How to Make an Envelope Pillow Sham

Whether you just want a change of pace or you need to match your pillow cover to a new comforter or piece of furniture, making an envelope-style pillow sham is a good solution. Doing so only requires moderate sewing and pattern-making skills, and the result is worth the effort.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Fabric
• Matching thread
• Sewing machine
• Measuring tape
• (optional) Decorative trim or embroidery skills
• Paper and pencil

1. Measure the pillow you wish to cover with a sham. Use a flexible measuring tape so you can follow the curves. You'll need one measurement from seam to seam going north to south, and one going east to west. Write down the measurements.

2. For a very simple sham without a ruffle or boxed "flounce" around the edges, add one inch in each direction and record those measurements as "FRONT." The amount of overlap on the back of the sham (the "envelope" part) will depend on what kind of pillow the sham is for: a throw pillow should have about 2 inches of overlap, and a bed pillow should have about 3 inches. Add the appropriate amount (2 or 3 inches) PLUS another 1-1/2 inches (total of 3-1/2 or 4-1/2 inches) to the east-west measurement of the pillow, and record the total width as "BACK" on your sheet of paper. Buy enough fabric to cut the number of backs and fronts you'll need for the project. If you want a ruffled or boxed flounce around the edges (instructions in Step 4), be sure to buy enough fabric for those as well.

3. Cut backs and fronts from fabric according to your "FRONT" and "BACK" measurements. Now cut the back piece from north to south at the mid point. Turn each of the cut edges under 1/4 inch; press, then sew. Then turn under about a half inch; press and either hand stitch or use a long zig-zag machine stitch to form a hem. Do any embroidery or monogramming next, before you begin to assemble the sham.

4. Skip this step if you don't want a ruffle or boxed flounce around the sham edges. For a ruffle, cut a piece of fabric twice as wide (top to bottom) as you want the ruffle or flounce, plus 1 inch. So if you want a 3-inch ruffle, cut your ruffle fabric 7 inches from top to bottom: 3"x 2 = 6, plus 1" = 7". The total length of the ruffle should be about 1-1/2 to 2 times the *total* measurement of your "FRONT" piece (combined length of all 4 sides of "FRONT" times 1.5 or 2, depending on how deep you want the ruffling to be). So if your FRONT is 24 inches by 12 inches (24+24+12+12 = 72 inches), you'll want a ruffle between 108 and 144 inches long. Since your fabric will probably come in a width of between 44 and 60 inches, you'll need to cut 4 pieces and sew them together to form one long piece. For a boxed flounce, simply cut a piece long enough to go around all 4 sides of the FRONT piece, plus 6 to 8 inches (for the corner pleats). For either version, fold the fabric in half on the long edge and press it, resulting in a 3-1/2-inch wide ruffle or flounce. RUFFLE: Set your machine to a very long stitch and sew through both thicknesses, 1/4 inch from the raw edges, the entire length of the ruffle. Leave 6 inches of thread at end of seam. Repeat with a second seam 1/4 in from the first. Hold the long threads securely with one hand while gently pulling the fabric in the opposite direction to form a ruffle. Sew raw ends of ruffle or flounce together and "finish" edge using a zigzag stitch. If you have a serger, this seam can be serged.

5. Lay sham FRONT right-side-up on table. Fit ruffle or flounce to sham FRONT using pins, with raw edges lined up with FRONT's raw edges. Draw up or loosen gathers of ruffle to adjust fit. Flounce can be pleated or eased at corners to fit. If making a simple sham without flounce or ruffle, this is where you attach cording or other trim. Lay BACK pieces on top, right sides down, with raw edges matching raw edges of FRONT. This should create a natural overlap (the "envelope").

6. When all items are properly aligned, machine-sew about 1/2 inch from the edge, using a standard length stitch, to secure the ruffle or flounce all the way around. No need to leave an opening so you can turn the sham right-side-out, because you can use the "envelope" opening for that. Sew edging to a simple sham using appropriate method for the edging you've chosen. Stitch a second seam directly over the first seam where the overlap occurs on the back, to withstand the stress of repeatedly inserting and removing the pillow. Turn sham right side out. Voila! You have a sham made to your specs!

Tips & Warnings

• Don't cheap out on buying fabric! Buy plenty, and it should be a fairly durable fabric to withstand constant use unless the pillows are strictly decorative.
• A super easy way to create the look of a boxed flounce is to simply cut all fabric pieces 2 inches longer and wider than basic pillow measurements. After sewing the final seam that stitches BACK to FRONT in Step 6, turn the sham right-side-out, press with steam iron, then use your machine to top-stitch exactly 2 inches inside the pressed edge all the way around.
• If making a sham for a circular pillow, the BACK fabric will need to be cut as an oblong, while cutting a circle for the FRONT. Cutting out a paper pattern & making adjustments to it will help you avoid a costly mistake with the fabric.
• If you're unsure of your ability to create a sham, buy some muslin or other inexpensive fabric and make a practice sham to fit a small throw pillow. Once you've made one, future shams are amazingly simple to make in nearly any size or shape.

[kaytay]

on 4/5/2009 excellent idea on making an envelope pillow sham

[writeitout]

on 3/16/2009 Great instructions, 5*

[FrazzledNanny]

on 3/10/2009 Putting this in my favorites!

[FrazzledNanny]

on 3/10/2009 I love this! Thanks for the great article. 5*

[maryellen1001]

on 2/23/2009 Very thorough steps, even sewing challenged people like me can accomplish this task with your detailed instructions!