• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

  • home
  • about adrianne
  • buy the books
    • DIY T-Shirt Crafts (2015)
    • DIY Stamped Metal Jewelry (2016)
    • Rock Painting for Beginners (2019)
  • videos
  • crafts
    • diy beauty projects
    • kids’ crafts
    • paper craft projects
    • polymer clay
    • sewing projects
  • jewelry
    • bracelet projects
    • earring projects
    • necklace projects
    • jewelry tools & supplies
  • metal stamping
    • beginners’ tutorial
    • video tutorial
    • project ideas
    • metal stamping supplies
  • recipes
    • cocktail recipes
    • appetizers
    • main and side dishes
    • sweets and treats
  • by season
    • birthdays
    • new year
    • valentine’s day
    • st. patrick’s day
    • easter and spring
    • mother’s day
    • patriotic
    • fall
    • halloween
    • christmas
    • thanksgiving
  • privacy

Happy Hour Projects logo

09/02/2015

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow

So you have probably read or seen on Instagram that my daughter and I had a weekend getaway with some fabulous bloggers in Chicago.  Well, we took some time to see the city, too, and you know what vacation means to kids, right?  Souvenirs!  We took the Chicago Trolley & Double Decker Co. tour while we were in town, and my daughter totally LOVED the double decker bus.  We even got a free souvenir shirt with our tickets (yay!) but there’s one drawback: they were available in adult sizes only.  Now, Raya was thrilled to get her own “Chicago shirt dress” (as she put it, since it came down to her little feet), but it’s hard to enjoy a souvenir shirt when it’s not the right size.  So if anyone has ever brought you home a shirt that’s too big or too small, or you just aren’t the type to wear your souvenirs, I’ve got a great idea for you today for what to do with it instead so that you can enjoy your memento all the time.  If you can sew a straight line, then I’ll show you how to turn a tshirt into a pillow in 10 minutes or less!

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

I’m putting together a fun post recapping our trip to share with you guys tomorrow, so if you’re seeing the shirt and curious about the Chicago Trolley tour (and the other awesome things we were in Chicago for) then be sure to come back and check that out.  I’ve got plenty of silly selfies, and some things I learned about traveling the city with a pre-K diva. ;) We had a great time!  But for those of you just interested in the tutorial today, I decided to break the project out into a separate post.  You don’t need much to make this easy t-shirt pillow, and the way I’m finishing it means you’ve got NO turning, NO top-stitching, and NO sewing inside out.  If all you can manage is a straight line on your machine, then you’ve got this.  I’ll include affiliate links below in case you need to do some shopping – here’s what you will need:

  • Your sewing machine (or borrow your friend’s for a few minutes) and contrasting thread
  • Sharp scissors or pinking shears
  • A pillow form to fit (we’re using 16×16 today, but choose the best size to fit your shirt)
  • Your awesome souvenir shirt
  • Helpful for beginners: A ruler and disappearing ink marker

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

There are a lot of ways to turn a tshirt into a pillow, but I wanted to make this project as simple as humanly possible for all the beginner sewists out there.  Don’t sweat technique – just worry about stitching straight.  If you are brand-new to sewing, then you’ll want to take this step first: using a ruler, mark out with a disappearing ink marker a square centered over the top side of your shirt that’s the same dimensions as your pillow form.  This will ensure that when you start sewing, not only will stitch straight lines, but you will also be sure to center your shirt on the pillow.  (I confess, I did not do this, but I’ve been sewing off and on for years.)  Disappearing ink typically fades after 20-30 minutes on jersey material, I find.

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

Starting on the left side of your shirt, on the bottom corner of your marked-off square, begin sewing.  I used a simple zigzag stitch, and my daughter requested pink thread (of course!  I was planning to use orange but she talked me out of it, haha).  You will be sewing through BOTH layers of the shirt, securing them together.  Stitch up toward the top of the shirt, turn and stitch across the top, and then down the right side so that three sides of your pillowcase are formed.

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

Next, stuff your pillow inside.  To get an easy line to stitch, I folded the pillow form in half, stuffing it into the top half of the pillow case.  Then, I stitched the bottom closed.  (A little squishing around straightened my pillow form inside after I was done.  You can also stitch all but enough space to fit your hand inside, and straighten it out in there when you’re nearly finished sewing.)

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

At this point, you will have a shirt with a puffy pillow stitched inside!  All you need to do is trim the excess shirt away, leaving a 1/2 inch of fabric all the way around.  I used pinking shears to enjoy the zigzag edge, but t-shirt material is awesome in that it doesn’t unravel, it just rolls.  Regular scissors WILL work just fine!  Just be sure they’re very sharp.

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

In between taking photos to share with you, and finishing this project, I was done in just 7 minutes as a sewist with some experience.  So I feel confident in calling this project a 10-minute project, even for beginners (as long as you get your stitching right on the first try).  :) Now my daughter can enjoy her souvenir every single day by adding a soft and comfortable pillow to her bed.

