Editor’s Note: Today’s project is so much fun and the customization possibilities are endless! Bonnie, from BonnieProjects, is here to share with us her custom DIY pillow shams. I am in love with the bold stripe and small dotted letters! Bonnie made hers with fun nicknames, which got me thinking what I would put on ours. My hubby and I both call each other “babe”…would that be weird on a pillow? Otherwise we could put “I Love You” and “Ditto” which is a common text exchange between us. What would you put? Share below!
I spent many months lusting after West Elm’s grey striped monogrammed pillow shams, and almost bought them even though they were upwards of $50 for the pair. Aside from the price, the other thing that stopped me was that I could only have three letters monogrammed on the sham, and I wanted four!
So what do you do when you can’t get what you want? Make your own!
Before you wonder anymore what a “wubs” is, here’s the story. When I first married my husband, I had fun calling him my “hubs”. He wanted a similarly fun thing to call me, and came up with “wubs”. Instead of his and hers pillow shams, I thought it would be fun to have hubs and wubs!
Now for the tutorial! It looks a little complicated, but in the end, it’s just sewing straight lines, and I know you can do it! There aren’t even zippers or buttons involved!
Materials (makes two shams):
- 1.25 yards grey cotton
- ⅔ yard white cotton
- Grey/silver sharpie marker
1. Cut the grey fabric into 7” strips across the fabric (so they are 7” x 45”). Cut four of the strips into 27” and 16”, and cut two of the strips into two 16” pieces. You should end up with four 7” x 27” pieces and eight 7” x 16” pieces.
2. Cut the white fabric into three 7” strips. Cut two of the strips into 27” and 16”, and one of the strips into two 16” pieces. You should end up with two 7” x 27” pieces and four 7” x 16” pieces.
3. Monogram your fabric before sewing. This way, if you mess it up, you can start over with a new piece of fabric, and not have to disassemble your entire sham. Also, practice first!
I liked the look of a dotted font, but I couldn’t find one I liked. Instead, I chose a font with a shape I liked, and printed out my monogram in a size that felt right for the sham. I centered the printout underneath the white fabric, and “traced” over the monogram, making small dots with a sharpie.
4. Next, sew your strips together. Sew three of the 27” pieces together, grey-white-grey. Repeat for the other set of 27” pieces, and then for each of the four sets of 16” pieces.
Zig zag the raw edges to keep them from raveling. Press the seam towards the grey fabric. Repeat for all six sets of strips.
5. Next, hem one edge of each of the 16” pieces (this is where you’ll stuff your pillow in). To do this, fold the edge over ¼” and press. Fold it over another ¼” and press again. Top stitch to secure the seam.
6. Place the front of your sham right side up. Lay the 16” (back) pieces right side down on top of it, matching up the edges. The hemmed edges should be overlapping in the middle of the sham. Pin everything well, and make sure the stripes match up on the edges.
7. Sew all the layers together. I did two straight seams, followed by zig zagging the raw edge to prevent fraying.
You’re done! For about an hour of time and $10 in fabric, you have a set of monogrammed shams!
What nicknames would you put on your pillow shams?
I so wished I sewed. These are adorable. And, I love the nicknames on them!
You can buy these Shams at Target! I wanted the West Elm version and then stumbled across them at Target last year. I have the duvet and shams.
Lyns, Great find! Are you planning to spice yours up with a dot monogram?