe has been pleased with his walls, if and when he notices, which generally I’d say he doesn’t. I’m sure Ben Moore has a similar hue.
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