A Homespun Year...Lavish French inspired trimmed pillowcases...

 I've been pinning dreamy lace trimmed French linen pillowcases on Pinterest ever since Pinterest first sucked me into it's vortex caught my eye. I have hundreds of them on my Lush Bed Linen board.

They're lush and lavish and lacy, and really...what's not to like? 

But there is that one stumbling block. The ones I frequently admire start at $98 each. That's not for a pair. That's for one. Sigh.

So what could be easier than making my own?

You like?

 I can't decide whether I prefer the buttery ivory vintage styled cotton lace and chiffon flounced version above...

..or the more lavish appliqued, beribboned and muslin frilled soft dove grey one below...

 It's okay. At this price and with very little effort, I can have both...as many as I want.

I used inexpensive purchased pillowcases at around $6-$10 each, in white and soft grey.

I had on hand the following trims:

Muslin (Cheesecloth)

A remnant of cream chiffon

Ribbons in many different colors

Many lace trims

Bridal/Costume Appliques

I tend to snaffle these things from the bargain tables at my favorite haberdashery, and rarely pay more than mere cents per metre for them.

The appliques were just $1 each, as they were a shade of lilac that clearly isn't really in favor at the moment. They're the kind of thing that comes in a mirrored pair, and usually adorns the bodice of a costume or wedding dress. A dunk in a bucket of boiling water with a third of a bottle of grey Rit dye for polyester fabrics, where they swam around for several hours until I was happy with the shade of grey, remedied the less than stylish colour.

 A 20cm (8 inch) width of muslin was folded in half and stitched to create a double layer for my flounce. I gathered it slightly, and laid it along the open edge of my grey pillowcase, topping it with a sliver of pewter grey satin ribbon trim. I pinned all the layers together.

 I then added the applique`, pinning it into place.

 I carefully ran a line of small stitched along the ribbon, making sure I caught all the layers of muslin, pillowcase and ribbon with my stitching. I then stitched very slowly and carefully around the entire outer edge of the applique`.

 The white one was a little easier.

I cut a 15cm (6 inch) deep piece of chiffon, using the entire width of the fabric to create my frill. I left the edges raw to create a Shabby look, and gathered the material to make it fit the opening of the pillow case. Then this and my cotton, vintage inspired lace, were pinned to the top edge. Make sure you're pinning your trim to the single layered edge of your pillow case, not the one that's doubled, that keeps your pillow in place.

 Again, I carefully ran a line of stitching along the edge of the lace and chiffon, making sure I caught each layer in the stitches.

 A very lush and lovely result for a total spend of about $40, which was for the pillowcases, the appliques, and the grey dye. That $40 spend will yield me 6 embellished pillowcases. Even if I'd bought all of the trim, I'd have spent no more than a further $20 at the very most. So let's say I'd had to buy everything to start with, I'd have spent $60 for the six pillowcases, so that's $10 each.

That's a lot sweeter than $98 each! And I love them...

What do you think?

...Mimi...