Sammy's new pillowcase

Christmas 2012 was THE year - the year I got a sewing machine! It is a pivotal point in a Knaak girl's life. Whole new possibilities of creative projects open up with a sewing machine! Here's the girl in her protective case.

Don't the stickers look great?

So what did I choose to make as my first sewing project? Well, there's a long list of things I want to make: quilts, clothes, etc. But as a grad student I'm limited on time especially since I have my 2nd comps (comprehensive exam) coming up. One thing that I needed to make that is fairly simple is a new pillowcase for Sammy. 

I originally made Sammy a pillowcase when he was in New Zealand studying abroad for a semester. I put a snake on it because its one of his favorite animals (yep, he was a biology major). Well, he's been sleeping on it for years now and it was deteriorating. 

Original Sammy pillowcase. The snake is falling off  in the middle.

A new pillowcase was needed and I now had the tools to do the job. I followed this easy tutorial and it turned out pretty well. But before I made the pillowcase, I asked Sammy what he wanted on it this time. In typical boy fashion, he said he wanted a dragon! Well, my simple first sewing project was turning into a difficult one. But I knew I could put anything on the pillowcase by fusing. Dragons have many complicated parts. Luckily, I took awhile looking around on the internet and found the perfect compromise.

A dragon shaped like a bicycle crank. (Can't find the original source.)

It was perfect! It's a  simplified dragon with a bike element for a guy who loves bikes. I did remove one of the horns and shortened the one I left. I used "Steam-a-Seam2" to put it on the finished pillowcase. I just followed the directions and it was easy. So here's the final result.

Much better than the old one!

Close up on the dragon.

Clashes slightly with the beautiful quilt. Jack had to make a sneak appearance.

I think it turned out well. I actually think I'm going to have to make one for myself! It was a great project to start on. Next up is patching bike shorts and a surprise gift for a friend. And eventually a log cabin quilt (I'm making myself wait until I defend my 2nd comps.)