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Sunday, September 16, 2012

CRAFTS WITH ANASTASIA - T-SHIRT PILLOWS


Marta Hayworth writes about the arts, personal finance & more at http://www.grouphealthinsurance.org. Today she guests at Killer Crafts & Crafty Killers with directions for making a pillow from an old T-shirt. -- AP


5 Steps to Make a Cushion From an Old T-Shirt

Maybe you have some old t-shirts that you have been thinking about tossing in the rubbish, but they are just so hard to part ways with. These special t-shirts have special meaning and you wish you could do something with them to hang on to them for some wonderful memories. Well, guess what? You can! Instead of wasting these shirts, why not pick out the ones that are really special and recycle them into something comfortable like a cushion that you can have on your bed or sofa?

What You Need
What you need to begin your cushion project are a few memorable t-shirts that are special to you, a needle and some thread, a good pair of scissors, and more old t-shirts for some filling for your cushion.

Step One: The first thing you need to do is turn your t-shirt inside out. The reason for this is that your seams don’t want to be showing and will be hidden when you turn the shirt back right side out.

Step Two: Next you will want to sew the bottom of the t-shirt together so that it’s shut. You create the bottom seam of your cushion by going right across the center part of your t-shirt which is parallel to the hem on the shirt. You need to repeat this going back again so make sure your seam is good and strong. The fabric that is leftover from the middle part of the t-shirt to the hem of the shirt can be used later as stuffing for your cushion when you turn the t-shirt right side out.

Step Three: Next you want to take the sleeves of the t-shirt and sew them both shut. You do this by sewing right up to the shoulder so that the arm hole is closed completely.

Step Four: Next put your hands right through the neck of the shirt and pull it back to have it right side out. The fabric that was excess you can now use as the filling and your cushion should be of a rectangular shape. At this point, if you want your cushion to be a little fuller, add some more t-shirt to the inside and stuff it tighter before you sew the end product all together.

Step Five: The last step is to sew the neckline back together and your cushion is complete!

You have successfully recycled an old, but nice t-shirt and made a comfortable throw cushion out of it. There are lots of things you can do now that you are done. You can decorate your new cushion however you want to. You can go and get some sequins from the store and decorate your cushion this way or you can get some fabric pens and have it decorated just the way you want. What about embroidering? If you know how to embroider, you can put your name or something special on your cushion in embroidery that will keep that t-shirt special for a specific reason. Whatever you choose to do, you now have a special cushion with your special t-shirt and you didn’t even have to throw it away! Do this for all your t-shirts! Who knows, before you are done you may have all your friends and family bring you t-shirts to make into cushions too!

Thanks for joining us today, Marta. Readers, you may also want to sew your pillows using a sewing machine for tighter seams and stuff them with polyester fiber-fill for a smoother finish. -- AP

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