Tuesday 26 February 2013

Shirt Pillow Covers

Hey Kids, 

Satch here. As you're probably aware, we've just survived Valentines Day. Whilst Cobb and I aren't really into it (our anniversary is on Feb 1st so we don't have much need for another lovey holiday two weeks later), I do think Valentines is a good day to show the people in your life how much you care (though you should be doing that all the time anyway!) 

My cousin Nimz has a bit of a thing about swallows. She even has a swallow tattoo, which is why I was so confused when she gave me a bag of old clothes, and this shirt was included. 

She said she'd bought it because she loved the pattern and the colour, but the collar didn't look right and she couldn't make it work. I took it home and looked at it, to see if I could adapt it for her (with half a mind to keep it myself...) but when I realised my sewing skills weren't quite up to scratch to make a new top out of it, I decided to upcycle it into a pillow and give it to her for a Valentines Day treat!

You will need: 
An old button-up shirt
A pillow
A sewing machine / a needle and thread

Firstly, make sure your shirt is big enough to fit the pillow by buttoning it up and shoving the pillow inside. A man's shirt would probably be easier to work with because men are more square than women are, but it doesn't really matter. 

Then, take the pillow out and turn the shirt inside out, making sure the buttons are done up. At both ends, pin the sides together in a straight line, so you make a square. You might want to trim off the extra material at the top and the bottom of the shirt at this point, but I left it on there because there were no sleeves or anything getting in the way, and it gives you more wiggle room if you go wrong! 

Then, sew the sides together in a straight line, as near to the edge as you can manage. 


You can see that my line looks a bit wonky, but this is because the shirt was curved at the bottom, so I sewed in a straight line and then trimmed off the curved bits. 

Do this on both sides, and then unbutton the shirt, turn it outside in, stuff in the pillow and hey presto! 
Because the buttons were already on the shirt, it makes the pillow cover so much easier to make and you can take it off to wash it, if you were so inclined. Nimz was really pleased with it and it genuinely took me more time to change the thread on my sewing machine than it did to actually make the pillow! 

So what do you reckon of my first foray into upcycling? Anyone know how to do it with a shirt that doesn't have buttons? I could not work that out! 

Until next time,
Satch x

2 comments:

  1. Love this! Very creative + looks fab too!

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  2. Thanks Jennie! I've got to say it's the first time I've taken the sewing machine for a spin and got such great results - normally I end up making things so much worse!

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