How to Make a Flanged Pillow Sham With an Envelope Back

X-HT-300756

Flanged pillows lend an air of sophistication to any décor style. With a range of fabrics, pillow sizes and flange lengths to choose from, this pillow can be customized to look right at home almost anywhere. If the décor in your home, office, outdoor living space or boat cabin is looking tired, why not give it a modern refresh with a few flanged pillows? In this blog, you'll learn how quick and easy it is to give any space a high-end overhaul with these stylish pillows.

Video Chapters:

Intro – 0:00 min.
Materials & Tools Needed – 0:46 min.
Measuring & Cutting Panels – 1:20 min.
Sewing the Cover Edges – 2:56 min.
Assembling the Envelope Panels – 3:11 min.
Sewing the Envelope Pillow Together – 3:58 min.
Turn Your Pillow Right-Side Out! – 4:15 min.
Measure & Sew the Outside of the Pillow Cover – 4:35 min.
Put Your Pillow Form In! – 5:05 min.
You Did It! – 5:15 min.

Materials List:

Indoor/Outdoor Square Pillow Insert 18" x 18" – #122148
Tex 70 (V-69) White UV Bonded Polyester Thread 4 oz. (1,350 yds.) – #20235
Sew-In Interfacing 40" x 40" – #123213
Magnolia Home Belmont Harbor 54" Fabric – #125035 (for Indoor Use Only)
Outdura® Upholstery Fabric (for Indoor/Outdoor Use)

Tools List:

Sailrite® Clear Acrylic Ruler 6" x 24" – #102400
Sewing Gauge Ruler 6" – #102995
Multiuse Pins 1-1/2" (600 pack) – #123195
Small Fabric/Leather Clips (50 pack) – #123121
Kai Professional Stainless Steel 9" Scissors – #125662
Chalk Pencil Cartridge Set – #121669
Deluxe 5-1/2" Magnetic Sewing Guide – #103597
Sailrite® Ultrafeed® LS Walking Foot Sewing Machine (110V) – #311502

X Ht 300756 2 — Home, office, boat cabin and more — a flanged pillow gives any room a luxurious vibe.

This pillow design features a flange edge. Flange is extra fabric around the outside of a pillow, which gives it a fancy, eye-catching look. We also added an envelope back to this pillow cover. Because they consist of two overlapping sections of fabric, envelope backs make changing the pillow cover a breeze. Plus, they're easy to sew since they don't include zippers, hook and loop, or buttons. We made an envelope pillow cover for an 18" by 18" pillow, but you can use the steps in our pillow tutorial video to make a square flanged pillow of any size.

Sew-In Interfacing is an important material in this project that you may not have used before. Interfacing is a thin, lightweight liner material. It acts as a structural layer to prevent sagging and help a fabric project keep its shape. It also reinforces high-stress areas such as fastener installation points. Although it's mostly used in garments, sew-in interfacing is also excellent for stabilizing bags, utility projects and even the flange edge on a decorative pillow!

In addition to creating a flanged pillow case with an envelope closure, this project will show you:

How to center a fabric design on your pillow.
How to taper pillow corners to get rid of dog-ears of loose fabric.
How to match up patterned fabric on envelope panels.
And more.

X Ht 300756 3 — The overlapping envelope panels on the pillow sham make changing covers a breeze!

If you've never made a pillow with a decorative flange or an envelope closure before, don't worry. Both features are very simple, and our project video will teach you how to pattern and sew them. Watch the video now to learn how to make an envelope pillow with a flanged edge. Then make one, two or as many pillows as you want!

Have you ever used sew-in interfacing in a DIY project before? If so, we want to hear about it. Share your experience and tips for using this support fabric in the comments below.