Wondering how to make a t-shirt into a pillow? Are you thinking of a way to convert your excess t-shirt into something usable? You’ve come to the right spot!
Having too many shirts can be bothersome, particularly if you have limited space in your closet.
Making a comfortable pillow out of your bunch of piled T-shirts that you don’t wear for years due to outdated style or you have grown up with is a smart idea.
All you need to do is follow the process simultaneously stated below. Hence, without further ado, let’s get started!
Steps To Make A T-Shirt Into A Pillow
Transforming t-shirts into your desired pillow may take a cup of patience, especially in manual sewing.
However, using a sewing machine is recommended for a faster process.
The following are the steps on how to make a t-shirt into a pillow;
Step #1. Planning phase
In this phase, the choices of the t-shirt, including the design, are all in your hands.
You can expect the outcome depending upon the quality of the shirt fabrics, therefore for the best results, consider the following:
Gather your T-shirt
First up is to dig into your pillow and gather all your excess t-shirt so that you will have many options for later.
Since you’ll be recycling the clothing, you want to pick shirts that are relatively intact.
Sketch a design
Use a piece of paper and sketch the shape and the combination of colours of your choice. You may also search up the internet for some themes for your desired pillow.
If you want to make a decorative or display pillow, be artful as you can in your sketch.
Include the sizes and purpose, whether it is for cushion, couch, or display pillow in sketching.
The cushion pillow’s usual length is 20 by 26-inch white couch pillow is 20 by 20 inch or 24 by 24 inch.
Select the best fabric type
Fabric type brings a significant role in your job. So we advise you to be more vigilant in selecting the appropriate texture.
After you have determined the pillow’s purpose, choose the textile you want to use from the T-shirts you collected earlier.
If you make a pillow that expects softness, such as a cushion pillow, choose clothes with softer fabrics like silk, cotton, or flannel.
Stiffer fabrics are ideal for decorative, and display pillows, such as polyester or linen for their solid structure allows the pad to retain shape and last longer.
Select the stuffing
To make the ideal pillow for your needs, selecting the appropriate stuffing for your pillow directly correlates with the fabric option.
The materials that you will use in stuffing may vary depending on what’s available to you:
Wool, cotton, and animal feathers are among the lightest categories of pillow stuffing.
Foam, polyester, and microbeads belong to the cheaper synthetic category than organic materials and can differ in their firmness levels.
Buckwheat, millet, and flaxseed stuffing are more rigid and sometimes a little thicker than others.
Old shirts and blankets stuffing may take a while since you need to rip these shirts and blankets one by one to little pieces.
Step#2. Sewing the t-shirt
Here are the things that you should do:
Layout
Choose a flat surface, such as a wooden table or work surface. Turn the T-shirt inside out, free of air, and sleek it. Before you start working, you to iron the cloth.
Measure
In measuring the t-shirt, you may use your sketches as the basis of the scaling. It is a must to count an extra inch for proper leeway of seams.
Use a tape measure to evaluate the size of your desired pillow. Then mark it lightly using a pencil for your cutting guide.
Cut
To obtain two symmetrical pieces of fabric, cut the front and the back of the t-shirt simultaneously.
However, if you prefer to use two distinct shirt textile types for your pillow, you must cut only one piece from each t-shirt.
Sew
After cutting two pieces of symmetrical fabric from your t-shirt, you can now place the cloth on top of the other and put pins on the edges.
If you are going to see manually, you need to be extra careful in handling the needle.
However, it’s better to use a machine to sew because you will need lesser effort and time.
Step #3. Finishing the pillow
Don’t forget to sew all the edges ahead yet, and you still have to do the following:
Take off the excess fabric.
A gentle easing of ½ inch on the fabric edges will lessen the pillow’s sharp points, giving it an oval, softer look. Don’t cut over the line of seams.
Stuff
This time, you may now put the stuff of your choice which you prepared earlier:
- Start stuffing the corner of the pillow near the back opening with tiny portions.
- Be gentle but consistent. To assist stuff the pillow, you can use your hand or a rod.
- Work your way gradually toward the pillow opening.
- Give it a soft squeeze until the pillow is mostly stuffed. Remove the stuffing to your preference if the buffer is too firm. Add more filling if it is too thin.
Sew the pillow close
If you are already satisfied with the pillow’s appearance, you can now close the pad by sewing the last corner of it.
Lock the pillow by sewing a zipper into the opening if you want to change the pillow’s stuffing in the future.
Final Words
Learning how to make a t-shirt into a pillow is a smart move. It might be hard if you don’t have the necessary sewing skill. However, you can quickly learn through the internet.
I hope that we guided you well on how to transform your t-shirt into a pillow. Thank you for your effort in reaching this part of the article. We appreciate you.