Getting Real With Wanda Morrissey
As children, most of us had a favourite article of clothing. It was usually a t-shirt; a t-shirt that was worn almost constantly and wasn’t relinquished to the washer without a fight.
I know I had a t-shirt like that. I was five or six at the time and it had a picture of my favourite cartoon character on the front. I’ve long since forgotten her name, it was the panda bear from a show popular at the time, but I still remember that shirt. I was devastated when I outgrew it and remember fighting with my mother when she put it in the bag to go to Goodwill.
While visiting a friend the other day I noticed her daughter carrying around a t-shirt shaped pillow. I asked my friend about it. It had been her daughter’s favourite t-shirt but instead of passing it on when she outgrew it, my friend had turned it into a pillow. I thought this was a fabulous idea. What a great way to keep a treasured item. The instructions were very simple and I had to try it out for myself.
I used one of my son’s old t-shirts. It didn’t have any particular sentimental value to him but it did for me. It was a t-shirt he’d gotten while visiting my family in Nova Scotia for the first time. As I started to make the pillow, it surprised me that my son was actually interested in it. He wanted to know if it was for him and asked every five minutes if it was ready yet. Thankfully it was a quick project and I finished it before he went to bed that night. He took the pillow with him and slept with it. It now has a permanent home at the end of his bed.
This was a easy and whimsical project and I really enjoyed it. I can picture my apartment now – in a few years it’ll be stuffed with t-shirt pillows.
Instructions For Making a T-shirt Pillow
Step 1: Take a clean t-shirt and turn it inside out.
Step 2: Using the existing hems as a guide, stitch the bottom of the t-shirt closed.
Step 3: Repeat step 2 for each of the arm holes. You can either use a sewing machine or hand stitch the openings closed.
Step 4: Turn the shirt right side out. The neck should still be open.
Step 5: Using the neck opening, stuff the shirt to desired firmness with polyester fiberfill (or whatever type of fill you choose to use).
Step 6: Stitch the neck opening closed.
Note: This project works best with a round neck t-shirt.