HOW TO Turn a dress shirt into a pillow sham

Here’s my first video tutorial! In it I show you a quick and super easy way to give your well-loved button-up shirt a second life as a comfy throw pillow. I hope you like it. Now go make some throw pillows!

Supplies

  • dress shirt
  • pillow or pillow insert (should be slightly smaller than your shirt)
  • scissors
  • pencil or chalk
  • pins
  • sewing machine or sewing needle
  • thread

Instructions

  1. Button up shirt around your pillow
  2. Position your pillow on the shirt
  3. Mark up your shirt
  4. Pin your shirt and cut out the sham
  5. Sew all the open edges
  6. Finally, unpin, unbutton, stuff the sham, and rebutton the sham

Useful tips

  • You can also use women’s blouses. Try large, bright prints and different fabrics that can complement your specific decor.
  • Bey, an artist from Barcelona, says the button side of the pillow may be a little uncomfortable, but all you have to do is turn the pillow over. The buttons make it easy to change the cover whenever you want.
I made a colorful pillow from a woman’s silk blouse.
I snuggled two of my pillows together on the couch next to my Sefte throw.
If you saw me one The Nate Berkus Show and you’re wondering how to make the patterns, sit tight. I’ll be posting a tutorial on design techniques you can use to come up with original patterns of your own, and show you how to render them on the pillows.
Check back for the tutorial.
A gingham shirt pillow made by Bey includes a charming patch.

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44 thoughts on “HOW TO Turn a dress shirt into a pillow sham”

  1. Thank you for this wonderful idea. I made each one of my neices a pillow from my brother’s shirts. We recently loss him and the pillows are a great comfort to each child when they need a “hug” from their Dad.

    Your design idea is a pretty decor idea, but it’s a beautiful memory keeper too.

    1. Hi Kirstin. Thank you for writing in. It’s so wonderful you were able to make such a thoughtful and meaningful gift. It’s truly touching. XOs to you and yours.

    1. Yay! Thanks, Jenn! I’m so glad you like it! Tell me how it goes! And thanks for visiting me and for writing too! XO 🙂

  2. Congratulations on such an innovative idea. I am truly impressed by your unique skill set of having brilliant ideas and the ability to articulate those so completely so that we can get to the happy task of imitating your project. Truly appreciated.

    1. I was happy!

      I only had that one shirt to cut. There was no scene cut so I had to deliver the lines perfectly. Then I had to decide in my head if my delivery was good enough before I actually cut the shirt. It took like 500 takes!

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