MercyA Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 I'm probably missing something obvious here, but I'm confused. DD and I love vintage pillowcases. They tend to be higher quality and (IMHO) have a superior feel to modern pillowcases. Plus I like to buy dead stock or used in general. There are lots of never-removed-from-package pillowcase sets on eBay. I'm noticing that a lot of the pillowcases state their measurements like this: "42x36 before hemming." Many of them also say "For 20x26 pillow, 20x30 finished size." Why does it matter what their measurement was before hemming, especially when the finished size is stated? Enlighten me please. 🙂 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildflowerMom Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 Are they saying that you are required to hem it to fit your specific pillow? That's probably what I would think, but that doesn't sound right either. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianthus Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 I wonder if it's to let out hems for bigger pillows? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 9, 2023 Share Posted October 9, 2023 I wonder if they might date from a time before pillow sizes were standardized. Regards, Kareni 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MercyA Posted October 9, 2023 Author Share Posted October 9, 2023 Maybe most pillowcases were sold unfinished at first, and people were used to looking for 42x36 pillowcases instead of 20x30? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
history-fan Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I'm guessing here but I have a lot of antiques pillowcases that were my great great grandmothers. All the pillowcases have finishings on the edge that my relative finished with embroidery or crochet effect like doilies. They used the extra part for decoration and that part would not be on where the pillow would be but would lay flat showing the artwork/handiwork decoration. So the measurements may be for what pillow would fit in the case and the extra room for added designs. Some of the designs can take 6 inches of pillowcase and still have extra crochet work hanging off the case. Hope this helps. There are a lot of pictures online if you google vintage pillowcases. 3 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
history-fan Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 Christi Dea has a you tube channel and shows raw edge pictures of pillowcases and how to crochet simple lace edging onto the case. She also has videos on embroidering on the case and other needlework. I wasn’t sure if posting the video here is permitted. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kanin Posted October 10, 2023 Share Posted October 10, 2023 I've noticed that my pillowcases are all slightly too big for my pillows. It annoys me. Maybe the vintage ones are smaller... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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