Upcycled Concert "T"

My sister handed me a shirt last time I was in Alabama and said, "turn this into a pillow".

I said OK.

I could make pillows in my sleep.

I did not think much more about it until I needed a project to use up my bobbin thread because I needed to switch out my bobbin thread to black and when I thought black, I thought of the T-shirt and so I grabbed it and got started.

My mind works in mysterious ways.

WHEN it is working at all that is, so I think my mind was on vacation when I got started on this because I really did not take very good pictures.

Truth be told, I did not get overly involved, because I really did not have a vision of HOW STINKING CUTE it would turn out!

 So as you can see( or really you can't actually see, work with me here) I cut the top and bottom off of the shirt. Essentially leaving the main artwork of the T-shirt with some blank black canvas on each side of the art. I then cut the bottom of the T-shirt into 4 long strips.

I baste stitched(some would call this a gathering stitch) down the middle of the strips on a VERY low tension setting. Once this is done, you can pull the bobbin thread on each end, and it "gathers" the ruffle for you. I was taught this method by and old pal of mine way back when (shout out to Tami Stanford) and I think of her every time I do it! It makes it so easy.

 Then, I pinned the ruffles in place and ran a stitch down the center over my gathering stitch to secure it. Some would say that you should remove the original basting stitch at this point, but the ruffles were so tight that I could not get to it.

 I backed it with some coordinating fabric that I had, that I knew my sister liked. I love the way the green matched the "Poison" logo. I suppose that I COULD have used the back of the T-shirt for the backing, but I wanted to add some structure and the stretchy knit of a T-shirt would have been less than ideal for the sham style back that I chose.

(AKA...I cut the top off the art on the back of the shirt by mistake) 

I wanted her to be able to get the insert out easily for washing.

I would like to take a moment to point out that I could hardly go to sleep that night because "Every Rose Has It's Thorn" and "Talk Dirty To Me" lyrics kept running through my head!

But it was totally worth it because I LOVE the way it turned out!

I am already eye-ing some beloved T-shirts that might need to be upcycled.

What a great way to showcase some favorite T's that you no longer wear.

Oh...and BONUS, I never counted on loving the way the T-shirt ruffles feel. GREAT texture!


***Once I saw how cute this turned out, I just KNEW that I had to share it on Wow Us Wednesdays at Savvy Southern Style***