T-Shirt Pillows

My friend wanted me to make her son dorm pillows out of his college tee-shirts.

Approximate Time: 7 hours

Supplies:

• pillow forms or stuffing
• cotton fabric for inside pillows
• tee shirts
• tape measure
• pencil
• scissors
• needle for hand stitching
• sewing machine
• thread

Instructions:

1. I bought old pillows at the Salvation Army very cheaply. Be sure to measure them and be sure they are big enough for the design on the tee-shirt.
2. Make new pillow covers out of cotton for the inside pillow the same size as the old ones.

 
3. Cut open pillows and remove the stuffing. Insert it into the new pillow covers and fluff. Be sure to get it into the corners.
4. Hand sew the opening close.

Wash and dry tee-shirts.

 
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5. Cut around the ribbing at the neck of the tee-shirts. Cut off the sleeves and cut open the sides.
6. Lay the front out smoothly. Measure the center and mark with a dot. Cut this piece exactly as you want it and add 1/2 inch for seams. The material stretches so sometimes you may need to cut off more to make it be a smooth fit on the pillow. But at this point cut it the size you want and you can trim later if it's too big.
7. Lay the top of the back (right sides together) over the front and center the design.
8. Do not cut the back one exactly. Keep it oversized until after you sew around.
9. Machine sew around 3 sides. Leave an opening in the bottom.
10. Trim the corners and turn right side out. Push the corners out with a sharp point.
12. Fold the pillow and gently push into the tee-shirt opening. This is where it may stretch.
13. You can put it in the dryer on hot to get the opening to shrink a little.
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14. Hand stitch the opening closed with tiny stitches.

An important thing is to have it fit smoothly with no wrinkles. Be sure you measure, measure, measure to get the designs centered.

By Little Suzy from Millbury, OH