This past summer, we created a Romantic Bedroom Retreat with our friends at Free Spirit and Rowan Fabrics, combining a number of designers, collections and substates. For today’s Re-imagine & Renovate project, we decided to take one of our favorite projects from within this series and transform it from lush and elegant to fresh and fun. That’s what our R&R posts are all about. We pull out a classic fave tutorial and give it a whole new spin with updated fabrics, trims and notions. We switched out the historical Rowan Bromley cottons and rich velvet accents for a light, bright trio of spring cottons, courtesy of our friends, and today’s sponsor, Fat Quarter Shop.
Both the front and back fabrics are from the Blushing Collection by Margot Languedoc of The Pattern Basket for Henry Glass Fabrics. The fabric we chose for the front, Green Cross Lattice on Cream has a faux quilted look we love. The back panels and front flange are the coordinating Green Swirl Dots. And, the outer flange is a lovely Bella Solids by Moda in Sand. All from Fat Quarter Shop.
We added interfacing to the outer flange to give it the stability to stand tall and proud behind the front flange.
With its double-flange construction and mitered corners, these shams are a bit more complex than most projects you find here on Sew4Home, but the original instructions are very detailed with lots of photos and step-by-step instructions. When you are new to a technique or hesitant about the skill level needed for a particular project, it often helps to make all or part of it in scrap fabric as a prototype. Doing something in scraps first allows you to make sure you really grasp the process before cutting into and/or stitching together your final fabric.
Our thanks again to our friends at Fat Quarter Shop, the sponsors of today’s R&R project, for providing all three beautifully coordinated fabrics. One of the things we love about FQS is how when they purchase a collection, they purchase deep, giving a wider selection of the available designs and colorways from which to pull. It’s always more fun to shop when there are lots of mix and match options.
To Re-imagine & Renovate your own Pillow Shams, go to the original tutorial:
A Romantic Bedroom Retreat Double Flange Pillow Shams
The only change we made, as mentioned above, was to add interfacing to the outer flange. We used Pellon Décor Bond, a firm fusible. You need the following cuts to match the outer flange fabric cuts (for a pair of shams):
- FOUR 4″ x 27″ strips for the front
- FOUR 4″ x 45″ strips for the front
- FOUR 4″ x 28″ strips for the back
- FOUR 4″ x 45″ strips for the back
Hints and Tips
As we always mention when it comes to finding fabric, If you love a fabric, get it while you can. Because, like fashionable apparel, popular fabrics come and go; at some point, even the most amazing fabrics are no longer in stores or online. You can check your favorite fabric source to find out if they have it in stock or can get it for you. Be sure to look at our Marketplace for our fave sources. You can also try Googling the fabric name along with the designer’s name or the design house. Prints from older collections can also sometimes be found on Etsy or eBay.
Looking for more information on blending, mixing and matching your fabrics? Check out these tutorials:
How to Mix & Match Designer Fabric Collections
How to Create A Fabric Palette
Mixing & Matching Colors, Patterns & Textures
Making the Right Fabric Choice
Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation: Debbie Guild
*Sew4Home reserves the right to restrict comments that don’t relate to the article, contain profanity, personal attacks or promote personal or other business. When commenting, your name will display but your email will not.