Tutorial: Ruffle Pillow from old t-shirt

I am loving all the ruffle pillow that I am seeing all over the place! I decided I had to make one. I had an old t-shirt that does not fit that was perfect for a pillow for the couch. I like making ruffles with the t-shirt fabric because it does not fray! So, no hemming the edges of the fabric for the ruffles! I made this tee into a 12 inch pillow.

Here is what I started with . . .


Step 1: Cut out the fabric needed.
Cut a 12.5 inch square from the back of the tee. Cut another 12.5 inch square of fabric from a matching cotton material. Cut 2 pieces for the back of the pillow. Cut them 8 inches x 12.5 inches. Then take front of the shirt and cut 1 inch strips.



Step 2: Gather the 1 inch strips to make the ruffles.
Sew a straight, basting stitch down the middle of each strip. Then pull the lower thread as needed to gather it to the size of the pillow (12.5 inches).

Step 3: Stack the 2 12.5 inch squares on top of each other with the t-shirt fabric on top. ( I thought this would be good to do just in case the t-shirt fabric had a tendency to pull or gather while stitching it.) Pin all the ruffles in place.
I drew a line with my fabric pen down the center of the front of the t-shirt fabric and then pinned the ruffles on either side of that line spacing them out evenly.



Step 4: Sew the ruffles in place. Use a straight stitch and sew right on top of the previous stitching to secure the ruffles to the pillow top.

Step 5: Now hem one long side of each of the rectangular pieces of fabric that you cut. You could turn it over twice, iron, and use a straight stitch. Or serge and then turn over, iron, and sew in place with a straight stitch.


Step 6: Lay the rectangular pieces on top of the pillow top as pictured. Make sure right sides of the fabric are together. Be careful that the ruffles are not folded over when pinned down.


Step 7: Sew around all four sides of the pillow using a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Now finish the raw edges with a zig zag stitch or serge.


Step 8: Turn right side out and put in your pillow insert. Your finished!! Sit back and enjoy!!