I am into going green and recycling…but I want to make sure that any recycling I do still has style… I don’t go for the recycled, but ugly look (That kind of defeats the whole purpose of throw pillows.) You can recycle your old T-shirts and make some really nice throw pillows.
The great thing about using your old T-shirts is that they should already reflect your style. If you have a funky style, or rocker style, or girlie style then this is most likely reflected in your old T-shirts so choosing a design that will match your house and style should be pretty easy.
Some things to keep in mind when choosing which T-shirt you are going to use for your pillow:
• Fabric. Make sure the T-Shirt’s fabric is suitable for a pillow. Personally, I like softer pillows, so I would choose a T-shirt with a softer material. If you like a more coarse material then go with that.
• Design. Look at the T-shirt’s design before you begin and imagine it as a pillow. Some designs look great on shirts, but bad on pillows and in living rooms or on beds. Don’t forget, you can use plain colored T-shirts as well as patterned ones.
• Size. If you want a big pillow, then don’t use a small shirt. Measure, measure, measure!
• Placement. Know roughly where you are going to put your pillow when you are done with it so that you can choose a fabric and design that will look good in that area. For example, if you want to mix it up in the living room and you already have a bunch of plain pillows you might want to make a couple patterned ones. Or if you want a blend of textures make some softer pillows and some pillows with a more coarse texture.
Here is a great video that will walk you through each step of making a throw pillow out of a T-shirt. (She is making the pillow case envelope style. You can change the way you make your pillow based on how you want to stuff or seal your pillow.)
The convenient pizza cutter like cutting tool she uses is called a rotary knife or cutter. You can buy them online or at a craft store like Michael’s.
I hope your T-shirt throw pillows come out perfect!
How to Make a Throw Pillow out of a T-Shirt,