How to Make Shams Out of T-shirts
Pillow shams are a great way to spruce up a couch or love seat. While you can buy pillow shams, save yourself some money and reduce your waste by recycling t-shirts that you don't wear anymore into pillow shams for your home. Use existing couch pillows or buy two inexpensive ones in any color; don't worry what they look like as you'll cover them with a cool-looking or even solid-color t-shirt. A concert or band shirt is one way to transform an entertainment room into an homage to your favorite group.
Things You'll Need
- Throw pillow
- T-shirt sized medium or larger
- Fabric chalk
- Fabric scissors
- Fabric pins
- Sewing needle and thread
Instructions
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1
Lay out the t-shirt on a flat surface. Set a throw pillow on top of the t-shirt. If it has a design that you want to center on the pillow or place up in a corner, line the pillow up accordingly. Mark the outline of the pillow on the t-shirt with fabric chalk. Add 1-1/2 inches around the chalk outline to allow fabric to cover the depth of the throw pillow.
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2
Cut the square out along the outer chalk line with a pair of fabric scissors to create the front panel of your pillow sham.
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3
Lay the remaining t-shirt with its back-side facing up. Measure five inches from the bottom hem of the t-shirt and lay the bottom edge of your pillow at that spot. Trace around the pillow edges with fabric chalk. Extend the side lines all the way to the bottom hem of the t-shirt. Add 1-1/2 inches to the top and side edges of the chalk outline. Cut the back panel out with a pair of fabric scissors.
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4
Cut the back panel into two pieces, one measuring 7 inches long. Measure 7 inches from the bottom hem of the back panel up and cut the fabric there to form it into two pieces.
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5
Lay the front panel face-up on a flat surface. Set the 7-inch back panel piece face-down on top of the front panel so that the corners of the two pieces line up at one end. Lay the second, longer back panel piece on top of the front panel piece at the other end so that the corners line up.
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6
Pin the sides together with fabric pins spaced 1 inch apart. Pin the two back panels together at the spot where the longer piece overlaps the shorter back panel piece. Set a drinking glass 1 inch in from the edge of the top left corner and trace its shape with a fabric chalk pencil. Repeat for remaining three corners. Cut the fabric along the curve to create rounded edges for your throw pillow sham. Re-pin the corners with fabric pins.
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7
Use a sewing machine or sewing needle and matching-color thread to sew a straight stitch around all four edges and across the t-shirt where the back panel pieces overlap.
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8
Flip the sham right side out and slide the pillow into the sham through the pocket created by the 7-inch shorter back panel piece.
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