The T-Shirt Pillow

What do you do with those adorable clothes your kids have outgrown?

Make them into pillows of course!

The moment I saw the top in the " it just doesn't fit anymore" pile, I knew I had to do something. It was way too cute! And what better than to make an adorable pillow she can never outgrow. (And better yet... it's still washable!)

All you need are a couple of things:

a shirt with a cute design

cutting shears

cutting matte

fusible interfacing

a sewing machine

straight edge

coordinating fabric

a good soft pillow :)

Start by inserting the cutting matte into the t-shirt to cut your desired size.

Next - apply fusible interfacing to the wrong side of your shirt and iron it in place.

This will strengthen the knit fabric and prevent it from overstretching while you sew.

Grab some coordinating fabrics and start trimming. I kept my strips 3" wide by

various lengths creating a log cabin quilt block.

My shirt square was 9.5" by 11" and my first strips were 3" x 12". I added

a whole inch to my first rows because I worried the shirt would stretch anyway and I'd be using the seam ripper once it fell too short. Luckily, it didn't stretch!

Press your seams to the quilting fabric side and sew another straight stitch on the face side.

If you sew the seam onto the shirt itself, you will get ripples.

Trim off any excess fabric leaving a 1/4 inch like the picture below and add your next strips to the top and bottom.

Continue around your tee until you get your desired look. Just keep in mind the size of the pillow your using.

To make it a removable pillow case, cut 2 pieces of fabric the length of your pillow and 3/4 as wide.

You will want them to generously overlap in the back so that the pillow is completely tucked.

Close your pillow by keeping all face fabrics inward and stitch the top and bottom.

Press your seams and open your pillow to the right side out.

That's it! Now how simple was that?

The 20 x 20 inch pillow was purchased from Ikea. You just can't beat 5.99 for a down pillow!

I love the way this quick sewing project came out and so do the girls! The possibilities are endless. Thinner strips, bigger pillow, quilting the front... ideas, ideas, ideas....

Happy pillows till next time:)

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