From T-Shirt to Pillow

  

Cute pillow, huh?

 

It started it's life as a $3 souvenir T-shirt from a street vendor i New York. It didn't get much use, Wille is not a print t-shirt kind of guy. He does like a cushy pillow to rest his head on while watching TV in bed though.

 

Here's the how-to. Wille's T-shirt is a men's size x-small so I chose a 30x30 cm / 12"x12" pillow insert for it.

To make sure it would fit I laid the T-shirt over the pillow and tested.

 

Then I turned the T-shirt inside out and put the pillow inside and pinned along the sides. After I removed the pillow I continued pinning straight down towards the bottom and sewed it using a small zig zag stitch on the machine. This prevents the stretchy T-shirt fabric from puckering up and making the whole thing go all wavy on you!

 

I trimmed the edges with scissors...

 

... and turned the T-shirt right side out again...

 

...placed the pillow insert inside...

 

...and simply folded the overhanging bit in at the back of the pillow. Because the materials are cotton they don't glide and they sort of stick to each other making it stay put.

 

Here it is, the finished product. I love NY and the pillow! So does Wille.

Comments

[ibb]

Good morning.
Great ideas to begin the day.It is quite easy to make. I´ll keep in mind.
Thanks for sharing.

[Sandra Yeong]

Now i regret i didn't get the cheap souvenier t-shirt in London. I alwasy thought no one will wear it, so why bother to buy. he he.

[Patia]

Adorable.

[Judith]

Very cool idea! My daughter has some t-shirts she's sentimentally attached to and we thought about this idea, though now we're leaning toward incorporating them into a quilt. Hope that turns out as nice as Wille's pillow!

[Lilla huset på prärien]

Superfin kudde! Tyvärr tror jag inte att t-shirten sonen fick från sin farmor med bladdrigt tryck och "I was in Amsterdam" blir lika cool som din... :)

Kram Jenny

[Sara]

I was just about to get rid of three t-hirts that I love but didn't really know what to do with. You truly are a miracle girl... I don't know how you think of this stuff, but I'm really glad you do! :)

[pve]

I heart your pillow.
Milton would be proud.

[Lina]

Thanks for sharing us this bright idea! Now I know what to do with our memorabilia college/club t-shirts!

[Katie K]

Very cool idea. I like that the bottom is simply folded inside - one less seam (and no zipper!) sounds good to me!

[Jacqueline]

Good Morning Benita! I love that pillow and NYC too (hometown). Yesterdays post about orange also made me think of NY - Zabar's and their great orange logo. It looks great on their white mug - now I am wondering if they have t-shirts!

[sarah marie]

I have been planning on doing this with my concert tees that are either too small or never get worn. Thanks for the step by step! This is just the motivation I needed to drag them out of my sewing pile and finally do it.

[stephscrap]

love it !!

[Lisa Flaherty]

Very cute! I've done this with the boy's favorite T-shirts that he's outgrown. He would insist on wearing them even though they bared his midriff, so we make a "lovey" pillow out of them. Great idea for souveneir T's!

[Lindzi]

Love it! Så himla coolt!

[brooke]

Oh man! I just bought a t-shirt during my recent trip to NYC for exactly the same purpose. But sewing knits still scares me, so I'm so happy to find your tutorial!

[Amy W]

Cute! I am going to have to give that a try!

[Linda]

Looks good.

[Marianne]

What a great idea to re- use a pillow.

[Aku]

I've done the same with shirts. I've left the buttons on so the run in the middle and they've turned out quite nice! :)

[Nicolette]

Haha, great idea! Also, the pillow actually matches the bedding!

Nicolette
http://www.furnitureanddesignideas.com

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawkov2bXhra-j1wINEvg1UkmZQ1WsPkEOiU]

Benita, thank you for posting this, I've been thinking about this very project for the past two weeks, trying to work out the logistics. Now I can put my brain to rest!

Cheers,
Alana

[Qlka]

It's great idea, I will use it!

[Jo Ann v.]

Oh wonderful !!
I have many souvenir t-shirts I only keep because they are souvenirs, and I love this idea ! So, no need to buy new pillows for my new house anymore ! I will use mine and customize them !
I love love love this idea, thank you !!

[Natalie]

Ok, this is awesome! I'm definitely going to try this with my I<3NY shirt! Thanks!

[Katie]

Loooooooove this! I've featured it in a DIY roundup on my site today. Thanks for the great ideas!!

[amy from ara133photograhpy]

awesome idea, thanks so much!!! I have a bunch of old tees that I never wear but that are sentimental, this would be a perfect use for them. Thanks! :) amy

[Bonny]

I wanted to let you know that I featured your t-shirt pillow on my 10 Ways to Showcase Special T-Shirts post at http://thedomesticatedprincess.blogspot.com/2012/11/from-t-shirt-to-treasure-part-3.html.

[Carlos]

Thank you!

[Maria Costa]

I love the pillow idea, as you can see by the picture https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/655791, I make these pillows for all of my guest rooms. I also spent this weekend on crafts, I made a bunch more pillows out of old cardigans. I'm just too lazy to put zippers in, so I love using old shirts or sweaters, anything that has buttons down the front.

Love you site, have been reading for a few years!