Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Shut Up and Sew: Shirt Pillow Tutorial

I know you all have seen shirt pillows before but after hearing about how the pillow cover tutorial helped Erin, I thought I would post one about how I made shirt pillows.  This is another easy way for a beginner to tackle a pillow.  

First, you find a shirt that you like from your husband's wardrobe.  Preferably one he doesn't wear anymore.  You could also always use one of your own or find one at Goodwill.

My husband was ready to get rid of several old shirts that do not fit him well.  I was in luck because they were great colors and patterns and were perfect for showing you how to make a shirt pillow.


1.) Lay your pillow down on the shirt under the collar with the buttons down the middle.  Cut around the pillow leaving about a 1/2 seam all the way around.


2.) After the cut is made, lay your two pieces on top of each other right sides together.


3.) Pin the corners and sides to keep the pieces in place.


4.) Take it to the machine and pick a corner to start.  Sew a few stitches, leave the needle down, and flip the fabric around so you can backstitch a few.  Sew all the way around your pillow.  Make sure to do a few backstitches at the end too.


5.) Remove your pins and snip the corners.


6.) Undo the buttons and flip your pillow to the right side.


7.) Insert a pillow form and you have yourself a shirt pillow!


8.) You can have so much fun with these using stripes, plaids, florals, etc.  And it is super fun to make them in different shapes and sizes.


These will make a great addition to my son's big boy room someday. That is if we ever let him out of his crib.  : )

I do think the pockets would be so fun for adding suprise love notes to kids or husbands.  Or even to hold a remote control!  : )

Please let us know if you try out this tutorial and make your own shirt pillow.  I would love to see them! They are so fun and easy.  And if you don't like the look of the buttons and pockets, you can always just flip them around and nobody will ever know it was a shirt!

I will be partying with these blogs this week!

Happy Tuesday!


24 comments:

TBonesMom February 15, 2011 at 7:49 AM  

These are very cool...I'm going to have to take a trip to goodwill to pick up some shirts of my own!

Julie February 15, 2011 at 7:56 AM  

This seems very do-able. I like how easy you made it, plus very fun colors. Thanks!

Christy Franklin February 15, 2011 at 8:00 AM  

GENIOUS!!!!!

Jamie @ DIY Home Sweet Home February 15, 2011 at 8:05 AM  

I have a bunch of shirts I was going to throw out but I think a few of them would be perfect for this project. Thank you for sharing. Following you from tutorial.TuesdaysPlease stop by my blog when you can. http://diyhshp.blogspot.com/

Anonymous February 15, 2011 at 8:19 AM  

I have never thought of that and they actually look really cute!

Kristi Hoskins February 15, 2011 at 9:24 AM  

What a great idea! My husband has mounds of button down shirts that are "retired" in our basement! Now I have something to do with them. Thanks!

Tracey February 15, 2011 at 9:25 AM  

We kept one of our babies in their crib for a l---o---n---g time too! She slept so well I didn't want to risk it!

Dawn February 15, 2011 at 9:58 AM  

Ooooh, fun! I shall go rifle through hubby's closet. He has lots of shirts he doesn't wear anymore since he wears scrubs or his Navy uniform every day now!

keri @ shaken together February 15, 2011 at 11:09 AM  

Super cute and pretty do-able for a novice (cough, cough) sewer like myself!! Love these! Keri

Jaimie February 15, 2011 at 11:12 AM  

Those look fantastic! I especially love the buttons!

Unknown February 15, 2011 at 11:56 AM  

Something to do with all of those shirts collecting dust in hubby's closet. And simple enough that I can actually sew them. Thanks for the tutorial!

Erin A February 15, 2011 at 12:53 PM  

I love this idea so much! A perfect way to use up those old shirts, and the pillows look great!! Another tutorial of yours that I'll just have to tackle. :)

Donnie February 15, 2011 at 2:09 PM  

They really came out cute. My hubby wears knits so I'll have to look in Goodwill. Did you know Goodwill has an online auction site like eBay. I posted the link on my post today. They have figured out some of there stuff is worth a bit more. It's a cool site to look at.

Diane Foster February 15, 2011 at 5:32 PM  

Adorable!!!

shelley February 15, 2011 at 10:07 PM  

great post! thank you!
when you mentioned pockets, i thought they could be used for teeth! tooth fairy pillows :)
looks easy and classy.

Tammy @ she wears flowers February 17, 2011 at 6:55 AM  

What a clever idea!

Penny February 17, 2011 at 7:21 AM  

I love that! We just went through my husband's closet yesterday - I am going to have to pull some of the shirts back out!

Emma February 18, 2011 at 8:27 AM  

Lovely! There must be something in the air, because after I did a similar tutorial this week, I've been finding shirt to pillow conversions all over the web. :)

Stephani February 18, 2011 at 9:06 AM  

Those are super cute! Thanks so much for an easy-to-follow tutorial. I am much more comfortable making things when there are pictures :)

Larissa@Just Another Day in Paradise February 19, 2011 at 10:04 AM  

These are great! Crisp and clean and lovely.

Just Another Day in Paradise

Tanya February 19, 2011 at 12:51 PM  

I love those! Will be making some once we move and I can unpack and dust off my sewing machine. You made it look so easy:)

Chrissie February 19, 2011 at 6:54 PM  

I LOVE this idea!!! I would have never thought to use button down plaid shirts.

This makes me a new follower. Thanks bunches :)

Christine @ sugarandtrash.com February 21, 2011 at 8:37 AM  

this is cute. its funny, it never occurred to me to put the pillow through the buttoned part, lol. much cleaner looking than having to sew up an end after putting the pillow in.....I hope that you will link this with my Show and Share linky party, going on all week. http://craftygeordi.blogspot.com/2011/02/show-and-share-sunday_20.html

Poindexter February 27, 2011 at 4:42 PM  

these are simply precious. I totally love the crisp menswear stipes and plaids. Bravo!!!

Related Posts with Thumbnails