make - recycled shirt cushions

well if you are like me, the new year brings a new beginning and a drastic need to clean out cupboards, and start the year afresh. So I was thrilled when I came across this image and instructions online and just had to share. Now these are using men's business shirts but it could apply to any buttoned shirt.

STEP 1: Iron shirt to smooth out all wrinkles. Button it, then pin the shirt's front and back to each other to keep them together when cutting.

STEP 2: Cut out the shirt to match the shape of your pillow insert — adding two inches to both the width and length, and centering the row of buttons down the front. (You'll now have two pieces of fabric.)

STEP 3: Re pin the fabric so the shirt's finished sides face each other. Sew the pieces together using a 6/8-inch seam. Snip the corners at an angle to ease turning.

STEP 4: Unbutton the fabric and turn the pillowcase right side out. Iron, then re button.

STEP 5: Top stitch around the case twice — first 1/8 inch from the edges, then 3/8 inch from the edges — to finish it.

STEP 6: Unbutton the case, insert the pillow, then re button and fluff.

Follow these instructions to add rickrack trim to your tailor-made cushions.

Cut an old shirt as described in Steps 1 and 2, but adding only 1/2 inch to both the fabric's width and length. You will have two pieces of material: one with buttons (keep them closed) and one without. Take the piece without buttons and pin rickrack along the perimeter of its front side. Rickrack should be parallel to the edges with no overhang. Machine-baste the rickrack onto the fabric using a scant 1/8-inch seam (you will just be sewing across the top of the rickrack to hold it in place — the trimming will flip up once the pillow is inserted). Pin the two pieces of fabric together so the side with the buttons and the side with the rickrack face each other. Sew together using a 1/4-inch seam. Unbutton the case, turn it right side out, and insert pillow.

image: country living