Make a T-shirt Pillow

 Hello Readers. Do you have a favorite t-shirt? I think probably everyone does. I love graphic tees. The more unusual or funny the better. I found this map of the earth t-shirt and I loved the images and the colors. I gave it to my daughter but she didn't want it. (Maybe it didn't fit?) She gave it back and I had an idea. I could make a fun pillow for the arm chair in the study. We do school-work in here a map would be very appropriate. 

A t-shirt pillow with easy matching fringe. 

 

I am using this map shirt but you can use any t-shirt you want. Whatever image catches your eye and that you like will make a fun pillow. 

 

I started by cutting the bottom of my shirt off. I didn't want any of that double folded hemline to get in my way. T-shirts don't fray so we can cut this shirt with no worries. 

 

I also cut off the side seams. I cut just enough to get them out of the way. You can cut any size you want. A square or a different size rectangle would work too. The image on your t-shirt can be your guide. If it looks better as a square, you can cut a square. You get to choose.

 

Now it's time to think about stuffing. I used this Poly-fil to stuff my pillow. This is a good choice because this pillow is not going to be a standard size, there are no pillow forms to fit this shirt. I used my bag of stuffing as my shape guide and traced around the bag of fluff with sewing chalk. I wanted to mark onto the shirt, about 3 inches in from the edges. That extra fabric around the edges will be my fringe. If you want short fringe, leave less of a border around your t-shirt pieces. 

 

I had my front and back pieces with the wrong sides facing each other like they did when they were a t-shirt. I sewed a rectangle and left a 5 inch opening at the bottom for stuffing the pillow. You can see my blue chalk marks, I sewed right on top of the chalk. I used a straight stitch and matching thread since I am sewing on the outside of the shirt/pillow.

 

Here is my opening at the bottom of the pieces. That is where I will stuff the shirt with fluff. 

 

I stuffed that pillow as much as I could. I made sure to fill the corners really well. I sort of over stuffed it a little because it will flatten with use over time.

 

Here is a better look at where I stitched my pillow shape. It is about 3 inches in from the edge. This is one corner. Now I need to sew the opening shut. 

 

This part is a bit of a wrestling match. I squeezed and squashed the pillow down and sewed the opening shut. I used a straight stitch again. This wasn't difficult, it just was an unusual way to sew. 

 

You can see the stitching from the seam here. I started cutting the fringe. I made small strips of fringe all around the pillow. 

 

When you get to the corner cut off the excess corner piece entirely. You can see the fringe ends at the corner of the pillow itself and begins again on the next side of the pillow. 

 

Here is a look at my new pillow. I love the matching fringe. And it was so easy to make. 

 

The fringe adds a fun touch to the pillow. I added a matching throw blanket to make this a cozy reading spot. 

 

Thanks for reading along, now go make something fun for yourself.