DIY Lace Pillow Shams

I ordered a new comforter set for the summer season and loved it when it arrived. The pale green background with pink roses was just perfect.

The set came with two different sets of shams. One was a standard set of shams in a rose print that matched the comforter. Loved.

The second set were square ginormous European shams in the striped pattern that matched the back of the comforter. Did not love. At all.

Who has square pillows that big, anyway?

I started looking online for some “fancier” pillow shams that would match. All those I found I liked were ridiculously expensive. Especially the lace-covered pair that cost almost $100 for one sham.

So I did what any girl with a sewing machine would do – made some!

I used the fabric from the Euro shams and lace, ribbon, and trim I already had on hand so the cost for the shams (beyond my time) was zero. Nada. Zilch.

SUPPLIES:

3-4 yards  of fabric (or a pre-made pillowcase)

12-18  yards of lace, ribbon and trim

thread

scissors

tape measure

I started with the Euro shams and cut off the ties.

Then I used a pillowcase I had as a pattern so I knew how long I needed to make them. If you are using a plain pillowcase for your sham, skip this step. If you are making a pillow sham, decide if you want it queen or king size and cut fabric accordingly. For this sham, I made them queen size which worked great with the Euro shams. I split the seams then opened the sham so the creased end was now in the center. I used the excess on the height to add to the width and sewed the front and back pieces.

The next step, by far, took the most time, which was deciding what lace and trim I wanted to use. Apparently, I’ve never thrown away any lace in the past twenty-five years because I found so many odds and ends. Turns out, they worked perfectly for this project!

Once I figured out what trims I wanted to use,  I had to decide what order to place them.

Then it was time to get sewing. Start with the outside edge (and your widest trim) and sew it on. Then layer on the next piece and the next, and the next, etc. When you finish one side, repeat the process on the other side.

Once you finish adding the lace to the front, it’s time to sew the front to the back. Tuck in all the lace edges, pin the two pieces together, and sew.

When you’re finished, you’ll have a lacy, feminine, oh-so-pretty pillow sham.

One that makes you want to curl on the bed with a glass of iced tea and a great book.

Or maybe even take a sweet summer nap.