Easy DIY Decor – Re-purpose Your T-Shirts Into a Decorative Pillows

Dig This Design loves to upcycle! We love our T-shirts. We wear them over and over for years until they are well worn. But then what can we do with them? There are all sorts of projects that can give beloved 100% polyester T-shirts a new life. Here’s one easy craft that transforms our favorite garments into useful pillows! The sewing on this project can be done with a sewing machine if you have one or just needle and thread.
 Get creative!!

Supplies

Here’s what you will need for this project. Have them all ready at hand before you get started so you don’t have to chase things down while you are sewing.

• T-shirt, the bigger the better, depending what size of pillow you want
• Straight pins
• Scissors – make sure they’re sharp!
• Needle and thread in color of T-shirt
• Pillow form

Cutting

Lay the T-shirt flat on your work surface.

• Line up the pillow form with the bottom hem of the T-shirt and cut horizontally through the shirt about ¾ of the way up the pillow. Cut the sides as well, so now you have two pieces of fabric from the bottom of the T-shirt.
• Next, cut just the front part of the top of the shirt in a size that matches your pillow.
• You should now have three pieces of fabric: two smaller pieces from the bottom of the shirt and one larger piece from the top.

Pinning

Place the fabric from the top of the T-shirt on the table right-side out.

• Put one of the two smaller pieces on top of it, lining up the top and side edges, right sides together.
• Next, put the other smaller piece on top of that, lining up the bottom and side edges, right sides together.
• Pin the fabric all the way around using the straight pins
• Sew all the way around, using a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine or using a needle and thread to secure your edges

Putting it Together

Once the square is sewn, flip the whole thing right-side out. You will have created an envelope for placing the pillow form in.

• Place the pillow inside the envelope, trying not to stretch the fabric too much
• Smooth the envelope closures
• Adjust the pillow form as needed to position the front design of the former T-shirt

Repeat!

Now that you have the hang of the process, you can use all types of shirts to create pillows of different sizes and designs. Here are some additional ideas for this pillow project

• As a housewarming gift. Use a T-shirt with a screen that has special meaning to the recipient
• For a kid’s room. Once the kids have grown out of their favorite shirts, turn them into cuddly pillows
• Father’s Day idea. Turn a T-shirt he’s worn to death into a comfortable memento