DIY Heirloom Pillowcase with Crochet Lace Trim

I finally did it! I finished my first project making crochet lace trim!! Learning to crochet onto fabric has been on my bucket list for a long time… so I’m beyond excited to share the finished project and a tutorial with you all.

Let’s start with photos of the pillowcase with this beautiful crochet lace trim stitched right into the fabric. It has such a pretty heirloom look…

See how pretty crochet lace is?

I might be a little bit obsessed.

I love knowing this was made the good ol’ fashioned way—with crochet thread and a little patience. The time I put into it makes it all the more special.

That’s all the pretty pictures I have for today, but if you want step by step instructions, here they come. I’m giving you lots and lots and lots of photos of the process!

Making Crochet Lace Trim on a Pillowcase

Materials

• Crochet hook 1.0mm. I got this set.
• Size 10 crochet thread. I got Red Heart Classic Crochet Thread in white from Walmart.
• Fabric marking pen
• Pillowcase

Before You Start This Project

I recommend knowing basic crochet before you try this project. The thread is very small, so the stitches can be a bit slippery. That said, if you know crochet, this is simpler than it looks. In fact, the lace pattern only uses four basic stitches: chain stitch, single crochet, double crochet, and the slip stitch.

This project also has you stitching into fabric! If you’ve never tried putting a crochet hook through cloth before, you may want to check out what I learned the first time I tried to crochet on fabric here.

Stitch Pattern

(If you have no clue how to read this, don’t worry! You can just ignore this scary looking diagram and follow the step by step instructions with photos.)

Now for the good part! Get ready for lots of pictures. I’m showing you step by step how I made this.

Marking your pillowcase

First, mark where your stitches will go into the fabric. They will be every ½” all the way around the edge of the pillowcase. Start on one side of the pillowcase, and work your way across the hem.

Once one side is completed, fold the pillowcase so you can see your last mark and keep going.

On my pillowcase, the last mark was exactly ½” from the first mark. I got lucky! If you end up with an awkward amount of space, don’t worry about it though! It can be a little shorter or even a tad longer if needed. Mostly likely, no one will ever even notice.

Row 1

Start by making a single crochet in your fabric.

To do that, push the hook through the fabric about 1/8″ from the edge, right on one of the stitch marks. (It may take some firm pressure while twisting the hook for it to go through.)

Once the hook is through, push it in a little farther to widen the hole.

Put a loop of crochet thread over your hook.

Draw the loop through the fabric. You should have one loop on your hook now.

Wrap your thread over the hook, and pull through the loop on your hook to finish your first stitch into the pillowcase.

Now chain 5.

Once you have five chain stitches, you do the same thing again.

Put the hook through the fabric at the next mark.

Yarn over hook.

Draw the thread through the fabric. You’ll have two loops on your hook.

Yarn over, pull through both loops to finish the single crochet. Then chain five.

Repeat this single crochet, chain 5 pattern all the way around the pillowcase.

You’ll get to where your project looks a bit like this. You finished your last single crochet for the first row, and you just made five chain stitches.

Put your hook into your first single crochet.

Now create a slip stitch. (That’s yarn over, draw through both loops.)

Your first row is done!

This makes a great base for a lot of different lace patterns. I kept going with row two…

Row 2

Start with 2 chain stitches. (This replaces what would normally be a double crochet to allow for changing rows.)

Create a double crochet in the same single crochet stitch that you slip stitched into on row 1.

Chain 2.

Double crochet into the same single crochet stitch twice more. There should be three double crochet stitches in the single crochet stitch now.

Fun terminology fact: these stitches make up a crochet shell. They fan out in a seashell shape, which I assume is how they got their name.

Next, chain three.

Then, slip stitch into the base of the chain stitches. This makes them bunch up, creating a decorative part of the pattern that is called a picot.

Now you are ready to do the same thing in the next single crochet stitch.

This time, you won’t need those chain stitches because you aren’t changing rows, so:

Two double crochet into the next single crochet stitch.

Chain two.

Two double crochet again, making a total of four double crochet stitches in the same first row single crochet stitch.

Chain three and slip stitch into the first chain to create a picot.

Keep repeating the pattern all the way around the pillowcase.

When you’ve made your last shell and picot, it is time to slip stitch into your first shell.

Put your hook in the top of the two chain stitches.

Yarn over, and pull through both loops to slip stitch the pattern together.

Enlarge the loop on your hook. Cut off the thread, leaving an inch or two of extra.

Tuck the end through the loop and tighten it.

If you completely forget this step and pull the loop out instead of tucking the end through the loop (I did!), don’t panic.

There is a second way to tie this off. It works alone or to reinforce the first way.

Just wrap the thread around, through the space between shells. Tuck the end through the loop and tighten.

To hide the end of the thread, I used a needle to weave it into the lace, following the side of the shell and leaving the tail on the inside of the pillowcase.

I tied the two tails together to make sure my hard work doesn’t come undone any time this generation or the next. (Hopefully… I told you this is my first crochet lace project, right? I could be wrong, but it’s held up beautifully so far!)

Then cut off the thread near the knot.

Finally, it’s finished!

What do you think? Are you going to give crochet lace a try? Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions. I would love to hear from you!

Blessings,

Recent Posts: