Reuse & upcycle: pillowcase from...other pillowcases

As you've probably have heard before, I'm decluttering my house. Some weeks ago I went through my daughter's closet and found several small pillowcases from when she was a toddler.

None of the pillowcases fit any of the pillows we have in our house now, but the fabrics were cute, packed with memories and I clearly wasn't ready to part with them. But I'm committed to decluttering, so I had to find a solution: a new, larger pillowcase made with a mix of all the fabrics.

This was my first attempt at something remotely quilt-looking, and while I like the outcome (even if some of the squares are not perfectly lined up), the whole process was too long and difficult for my taste. Or maybe I just need more practice.

Anyway, I started with a bunch of small pillowcases (not all pictured below but all in need of a good ironing)...

...and began cutting squares. I love to see quilts made with lots of different shapes, but I decided to keep this as simple as possible and I figured squares would be the easiest to sew.

Deciding where to place each square took some time...

...and sewing them all up even took longer

The back of the pillowcase is made with white fabric and a plain envelope closure. The white fabric was also reused, as it came from a crib sheet.

Well, it may have not turned out exactly perfect, but has been in use several times since I finished it. And since I replaced several unused items piling in a closet by a functional pillowcase, I consider it a sucess.

Now I still have a bunch of crib sheets in need of some serious upclycling, so I must find inspiration and decide what to do with them...

Enjoy,