It’s always a sad event for mothers especially when a favorite shirt of their for their little girl gets outgrown. Into the too small pile it goes never to be seen on your child again. Some of the too small shirts we have really come to love. Their patterns, their colors, and their designs are beautiful and unique.
I always thought it was such a shame to not be able to do anything else with my little girls outgrown shirts. Some of them were just so beautiful I hated the thought of not seeing them around any more. Then I realized that something can be made out of nothing. Being a collector of fabric and sewing supplies my mind began to wander, searching for possible items that I could make out of a little girls outgrown shirt.
Then it came to me. Two hair ties and a pillow! The way to do it is so simple too. If you have the ability to sew and the love of crafting then you too can make two hair ties and a pillow out of one little girls outgrown long sleeve shirt. Here’s how.
The first thing you’ll need to do to get started is to get a good pair of scissors, your needle and collection of threads, three and a half inches elastic cord, and some pillow stuffing. Make sure your scissors are sharp so that they’ll give you a good and clean cut edge.
The next thing to do is to take the shirt and cut it apart. Using your sharp scissors cut the sleeves of the shirt off at the shoulders. There will be a seam there where the sleeve is sewn on. Cut on that seem. Once the sleeves are off start your scissors on the shirt right under the armpit of one side of the shirt. Cut straight over to the other side of the shirt. You will have cut a basic square or rectangle, depending on how long the shirt is. The top and bottom will both be open. The sides will both have the sewn seams of the shirt still in tact. Do not cut the sides. The make up two sides of your pillow.
Okay. Since you’ll have that square or rectangle right there you can make the pillow first. Simply thread your needle with a like colored thread. Turn the fabric inside out. Fold the edges of the fabric over on quarter of an inch, together. Stitch all the way down the first side. Tie off your thread when you reach the end of the first side. Make sure to knot it well to make sure that it doesn’t come undone. It is an option to stitch each seam twice to ensure strength.
Now move on to the next side. Sew this in the same manner as you did the first/ The only thing you’ll want to do different is to stop three inches before the end of the fabric. When you get to the point of being three inches from done stop and tie off. Again, make sure your knot is secure to avoid unraveling. Sew the seam again to make it stronger.
Now it’s time to turn the pillow right side out again. Once that’s done stuff it with the pillow stuffing and then close up the hole. There you have it, a pillow made from a little girls long sleeve shirt that has been outgrown. Edge it with lace for that extra special added touch. She’ll love it!
Now back to those sleeves. Cut down one seam of each sleeve. Fold each sleeve in half and trim to being two inches wide. Unfold the fabric and fold it in half again with the pattern or printed sides facing in. The back side of the fabric will show. Sew down the open side. Sew it twice for added strength. Turn the fabric right side out. Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic cord. Insert the elastic cord into one end of the hair tie. The safety pin should be at the bottom end, inside the hair tie. Close off that end by sewing across it, sewing the elastic cord onto it in the process. Now use the safety pin to inch the cord to the opening at the other end of the hair tie. Do not let it go. Once the other end of the elastic cord is through the opening remove it. Do not let the elastic cord go! Sew it into place as you did the other end.
Lastly, pull your two ends together and stitch them. Do the same thing for the other sleeve and there you have it. Two hair ties and a pillow made from one little girls out grown long sleeve shirt. Thanks for reading and take care!
