FloralShowers Craft Blog

Ruffle Pillow {by Jess}

| 72 Comments

I am now posting on All For This Penny. Please visit me there!

Ruffle Pillow

Remember this cute ruffle pillow made from a t-shirt? Well, here is the tutorial. Enjoy!!

You’ll need:

  • an XL t-shirt (or larger)
  • rotary cutter, mat, and ruler
  • fiber fill or some sort of stuffing

Step 1: lay t-shirt flat on cutting mat. Cut hem off bottom of t-shirt and straighten sides out (if needed).

Trim off hem

straighten out sides

Step 2:  cut a 14×14 square through both layers of the t-shirt. These squares form the front and back of the pillow.

14x14 square

Step 3: trim off sleeves and use remaining t-shirt fabric to cut strips about 1 1/4 inch wide by 21 (or so) inches long.

cut strips

Step 4: lay out strips on pillow top to determine how many ruffles you want. I wanted 10 for mine.

lay out strips

Step 5: set your machine to a really long stitch (called a basting stitch). Sew down the center of each strip, leaving a tail of thread, and making sure to NOT reverse stitch on either end.

baste stitch strips

baste stitched strips

Step 6: lay strips back on pillow where you’d like them (with the bobbin thread side facing down). Pin ends in place (it makes the next step easier).

strips on pillow

Step 7: Ruffle time! Gently pull the bobbin thread (the thread on the bottom) to create the ruffle. Spread the ruffle across the entire strip and pin in place. Repeat for each strip.

Ruffle time!

ruffles, ruffles, ruffles

Step 8: set your machine back to a regular (or slightly smaller than regular) stitch length. Sew down the center of each ruffle (right on top of the baste stitch).

sew on ruffles

Step 9: pin pillow front to pillow back, with ruffles inside. Tip: to make sure you don’t sew the ruffle in the side seam, pin bottom-most and top-most ruffles to the side.

pin front to back

Step 10: sew front to back, leaving a 4-5 inch gap on one side. Trim corners. Flip right side out. Stuff.

EDIT: This is also the point where I would use a lint roller to get off all the tiny little balls of fabric that are everywhere…

trim corners

Step 11: pin opening closed and hand sew shut.

hand sew opening shut

I would show you the finished product, but I actually gave it away before I took a picture… but trust me, it was cute. :)

This post has been linked:

Made by you Monday @ Skip to My Lou

Author: Jess

I love nerds (well, one in particular), sewing, crafting, blog-stalking, and being happy.

72 Comments

  1. That is so adorable! I love that you made an orange one…makes me want to make some orange and black ones to put on my couch for halloween! I may have to take a trip to the DI! Wahoo. Your tutorial is amazing=)

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  2. Thanks so much for visiting my blog the other day!! This pillow is fabulous girl!!

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  3. This is such a wonderful tutorial! Thank you for the detailed instructions. I will have to go back through your older posts and see what other little treasures you have.

    -Nikki

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  4. Great tutorial! I’m going to have to try this one…

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  5. Wow, this is cute and easy. I can’t wait to try it. On top of the pillow, it’s a great ruffles tute in general. I betcha I can make a super cute ruffles bag after doing this. Thanks so much

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  6. Thank you, everyone! I’m so happy you like the tutorial!!

    [Reply]

  7. Love this! I have three boys so no ruffles on cute kids clothes for me. But a pillow?! An adorable ruffle pillow (or two) tossed onto the couch will surely stand out in the sea of all.boy.all.the.time. stuff. And it will make this girly-girl smile! Thank you for the great tute.

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  8. I love it! And your tutorial was very nicely written and photographed. Thanks for sharing it!

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  9. Oh this is fabulous! Love it! I will be giving it a try!!

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  10. Pingback: Tutorial: Ruffled throw pillow from a t-shirt · Sewing @ CraftGossip

  11. This is so pretty!! I posted a link to your tutorial on Craft Gossip Sewing:

    http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-ruffled-throw-pillow-from-a-t-shirt/2009/09/12/

    –Anne

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  12. Thanks for the tutorial! It makes me want to get a new sofa just so I can make new pillows for it!

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  13. Thank you everyone!! Thanks for your comments and your excitement – it’s so fun!! I just love my red ruffle pillow (I even just switched up my bedding to match it) and I’m so glad you all like it, too!

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  14. Very pretty pillow! Your tutorial is very clear and you have some extremely helpful close-ups. I bet your room looks amazing if it now matches that pillow!

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  15. This rocks! Love the ruffles. Love the t-shirt restyle. I am featuring this on a “ruffles” post at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com towards teh end of the week. Check it out and grab my “featured” button.

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  16. Pingback: Floralshowers | Ruffle Pillow Giveaway — Floral Showers

  17. Jess, this is so beautiful! Thanks for sending me your link, I’ve got it featured on my sidebar today!

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  18. Wow! This is really pretty!!!

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  19. Hey! I posted my completed project on craftster, and now it’s on the main page! There’s a link to your tute, so expect some new visitors to the site today! http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=330388.0

    [Reply]

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  22. Hi Anne, Thanx for visiting my blog..and the nice comment..Well, you can return the favor by being a follower too…And do check my crafts, I think you will like them!!

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  23. I saw something similar on another blog a while back, but the ruffles weren’t made from jersey, so you had to either hem all the little strips or let them fray. Using a tshirt makes much more sense! Do you get the little thread balls continuously with use or is it just after cutting?

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  25. Adorable! I am featuring this tomorrow in our ‘ruffle’ post. Thanks for sharing.

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  29. Pingback: Make a Ruffled Pillow From a T-Shirt

  30. I love this.

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  32. I am totally going to try this!

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  33. Pingback: Unique Craft and Project Ideas » Blog Archive » Ruffle Pillow

  34. These are awesome. When we tossed our old couch I kept the pillows for recovering. I haven’t done it yet, but this would be awesome for them. Thanks for linking up. This will go into the highlights post soon.

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  38. this is excellent!
    .-= Rose :: FineCraftGuild.com´s last blog ..Give-Away :: $50 Gift Certificate :: Contemporary Jewelry =-.

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  41. This is very beautiful, thanks for the tutoriel I just discovered. Sorry for my english…

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  44. Great tutorial! This is a fantastic idea to save money, while adding some pizazz to a living room, or even a bedroom! I will surely ahve to try this one out. Thanks for posting.

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  45. Love this idea! I’ve made ruffle pillows before, just never from Tshirts. Looks cute!

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  46. Hey I just adore this! You did an awesome job!! I featured you at my blog today. I’d love it if you could stop by and say hey! While your there I’ve got a widget on the top right hand side. For each click it gets P&G will donate 1 days worth of clean water! I’d appreciate a click! Easy way to give back! Thanks!

    Amanda
    todaystoptwenty.blogspot.com

    [Reply]

  47. Wow this looks amazing. I’m gonna give it a try. Who knows maybe I can give a pillow or two as christmas presents. Thanks for the post.

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  48. This is very stylish.I’m going to make it.

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  49. Very nice. Reminds me of the puffy shirts from back in the day. lol

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  50. THANK YOU. I LOVE IT

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