How To Make A Pillow Sham Out Of An Old Bedspread

In last week's craft post, I shared "How to make a Pillow Case and Duvet Cover" and I showed these big white chenille pillows behind the silver pillow.  Well I made these pillow covers too, and this time, I didn't buy a thing, because I made them out of an old bedspread and pillows I already had.

This is the old bedspread.  It is a vintage chenille bedspread that had a few holes and stains on it.  The chenille was also worn off in spots, so it wasn't much use as a bedspread anymore.  I hung onto it thinking someday I would cut it up and make something out of it.  I was thinking I'd make chenille stuffed animals with the material, but when I saw some really cute chenille pillows at T.J. Maxx for $20.00 a piece, I knew I could make my own for $0.00 using this bedspread.

The bedspread had a fringe which I completely cut off before beginning my project.

 I just used a ruler and rotary cutter to cut the fringe off.

Once the fringe was off, I laid the entire bedspread down on the floor in my craft room and looked for a spot that didn't have any holes or stains.  When I found a good spot, I laid an old pillow sham I already owned down on top of the bedspread to use as a template.  I made sure I had it centered over a design.  I then just cut around the pillow sham.

Then I laid my cut out piece onto my craft table and squared it off more neatly using a rotary cutter and ruler.

 This is what the bedspread looked like after only two top pieces were cut.  I used most of the rest of the material to make the back of the pillows.  They were King Size Pillows, so I only had scraps left.  Hmmm, maybe I can still make those chenille stuffed animals after all!!!!

 To make the back of the pillow sham, I cut two pieces...one piece a little longer than the other.  Then I finished off one end of each piece by folding it under twice and stitching it.

Next, I pinned the fringe that I cut off the blanket onto the top of the pillow sham piece.

Then I basted it on, using a long machine stitch, and it looked like this.

 Now I just needed to attach the back to the top of the pillow sham.  I first folded all the fringe down, into the center of the pillow.  Then I pinned one piece of the back piece on and sewed it.  Once that was done, I then pinned the second piece on and sewed that as well.  The longer piece should overlap the shorter piece, and you should sew through all three layers where the two pieces meet.

Now my pillow was finally done, and I could insert my pillow forms.  I did not give any measurements, because you will need to adjust the measurements depending on the size of your pillow.  My pillows were King Size.

Here is what the back of the pillow looks like when done.  The pillow form can easily be removed to wash the sham.

And here is the finished Pillow Sham.  Notice how the design is perfectly centered on the pillow?

 I made two pillow shams to cover the back wall of the daybed.  I put the silver pillow sham I made last week in front of the two white ones, and then I placed a decorative pink pillow (post coming soon) in front of that.

I love to re purpose and reuse old items, don't you?  And I really love that I was able to create such pretty pillows for absolutely nothing!

Have a Great Day!  Amy