When we were @ the hospital 2 weeks ago I discovered that they give kids having day surgery a pillow case that they can then take into operating room with them & then they can take it home. They have a small box with cases done up & the child chooses from the box. So I made inquiries & found out that the pillow cases are all donated so I decided I would try my hand @ a couple & see how they like them. I have had so many issues with my Serger not working & then when I finally get it to go it only does 2! Frustration sets in but I persevered & made 4 before it stopped on me again! I think I need to buy new thread & see if that will help? I hope that my fabric combinations are well liked. I also discovered if you buy 1 yard of 2 fabrics then out of the 2 yards you will get the cuff for one & the body for the other. I only got lucky having had some on hand but I will know for the next time. I wanted to have some for boys & for girls. With machine issues these took me forever to make lol but they are all bagged up & ready to go tomorrow. what do you think? I couldn't resist making one more, just in case someone has to have surgery on Monday

The thread on your overlocker may be old and dried out. Apparently there is some lubricant on the threads and if it is too dry, then the machine misses and misbehaves something shocking, but that should have resolved itself once you had used up the top few millimetres of thread. aka one or two pillowcases. But I am not a service person, so not too sure, just remembering what I was told when I had problems with my overlocker a couple of years ago.
Lovely idea for the kids going to surgery. And a nice change from a Trauma Teddy for a child who has a lot of hospital visits.

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by pldc 01 Nov 2016

yes we have the trauma teddy here too, we have 2 of them here @ home but the pillow case is a lovely idea. Thanks for the tips on the thread I will give that a try too

That is awesome!!! You are sooo sweet to do this!!! I commend you for your talents, and your heart!!! Hugs, Judy...

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by pldc 01 Nov 2016

Thank you Judy so very much ~hugs~

Such a kind gesture from you. The pillow cases will be loved by the children

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by pldc 01 Nov 2016

thank you Sarah, I like that it is something I can make myself to give back. They turn out every time when you make them the sausage style way lol

such a great idea, glad that the hospital deals with the sterilization issue.

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by pldc 28 Oct 2016

thank you

Great job. Our homemaker group has made the 'Burrito Style' pillowcases for our Foster Kid program in our county. Instead of their belongings [which isn't much] going into a paper sack they have their own pillowcase.

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by pldc 27 Oct 2016

ah that is really nice too & such a good idea too ~hugs~

Our local hospital has a group that gets together several times a year to make these pillowcases for all the surgery patients. I have volunteered and it is a lot of fun. Our next session is coming up next month. We do these in an assembly line fashion so they go together quickly and even ladies who don't sew can participate by pressing, pinning etc. I am adding a link to show how they can be done without having a serger. This method is called a burrito pillowcase. I know that some of the Cuties here have done them before,

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by pldc 27 Oct 2016

yes this is how I have made these & I prefer all the edges finished & a Serger makes them go together much more quickly for me it does. Thank you Teresa ~hugs~

What a great idea -to help the kids feel at ease as well as your contribution to community. I love all of the fabrics!

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by pldc 27 Oct 2016

Thank you so very much Marianne, I was worried they were not right. ~hugs~

Gorgeously sewn out and such a great idea. I was thinking the same as Kim - sterilisation issue. Love Chris

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by pldc 28 Oct 2016

no worries, thank you Chris

What a wonderful thought, although I am a bit surprised that they would be allowed to take the pillowcase into surgery if it had not been laundered and/or sterilized for the surgery room. I am curious how they deal with that issue...

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by dollygk 27 Oct 2016

My question too... perhaps the child selects his pillow case early then it is sterilized and placed on the pillow before the surgery???

by pldc edited 27 Oct 2016

they are all prewashed & bagged individually as per the instructions I was given. No they choose it the day of their surgery & we all go through an intensive screening process prior to any contributions. they have a spray that they use once the child makes their choice

by babash 27 Oct 2016

I was thinking maybe the pillow cases don't actually go into theatre. The child has their head on the pillow on the trolley given the anesthesia falls asleep. Pillow removed and ready in recovery for when child wakes up.

by pldc 30 Oct 2016

Yes they do get to take it in the O R with them

These always make great gifts, personal gifts. Nice of you. LOL!

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

I am really happy that I can do this & pay it forward to kids. ~hugs~

I think it is a wonderful idea maybe you could embroidery something on them next time like trains,bikes,etc.***just thinking out load lol

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

I don't want to start embroidering on them, it wouldn't be fair to the others who donate. It would take much too long & this way I can do more thanks my friend ~hugs~

by noah 27 Oct 2016

oh ok then***

Such a wonderful idea and you did well to add to the selection of pillow cases. .

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

thank you very much ~hugs~

They will love the pillow cases especially the airplane one. I can see a happy little boy with that one.
Well done.
With your overlocker give it a good vacuum and then oil all the moving parts you can see and run it with no thread for a minute or so.
The main thing with a Serger is the threading sequence. Mine is a 4 thread and I have to thread 3,4.2,1 in that order looking at the machine.

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

thank you so much I will give this a try ~hugs~

You did good. Some boy will love the airplanes.

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

thank you, ~hugs~

What a great idea for the children. Your pillow cases will be a hit for sure. Hugs Shirley

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by pldc 26 Oct 2016

thank you Shirley, I hope a boy ill like the jungle print as well