Sew a Quick and Easy T-Shirt Pillow
Tara RexDescription
Learn to sew a quick and easy t-shirt pillow. Tara Rex shows you how to stitch and stuff a pillow in just a few simple steps.
T-shirt
The first step in making a t-shirt pillow is selecting a shirt. Tara explains that these pillows can be used to remember a fun family vacation or even be given as a gift to a grown child by using an old sports team shirt from their youth. After you select your shirt, turn it inside out to be stitched. Tara shows how she likes to stitch along the bottom of the shirt as well as along both sleeves and leave the neck edge open for stuffing. After the shirt has been stitched Tara demonstrates how to turn it right side out, explaining that you don’t need to clips corners or be extra precise with the turning since it will be stuffed to create the t-shirt pillow.
Stuffing
With the neck edge of the shirt left unstitched, Tara shows how easy it is to add stuffing to the pillow. In the case of a pillow like this t-shirt pillow, DIY pillow stuffing using batting is much easier that using a pillow form, since the t-shirt is not stitched into a perfect square. Once the t-shirt has been stuffed the neck edge can be stitched and the pillow is complete.
Planning
While this t-shirt pillow is a quick and easy project, it can still use some planning when it comes to the pillow design. If your shirt has an intricate design or maybe you’ve added a design to it with a fun t-shirt applique idea, you may want to center the design on the pillow. Consider shortening the shirt before turning it into a pillow so it is more of a square than a rectangle and the design can be centered. Also, as Tara shows, if your shirt has a fun or decorative tag be sure to stitch the neck opening in a way that allows that tag to still be seen.
I want to share a way that you could display your favorite kids t-shirts or your kids' favorite t-shirts rather than putting them away in a bin and the crawlspace and then looking at it and thinking, Oh, that was so cute. My mom made me this when I was a little girl and yes I wore blue. So, and I've had it for years and years obviously. And it's one of my prize possessions and it's come with me all over the world and I want to teach you how to do it. It's really quick. It's something that you can just whip up real fast. Here's one that I've done already. So basically all you do is you Sew the sleeves shut the bottom shut and then you can leave the top open and that's where you can stuff it. And I've got a t-shirt here that I've already sewn the bottom and the sleeves shut and you don't really necessarily have to worry about clipping the corners, you know being real fancy, precise. It's just something fun. And, it's soft and the kids can put it on their beds or you can just look at it and remember, Oh yeah, that was awesome. That was a great trip or whatever. So you just kind of push everything out and then you just simply start stuffing it. And it makes a quick little gift. If you want to give it to your 20 year old child that you've, you know that you miss or that, you know something special from their childhood maybe a baseball team shirt or something like that. If you're not really into quilting and putting all those t-shirts together you can just make these quick little pillows and you just stuff the sleeves. And obviously I would put more batting in it and then all I do is I pin here and here and then I'll pin here as well. I mean, you can also just sew this together on the inside if you like, if it's whatever you prefer. But I kind of liked the idea of having this neck line here and open and I've got another one that I did and I really liked the tag of this. And so I made sure to sew it underneath there. So I hope you enjoy this real quick fun little tip and happy sewing.
That is so cute. Thank you for sharing your keepsake with us!
I made two of my grandsons 3 yrs ago, one is 18 and off to college, the other on is now 13, they are both large and medium. Not child size and they are still on there beds and love them. Like yours also.
Hi I shared your wonderful video! THANKYOU!
New member and I have been wanting to do this for some time. Problem is the shirt is v-neck. Any suggestions? Thank you!
Any ideas for a tshirt with long sleeves? I have a souvenir tshirt that my grandson got from his grandpa before he passed away and I thought this was a perfect way to keep the memory even though he hasn't been able to wear the shirt for years.
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great project for beginning sewers