Today’s project is something I’m really excited about–pillow covers from old shirts! This is an amazing project that anyone can do, and it results in beautiful, unique, and even sentimental home decor. I also did this at a great time–it’s been pretty cold here in Georgia (yay!) and these pillow covers add a warmth to my living room that the old ones just didn’t.

And if you’re concerned because you can’t sew, no worries. I’ll get to that. 🙂

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DIY Pillow Covers from Old Shirts:

If sewing, you will need:

• fabric scissors
• needles (I just have an emergency sewing kit that I used)
• thread
• pins
• seamstress tape
• sewing marker
• old shirts (preferably men’s XL)

If not sewing, you will need:

• fabric scissors 
• Unique Stitch Adhesive OR Stitch Witchery
• pins
• seamstress tape
• sewing marker
• old shirts (preferably men’s XL)

Unfortunately, I didn’t take pictures, but I’ll try to be as detailed as possible. 

Step 01: Wash, dry, and iron your shirts, if necessary. I didn’t need to iron after my shirts were dried. If they wrinkled, I stuck them back in the dryer for 15 minutes. (My cat kept finding them and laying on them, so I had to repeat this process quite a few times. She approves of the flannel, by the way.)

Step 02: Measure your pillow (if necessary, create a template–I did not need to do this). The majority of my pillows measured 18 inches by 18 inches. So I cut my shirts to 19 x 19 inches. Be sure of exactly where you want your pillow to be placed on the shirt. I put mine relatively high, so I could keep most of the buttons and the pockets. (Yes, these pillows have pockets!) In order to do it this way, all my shirts needed to be a man’s XL.

Step 03: Turn the shirt inside-out (I did this before I cut, but you can do it afterwards–just flip the fabric over). Make sure the two pieces are aligned the way you want and then use the sewing marker to mark exactly where you want your stitches to go (mine went where I knew the pillow would sit–at 18 inches). Push your pins through the marked areas, securing the two pieces of fabric together. 

Step 04: Then, you can start sewing! I sewed these completely by hand, using running stitch, since I don’t have a sewing machine. It was a pain, but soworth it! Each pillow took me 2-3 hours to sew.

Go all the way around the pillow case. The wonderful thing about these is that they already have buttons, so you really don’t have to think about anything once you’ve begun this step. I turned on Netflix to keep myself from getting bored, which made the whole project extremely enjoyable, actually. I was kind of sad when this project was over.

Step 05: Once the fabric has been stitched, you can unbutton it (even from inside-out), turn it outside-in, and then stuff your pillow in it. (If you’re using the Unique Stitch Adhesive, wait a couple of hours before putting the pillow inside the cover.) 

If you’re worried because you don’t have much experience sewing…I don’t, either. The only thing I have ever successfully sewed in my life before these pillows was a hole that my sister-in-law’s boyfriend had in his jeans. He forgot to bring an extra pair, so he needed them to last the weekend. That was in January and I have no idea if the stitching is still holding. So I was pretty nervous about these pillows falling apart.

I’ve only had them done for a couple of days, but Zach is pretty rough on pillows (fluffing them and folding them and bunching them up under his head) and they don’t show any signs of wear. I’m taking that as a good omen. 😛 (Update 3-23-15: I’ve had these pillows for nearly six months and they’re still going strong! I don’t see any signs of strain or wear on the stitches.)

If you still want to go the no-sew route, Homey Oh My has a great tutorial. 

The great thing about making covers out of button-down shirts is that you don’t need to create a way to get the pillows in and out.

And these pillow covers are INCREDIBLY soft. 

My only complaint is that I feel the ruffled one looks a little out of place. I used a too-small girl’s shirt for that one and, honestly, I’ll probably wind up finding a different shirt for it. 

Otherwise, I’m REALLY happy with this! I can’t believe how successful it was!

I actually got all of these shirts from a thrift store in the next town over. Each shirt cost $3.99, so I spent about $25 on these pillow covers. Much cheaper than I could have bought at most places. However, you can probably get them cheaper if you have a Goodwill nearby, or just some old shirts you never wear. As far as the cost of everything else, I did spend $7 on a new sewing kit, because it came with fabric scissors and one of those pin cushions (which made life a lot easier). So overall, this project cost me $32. Not too bad! 

My living room is ready for cold weather. Are you? 😛

Don’t forget to share!