I recently brainstormed how to make a Turkish towel pillow sham, and trust me, it’s sew easy! As you know from this post, Turkish towels have a piece of my heart. Inspired by the tassels and my semi-boho decor style, I thought it would be fun to make pillow shams with a couple of towels. They turned out great and Wyatt loves that half of the guest bed is now covered in pillows. Kidding!
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Bonus, if you make standard or queen shams, you’ll have extra fabric to make four hand towels! Here’s a quick tutorial on how to make everything from just two Turkish towels.
My Favorite Affordable Turkish Towels
DIY Turkish Towel Pillow Sham Supplies
You’ll need 2 Turkish towels. I used these towels in black because I really like the quality and fabric thickness. Honestly, any TT will do, but make sure you like the tassels and pattern, because those are the feature elements. Towels were the only things I bought, because I already had extra pillows and sewing supplies on hand.
My Favorite Affordable Turkish Towels
Here’s everything you’ll need:
- 2 Turkish towels
- coordinating thread
- velcro spots (sew-on or stick-on should fine)
- pillow inserts
- basic sewing knowledge…
Please note – if you plan to use the leftovers as hand towels, soak them for a few hours before washing the very first time. Read more in my original post about Turkish towels. It makes a huge difference in how absorbent the towels become.
Wash the towels and either dry them on low or air dry, before you sew the pillow covers. You’ll need to account for potential fabric shrinkage before sewing your project.
Turkish Towel Pillow Sham Tutorial
Start by laying out one towel and placing a pillow on one end to decide on the best placement. I was hoping to wrap my towel over the side of the pillow, but mine are not wide enough for that. Instead, I wrapped the towel to have both fringe ends meet together at the case opening.
I folded the towel in half hamburger-style (shout out to my fellow grade school teachers) and placed an empty pillowcase on top for a template.
There’s no need to be precise with this, so I just eye-balled and cut a roughly 1″ seam allowance around the pillowcase.
Make sure the towel fabric is turned inside out, so the right sides of the fabric are together and the wrong sides face out. Sew both side seams and then zig-zag the edges so they won’t unravel. Phase one is done!
I also added a couple of sew-on velcro spots to help the shams stay closed, but this is optional. I imagine that stick-on velcro would be fine here, too.
Turn the Leftover Fabric into Hand Towels!
The best part of this DIY project might actually be the extra hand towels. If you don’t mind a narrow towel, you can make four kitchen or bath hand towels out of the leftover fabric.
My Favorite Affordable Turkish Towels
To finish the sides, I just folded the raw edges over twice and sewed them. An iron would be useful to press the fabric, but I skipped that step, and you can too.
A Note About Pillows
You should be able to make these Turkish towel pillow shams to easily fit queen and standard size pillows, but check your measurements for king pillows. I used these firmer queen Hampdan pillows from IKEA, which I always have on hand, because they are fantastic and a great value. (However, I just discovered that the Hampdan pillow has been discontinued! IKEA, you’re killing me.) This pillow looks similar, so I’ll pick some up on my next trip. I also use and recommend these Target pillows.
That’s a Wrap!
Here’s what my guest bed looks like now, with a mountain of pillows. I’m enjoying the layered textures and bright colors, but these cases would look great with neutrals, too. If you feel inspired to try this project, Turkish towels come in an array of colors and designs, so have fun!
More Decor Inspo From List in Progress
1 – Tips to Help Fresh Flowers Last Longer
2 – Affordable (and Free!) Ideas for Fall Decor
3 – My Favorite Affordable Turkish Towels
4 – A “Work in Progress” Home Tour
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