08/07/2015
How to make pillowcases for sick kids in the hospital:
1. Purchase your fabric from the store: Try to get fabric that is as wide as possible. This way you will get more pillowcases from each yard of fabric. Many fabrics come 42” wide. Some fabrics come 90” wide and 118” wide.
2. Wash, dry and iron the fabric: Wash, dry and iron all the fabric before you sew it so that it is pre-shrunk and clean before you start sewing. The ironing will help to make sure that the fabric is sewn evenly.
3. Determine your pillowcase size: A finished standard pillowcase is 20” x 30”. We chose a standard pillowcase size but decided to have a small 1” seam where the pillow goes in instead of a 6” seam. This saved us from having to buy an extra 19.5 yards of fabric.
4. Make your pattern: Get a large paper leaf bag or tape 2 paper bags together for the dimensions you need. Cut it out so that it measures 32” long x 42” wide. Be very careful with this step because you will use this to pattern to cut out all your material.
5. Cut out fabric: With the fabric that you have purchased from the store and that you washed, pin the pattern to the fabric and then cut out. Repeat until all your fabric has been cut out.
6. Pin and sew the side seams on the pillowcase: Fold the fabric pillowcase in half (inside-out so the finished part is on the inside). Pin it on two sides – on the long side that is not folded, and what will be the bottom of the pillowcase. Don’t pin on both ends because you need one end open so that you can put the pillow in. Make sure the pins are perpendicular with the edge of the material, and the sharp points of the pins are facing out to the edge so that the sewing machine needle runs over the pins without breaking the needle. This also makes taking the pins out much easier. Sew the two sides that you just pinned with a 1 inch seam. Make sure the color of the thread matches the color of the pillowcases.
7. Trim inside corners of pillowcase: This makes it so the corners won’t bunch up. Do not cut where you sewed.
8. Iron side and bottom seam open on the inside of the pillowcase: This makes it so that when you sew the top seam (where the pillow goes in) the seam isn’t pulled over to just one side and it is even.
9. Iron, pin and sew the seam on the open end of the pillowcase: Fold the open end of the pillowcase over ½” and then iron it. Then fold it another ½” and iron again. This makes the pillowcase seam stay intact when it is washed repeatedly. Then turn the pillowcase so the good side is on the outside and sew a ¼” seam around the edge. We did this so that the nice part of the sewing was on the outside of the pillowcase.
10. Push the inside corners out: Use something that can get right in there. We used a small paint brush.
11. Iron the pillowcase: Iron each one so that it isn’t wrinkled and looks nice.
12. Fold the pillowcase and put in a bag: Fold the pillowcase so that it fits neatly in the bag and so the bag is easy to close. We used quart sized bags and had to play around with the folds so that it looked nice in the bag. Different materials may have to be folded differently.
13. Make a note for each pillowcase: Write a note that will go with each pillowcase. The note should offer an encouraging saying. It should also thank everyone who has supported the project. This will include everyone who helped with planning, funding and all parts of the project.
14. Pack pillowcases for transportation: Find some boxes or containers to transport all the pillowcases in. We took paper boxes and wrapped them in fun patterned wrapping paper. The box needs to be sturdy. Finally,
15. Deliver pillowcases: Set up a time to deliver the pillowcases to the contact at the hospital. Be sure each box of pillowcase bags is sealed and the boxes are closed. Know that you have made a difference in somebody’s life!
To Make This Project for a Girl Scout Silver Award Project:
1. Pick a person to act as your advisor: This person cannot be a troop leader or a parent. Our advisor for this project was the contact for the hospital. If you want to do this for the cancer center, call the cancer center of your local hospital, tell them who you are and what you want to do, and ask them who the right person to talk to would be.
2. Record your time and progress: Be sure to record everything that you do on your time sheet. Be sure to get pictures of your progress as you go. This will come in handy when you have to make your project board that shows what you did.
3. Donations: Before you can ask for money, you need to know how much money you will need for your project, so you need to answer these questions:
a. How many pillowcases will you make? This will determine how much material you will need. Each pillowcase we made used about one yard with fabric that was 42 inches wide.
b. How much thread will you need to sew the pillowcases? Each pillowcase used about 5 yards of thread: (approximate measurements) 30” on the side + 40” all around the top + 20” around the bottom= 90” + the same amount for the bobbin = 180”; 180” divided by 36” (one yard) = 5 yards.
c. How many plastic bags will you need? You will use one per pillowcase.
d. What kind of container will you put the plastic bags into? We used paper boxes from our parent’s office covered in wrapping paper.
e. How much paper will be needed for the notes that go inside each pillowcase bag? We used one note per pillowcase and were able to print 4 notes on each piece of cardstock paper.
f. What is your timeline for finishing your project? You need to know that so you can answer any questions potential donors may have.
You have to decide who you will ask for donations. You can ask faith organizations, corporations, small businesses, and/or individual donors. Different donors will require different things:
Faith Organizations: For faith organizations you will need to make a presentation. You can do this during a service and post a flyer on their bulletin board. Then you will need to set up some way to collect money with the organization.
Corporations: Many corporations work through an online request form. This form will ask questions about the entire project and will take a few hours to fill out. Many corporations use the same form. Many of them also give their own gift card as a donation, so choose your donors carefully.
Small Businesses: For small businesses you need to have a flyer with all the project information. You will also need to write a letter customized to that specific business. You will need to find out who the owner or the manager is and talk one-on-one with them in addition to writing the letter.
Individual donations: For individual donations you will need to talk one-on-one with people. You should also plan on leaving them with a flyer with all the information. You will need to let them know how, where, and how soon they need to donate.
4. Purchasing materials: After you have received your donations, make sure you record all donors so that you can thank them at the end of the project. Now you are ready to buy all of your project materials. Be sure to use coupons and discounts as much as possible. Also, if you are a non-profit group, be sure to use your tax exempt form.
5. Make your pillowcases: See the instructions on the sheets above.
6. Deliver pillowcases: Call the hospital contact and make arrangements to deliver pillowcases. Be sure to let them know if you want to take pictures when you deliver the pillowcases in case they need special permission from the hospital administration.
7. Thank your donors: Write thank you letters to all donors and people who made your project possible. Also, if possible call each individual donor and tell them that their donations made the project possible. Hand-written thank you letters are best.
8. Make a project board: This is a tri-fold of the project. It tells the story of what you did, how you did it and shows pictures of what steps you took, and the completed project. Present this to your Girl Scout Service Unit.
9. Have advisor sign your project sheets.
10. Turn in all of your forms to the appropriate Girl Scout leader.
