Jumbo Outdoor Pillow From Shirts

Shirts are a necessity, but as the saying goes, too much of a good thing is a bad thing. Some people, like me, suffer from an acute shirt hording condition. I have well over 100, and have ran out of room in my closet and both dresser drawers. That is why when I saw that there was a T-Shirt transformation contest, I knew it was time to let go. The first step is admitting you have a problem and trying to change it, so I had to. Reluctantly, I gathered up all my hole-ridden, tacky, and bleach stained shirts.

I have been wanting a jumbo pillow for an outside chair of mine for a while, but the ones that I like have either been to pricey or not as durable as I would like, so i decided to take matters into my own hands. Everyone knows that I love upcycling, crafting, and saving money (see my grocery bag craft HERE ) so this project was right up my alley. The total cost for this pillow was only three dollars (for stuffing) and a couple of tears for my sacrificed shirts. To make the pillow, you should have a basic knowledge of crochet and hand sewing. With that said, here his how to create this super simple project.

Materials:

Stuffing

Size Q crochet Hook

Yarn

Scissors

Tapestry Needle

1 Square Yard of Sturdy Fabric

10-15 T-Shirts

The first and most time consuming step of the project is creating the yarn. I will be giving the simplifies instructions here, but if you would like a more detailed explanation, instructable member WUVIE has a great tutorial on shirt yarn HERE that I highly recommend. just be sure to make your yarn about two inches wide when cutting.

Firstly, lay a shirt on a flat surface smoothing out all wrinkles. Next, cut odd bottom seam and the top of the shirt from the bottom of the armpit. You should be left with a tube of material. Start cutting the material into two inch strips, leaving about an inch of uncut material at the bottom. This is extremely important. Once you have all the material cut, open the material and cut across the lines in the photo provided. You now will have a long continuous string. Roll it up and repeat the process with all shirts. The amount of shirts will depend on size, I used 10 men's large and extra large, but you will need more if you are working with smaller shirt sizes.

Since the yarn is so bulky, this section will go by a lot faster than you think. I did not make one single skein of yarn from the shirts, but rather tied them together when necessary, but you can do either method. For this project we are using a single stitch. To crochet the front, using a size Q hook, chain 25 and turn. starting in the second stitch of the chain, single crochet until the end of the row, chain one and turn. repeat the process for 20 rows, then tie off.

Cut your fabric down to the size of your front piece leaving a 1/2 inch on all sides for seam allowance. With wrong sides out, sew using a blanket stitch all the way around, leaving a six inch unsewn space. then turn inside out.

Take the stuffing and carefully insert into the unsewn space, once filled to the desired amount, slip stitch closed. Fluff out pillow. Using the scissors, cut off any pieces of shirt that are sticking out. If it is a knot tying two strands together, do not cut, just push it to the inside. Now you will have an upcycled jumbo pillow! If you liked this instructable, be sure to vote for it in the T-Shirt Transformations Contest. Happy crafting!