A pillow sham is a decorative cover for a pillow, and a pillow sham is different from a pillowcase because a pillowcase are designed for sleeping while a pillow sham is designed for decoration. A pillow sham is used to frame a pillow at the head of a bed, and a pillow sham provide a finished appearance to a bed. Because a pillow sham is used for decoration, you must selects a pillow sham that match the dimensions of your pillow and the dimensions of your bed.
There are many different shape of pillow shams, and each shape of pillow sham serves a specific purpose. Standard rectangular pillow shams are common for twin or queen bed, but larger rectangular pillow shams are often used for larger beds so that the pillow shams does not crowd the bed. Square pillow shams, which are often called Euro shams, are used to add height to the back of a bed, but small boudoir pillow shams is used as accent in the front of the bed.
How to Choose and Care for Pillow Shams
Additionally, long pillow shams are designed for body pillows, because body pillows requires more length to support the body from the shoulder to the knee. You should use a size chart to determine which pillow sham shape is correct for your specific bed, because using the wrong size pillow sham will cause the pillow sham to sag if the pillow sham is too large or cause the pillow sham to pucker if the pillow sham is too small. The closure of a pillow sham determines how you interact with the pillow sham.
A pillow sham with an overlapping flap allow you to insert a pillow easily, and an overlapping flap keeps the back of the pillow sham looking tidy. A pillow sham with a hidden zipper secures the pillow inside the pillow sham, and a hidden zipper is useful if you must move the pillow in and out of the pillow sham frequent. Some pillow shams has borders, such as a flange, which adds a decorative edge to the pillow sham, but other pillow shams have knife edges, which are edges that have no extra fabric and remain sleekly.
You should choose a pillow sham closure based off how often you plan to rearrange your pillows, because frequent movement will test the seam of the pillow shams. The fabric of a pillow sham affect both the appearance of the pillow sham and the feel of the pillow sham. Crisp fabrics is good for keeping a pillow sham looking fresh, and smooth fabrics allow a pillow sham to drape soft.
Textured fabrics are useful because textured fabrics soften after many washes, and textured fabrics provides a specific aesthetic for a bedroom. You should consider the climate of your home when you choose a fabric, because certain fabrics breathe better than other fabric. To make a pillow sham look full and plump, you must select a pillow insert that is larger than the pillow sham.
For example, if you have a standard pillow sham, you should select a pillow insert that is two inch larger than the pillow sham, because a larger pillow insert will fill the corners of the pillow sham. If you do not use a larger pillow insert, the pillow sham will look flat and will not look decorative. Many people layer their pillow shams by placing the largest pillow shams at the back of the bed and the smallest pillow shams at the front of the bed.
This layering of pillow shams create dimension in the bed setup. You must care for your pillow shams to ensure that your pillow shams last for a long time. You should wash your pillow shams using a gentle wash cycle, and you should dry your pillow shams using a low heat setting so that the pillow shams do not shrink.
Additionally, you should press your pillow shams while they are damp so that the pillow shams maintains a crisp shape. Finally, you should store your pillow shams flat, because storing pillow shams on hangers can cause crease to form in teh fabric of the pillow shams.
