Super Quick Pillow Sham Tutorial

You can make this pillow sham in an hour or less.  How long it takes depends on how much time you spend  centering the pattern or matching stripes from front to back.  The sewing is quick and easy!

You will need:

48 inches of fabric (if a solid)

For patterned fabric allow extra fabric to match the design front to back (especially plaids) or to allow you to play with the placement of the pattern on your sham.  It is always nice to center the largest part of the design in the center of the sham.  If your fabric is really expensive, I would use it only for the front and use a coordinating, less expensive fabric for the back.

Coordinating thread for topstitching the sham 

Cut your fabric:

                1 rectangle 30 ½ by 24 for the front

                1 rectangle 14 ½ by 24 for the smaller back flap

                1 rectangle 23 by 24 for the other back flap

1.      Determine the inside edges of your flaps by laying your two back flaps side by side (matching the 24 inch sides) with both patterns laying in the same direction.  Put a pin in each of the two sides that are touching.  These are now your inside edges.

        Finish the inside edge of the back flaps with a double folded hem – approx. ¼ and another  ¼  inch. I just eyeball it.

2.       Lay the sham front right side up.  Lay the larger back flap right side down matching the raw edge to the outside edge of the front piece.

3.       Lay the smaller back flap right side down matching the raw edge to the outside edge of the pillow front and overlapping the inside edge of the other flap.

4.       Pin around the entire perimeter of the pillow sham.  Sew a ½ inch seam all the way around.

5.       Turn right side out.  Press. 

6.   Topstitch 2 ¼ inches from the edge all the way around the sham.  Make sure you backstitch over the edges of the flaps to reinforce those seams as you work your way around the pillow sham. 

7.       Stuff with a standard sized pillow. (I used a Laura Ashley pillow from Tuesday Morning in the example - great place to buy pillows.)   It looks a little tight now but the pillows are brand new and I bought really puffy ones.  Shortly they will look just right.

I made two of these shams for my mother's guest room.  It is amazing what a difference they make!