I think this would also be a VERY cool project for old concert tees, too, to turn your favorite bands into throw pillows for the couch!

How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow in just 10 Minutes at www.happyhourprojects.com

If you liked this t-shirt transformation, then be sure to check out my new book, DIY T-Shirt Crafts, which contains 50 other ways to repurpose your old tees into other craft projects.  Everything in the book can be made without a sewing machine, and all the projects can be made in an hour or less!

DIY T-Shirt Crafts by Adrianne Surian | Pre-Order now on Amazon

Thanks for joining me for this quick project today, and be sure to come back tomorrow and read about our trip!

Adrianne Surian

Filed Under: Home Decor, Home Improvement, Parenting, Sewing Projects, Tutorials Tagged With: 10-minute project, books, decor, DIY T-Shirt Crafts, easy, kids, noads, parenting, pillow, recycled, repurpose, sewing, souvenir, t-shirt crafts, travel, traveling, vacation

copyright policy and terms of use

I love it when you love my work! All tutorials and photos published at Happy Hour Projects are copyrighted. If you would like to feature my tutorial on your website or share it on your social media you may use one photo to feature, as long as you provide a link back to the original post.

If you feature a photo, it may not be accompanied by the project tutorial or recipe, whether in my own words as it originally appears or paraphrased by you. This also includes personal sharing on social media and Pinterest. Publishing multiple photos from a project, or including instructions with an accompanying photo are not permitted and you will be asked to remove them.

I love to share my projects, and my tutorials, recipes, and e-books are ALL free for your personal use. However, photos and ideas that are published to this site are my protected intellectual property. You may print them at home, but please do not copy or distribute them. I also allow all designs to be made and sold at fundraisers, craft fairs, etc. If you are selling a piece made from one or more of my free tutorials in your online shop, I require that you use your own, original photography, and include a link back to my website to credit me as the designer.

I hope you enjoy what you read here, and please be fair when you share!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. MB says

    01/09/2019 at 6:02 pm

    Sewist? Not a word. How about seamstress or seamster. Nice idea to create a pillow though for a beginner.

    Reply
  2. Leanne says

    09/27/2018 at 2:06 am

    Everything said made a ?reat deal of sense. ?owever, ??at ?bout this?
    suppose y?u ?ere to wr?t? a killer headline?? mean, ? ?on’t
    wish t? tell yo? how to ?un your blog, however suppose ?o? added
    ? headline to possibly get people’s attention? I mean How to ?urn a
    Souvenir T-Shirt ?nto a Pillow – H?ppy Hoour Projects is a little
    boring. ??u s?ould peek at Yahoo’? frontt p?g? ?nd note ?ow the? create post
    headlines t? grab viewers ?nterested. Yoou m?ght ad? ? video ?r
    a picture o? t?? to get people inte?ested about everything’v? written. In my opinion, iit wou?d make
    yo?r blog ? ?ittle livelier.

    Reply
  3. kanchipuram sarees says

    08/23/2018 at 1:50 am

    nice post

    Reply
  4. golu dolls chennai says

    08/23/2018 at 1:50 am

    looking good

    Reply
  5. crafts-hoodies.com says

    10/20/2016 at 8:11 pm

    95 compression socks, $36 sports bra, caps, water bottles,
    GPS watches, etc. It’s advisable to get sturdy brand Gray Nicolls cricket inner thigh pads, cricket catching and batting gloves, arm guards, batting pads as well
    as chest guards made of high density foam to provide protection without the extra weight.
    Sure, the polyester sweat wicking zip up jacket was
    really nice with the miniature logo that made it look almost attractive,
    but $89.

    Reply
  6. Mary Gerush says

    09/02/2015 at 4:47 pm

    Thanks for this! I have an old favorite t-shirt and some sheets that I want to turn into pillows for my daughter. This looks like the easiest way to make that happen. And your daughter is adorable. Oh, and we love Chicago! Thanks for your posts. I really enjoy them!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. 12 DIY Vacation Souvenir Ideas says:
    08/05/2017 at 10:28 pm

    […] Souvenir T-Shirt Pillow – Happy Hour Projects […]

    Reply
  2. CraftCrave | DigiFree | CraftCrave says:
    09/05/2015 at 3:38 am

    […] How to Turn a Souvenir T-Shirt Into a Pillow – 1 freebie(s)? […]

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Hello, and welcome! I'm Adrianne, an artist, author, designer, and blogger in mid Michigan. I work from home, chase my two kids, and this once-city-girl is learning how to care for chickens and adjusting to life out in the country. I have a compulsion for daily creativity... sometimes it's jewelry-making, paper crafting, metal stamping, mixing and baking, or giving new life to recycled items. But with 2 young kids, time is short! My goal here at Happy Hour Projects is to share projects and tips that you can do in an hour or less. The ideas you find here are designed to add a little creativity in your day, no matter how much (or how little) time you have!

BUY MY BOOKS!

Copyright © 2022 Happy Hour Projects on the Brunch Pro Theme