How to Make a Pillow Sham | Easy Step-By-Step

While I certainly don’t consider myself an expert sewer (trust me, I am far from it!), there are skills and tricks I’ve mastered over the years that have allowed me to quickly and easily make my own home decor (rather than relying on costlier store-bought versions). One of my favorite items to make is custom pillow shams because they are quick, easy, and allow me to add a “custom” flair to our bedding arrangements. Even if you’re an inexperienced sewer, this is a great project to try because it only requires a few straight lines. Let’s get started!

Why Make Your Own Pillow Shams

Making your own pillow shams, whether they’re for a bed, couch, bench, settee, etc, is an easy way to add some custom decor to your home. Since you get to pick the fabric, fit, and style, you can get exactly the look you want at (usually) a fraction of the cost.

Making your own pillow shams also allows you to add contrasting colors, patterns, or styles without having to invest in an entire bedding set. As such, it’s a great way to change out your bed display for the seasons or as your mood changes!

The Envelope Pillow Sham (with Flanges)

The pillow sham that I’m going to demonstrate today is especially easy because it doesn’t require any hand stitching or zippers to close up the pillowcase. Rather, this pillow sham pattern features an “envelope-style” closure, which essentially means the back panels overlap and you slide the pillow into the hemmed opening.

Further, my flowered pillow shams feature flanges, which are the 2″ (flat) border all the way around the pillow. While optional, these flanges give your pillow case a bit more heft and presence, delineating them as decorative pillows (rather than sleeping pillows).

These flanges are nothing to be scared of…in fact, you will be shocked to see how easy they are to achieve. And the result is a professional-looking pillow sham that will add layers of interest to your bedding arrangement!

Supplies Needed

Here are the supplies required to make a pillow sham.

• Pillow Front Fabric – How much you need depends on how big and how many pillows you are making. Refer to the cutting guide below to determine how much fabric to buy.
  • While not required, thicker/heavier home decor fabric will allow your flanges to sit up straighter.
• Pillow Back Fabric – This fabric can be the same as the front fabric or coordinating pattern/solid. Again, how much you need will depend on how big and how many pillows you are making.
• Coordinating Thread
• Disappearing Fabric Pen or Chalk Roller
• Pins
• Ruler or Seam Gauge
• Cutting Tools – Both a rotary cutting set and a scissors will come in handy
• Sewing Machine
• Iron

How to Sew a Pillow Sham

Step 1 – Determine Measurements

The first step is to determine your fabric measurements based on your pillow size and desired final look.

One of the BEST things about making your own pillow shams (besides picking your own fabrics) is that you can make them as big or as little as you want them. If you want a grander look, make larger flanges, if you want them slight, make small (or no) flanges.

Use the equations and diagram below to determine your fabric cuts.

Step 2- Cut the Fabric

Once you’ve determined your measurements, cut one front piece and two back pieces. A long, clear ruler and rotary cutter make this a breeze!

Step 3 – Hem the Back Panels

Set your front panel aside, as we’re going to start by hemming one side on each of the two back panels. On one “height” side of one of the back panel pieces, fold over the edge 1″ and iron in place.

Fold the edge over again another inch, iron flat, and then pin in place down the entire edge.

Using a sewing machine, sew a straight line 1/8″ from the folded edge to secure the hem in place.

Repeat the same hem process on the second back panel. When done, you should have two back panels each with a single hem on one side.

Step 4 – Assemble the Pillow Sham

With the two back panels hemmed, it’s time to assemble your pillow sham! Yep – already (I told you this was easy!)

Start by placing your pillow front panel RIGHT SIDE UP on your work surface, as shown.

Next, place the pillow back panels RIGHT SIDE DOWN onto the pillow front, aligning all the raw edges and putting the hemmed edges of each panel toward the center.

The two hemmed edges should overlap about 8-10,” and all the other raw edges should line up with the pillow front panel.

Next, pin all the way around the pillow sham.

Using your sewing machine, sew a 1/2″ seam all the way around the perimeter of the pillowcase. You don’t need to leave any openings…go ahead and sew all four sides shut!

Step 5 – Trim Corners

At the corners, you can either drop your needle down, pivot the pillowcase, and keep sewing in the next direction OR sew right off the edge, trim your threads, rotate, and start sewing again (shown below). My Mom taught me to do the latter as it makes for stronger corner seams.

Whichever method you choose, carefully clip the corners with a sharp scissors to reduce bulk once the pillowcase is turned right side out.

Step 6 – Turn the Pillow Sham Right Side Out

Speaking of right sides out, it’s time to flip the case out! Open up the envelope backing made by your two overlapping back panels and pull the pillowcase through the opening.

Press out the corners and smooth all the seams flat.

Step 7 – Sew the Flanges of the Pillow Sham (Optional)

The final (optional) step is to sew the flanges to create a nice border around your pillow.

Start by ironing out your pillowcase and making your seams nice and crisp. I recommend pinning all the way around the pillowcase to keep all the layers together as you proceed with sewing the flanges.

Next, use a disappearing fabric pen or chalk roller to draw a border around your pillowcase, on top of which you will sew to make the flange edges on your sham.

Using a ruler, measure in your flange size from the outside edge on ALL four sides. My desired flange is 2,” so I drew a border 2″ in from each edge.

Next, top-stitch around the pillowcase (though all layers), following the line you just drew. This time, you will need to drop your needle and pivot at each corner to make clean angles.

To finish, use an iron to remove any pen marks and press out the border created by your stitch lines.

Step 8 – Insert Your Pillow Into the Sham

Lastly, insert your pillow through the opening in the back and place on your bed!

Making custom pillow shams is something I have done for years. Not only do I love bringing in different fabrics other than the ones that come with my bedding, but they are such a quick and simple way to refresh our bedroom display for the seasons!

I know I say “quick and easy” a lot…but I promise…this project really is a quick and easy one. Next time your bedroom is needing a refresh, I hope you give this tutorial a try!