Making Pillows
by Tricia L. Shafer

Make adorable pillows out of your old shirts!

Splash some color into your home with pillows. These pillows are so easy to make, and they don’t have to cost you anything. The idea started with my friend, Bob. He works for a men’s fashion company, and he frequently gets free samples from work. But most of the time the samples have holes from cutting swatches. He came up with a clever idea for using these unwearable samples. Turn them into pillows. The buttons and buttonholes are already made. That’s half the work! 

I made these with some old shirts that I was going to throw away. So clean out your or your husband closet, and recycle some shirts. Men’s dress shirts work the best for larger pillows. I was only able to use a 14" square pillow since I used women’s shirts. Some of the shirts had pockets. I left them on, and now I have a place to keep the remote.

These instructions are for a 14" pillow. But you can modify the measurements for any size or shape.

What you need

1 shirt
1 14" pillow form
thread
disappearing marker or chalk pencil
point turner - it helps to make your corners look good. You can get them at any sewing supply store. 

What to do

Iron your shirt and lay flat. Draw the pattern on the front of the shirt. Make a 17" square. - see picture

Cut out the front only.  Use the front square as a pattern to cut out the back square.  Pin the pieces right side together. Buttons on the inside.  Sew a ½" seam allowance on all sides.  Trim the corners. - see picture

Turn the pillow cover inside out. Using the point turner on the inside, push out the corners.  Press all seams flat.  Draw a square 1 1/4" from the edges on all sides. This will give the pillow a trim. - see picture  Top stitch on this line. That’s it unless you want to add some more top stitching on the trim.

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