DIY Cushion Covers from a Man’s Shirt

I’ve had this idea for quite some time now, wanting to make cushion covers from shirts. The idea is, not to throw out more clothes and to spend time being creative and making something that you enjoy using or looking at.

A friend of mine heard that I was into all sorts of recycling projects and so he gave me some of his old shirts and some boxes and all sorts of fun stuff that is piling up in my little apartment. So finally I got around to doing something with these old shirts and realized how much fun it is and how easy it is to do.

So, here is the result:

And here’s how I did it:

I took a small cushion I bought at Ikea and measured it.

My cushion measured 33cm or 13 inches. I added an inch (about 2cm) for sewing it together. I like to use the buttons that are already there.

Measure, pin and cut to size. Don’t worry if it’s not 100% straight, it’s handmade, so it’s nice if it’s a little wonky, it gives it character.

Once you have your two squares, make sure you have the two outside parts facing inside. Here it makes a difference because I want the buttons on the outside, if you have a print or something like that make sure you have it on the inside when you sew.

Sew around the cushion leaving about 1cm (1/3 of an inch).

Open the buttons and turn the cushion cover inside out. You can now happily stuff the cushion into its new cover.

This is a fun project and with the remainder of the material you can make these cool party flowers I found on design sponge, which I plan to make as well. Have fun!