November 11, 2011

Does True Love Exist?

Many times while shopping for clothing for my daughter, I become envious of the cute styles and colors and have frequently lamented "Why doesn't this come in grown up sizes?!" The girl has a pretty rockin' wardrobe all in all, but my absolute favorite has to be this T-Shirt:


Like I said, I admire many pieces of clothing in her closet, but something about this T just really captured my eye. I love how it's a little bit Rock-N-Roll and a little bit Princess; Throw in some sparkly studs and I'm sold!

So when she grew out of this and couldn't wear it anymore, I couldn't bear to let it go. I just kept it in her drawer and there it sat...and sat....and sat. I decided to find something useful to do with it, but what to do with a size 6 girls T shirt?  I had seen some people make pillows out of old t-shirts, but usually in grown up sizes so there was plenty of material to work with. This shirt wasn't big enough for a whole pillow. Hmmmm.....but maybe it could become *part* of a pillow? Yes! I decided that's what I would do.

I looked in my fabric remnants and thought these two would work with each other and with the colors on the T-Shirt. I didn't have enough of either one to make a whole pillow front and back and I like the way they juxtapose each other; Playful zebra stripes and a classic brocade, just like the t-shirt: rock-n-roll meets princess! Actually, I didn't even have enough of the brocade to make an 18" width, so I had to seam two pieces together.

I decided to use this for the front, since my plan was to cut out the front portion of the T-Shirt with the design on it and stitch it to the fabric that would form the pillow. So, most of the seam would be covered anyway, and it doesn't even bother me that the pattern doesn't match up.

It was difficult, but for a better cause, so I cut the design portion of the T into a 'square'....sorta.

 All pinned and ready to stitch on. At first I tried to turn the edge under for a clean look, but that was easier said than done and so I opted for a raw edge on the T_Shirt fabric.

Sewn on and a little bit crooked, but nothing a little trim won't fix! I used the zebra print for the back and did a really simple envelope closure.





And here is the *almost* finished pillow. I plan to add some loopy fringe trim to the edge of the pink. Maybe something like this?
Or if anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

As to the question of whether true love exists, I can only say it's different for everyone, but I do truly love this pillow and it reminds me of my daughter every time I look at it.....and that is true love indeed!

Sharing Here:


Mercantile Muse


3 comments:

SJ @ Homemaker On A Dime said...

I love the bling! Thanks for linking up at the Creative Bloggers' Party & Hop. Btw, thanks for the sweet comment about my fb page :) And yes, it pays to have your own fb page as a way of promoting your blog.

Maggie Lamarre said...

what a great way to upcycle, I always wonder about why the styles don't translate as well.
Would luv for my readers to discover your blog, will you please join our weekly party at
http://www.passionatelyartistic.com/2011/11/thanksgiving-showcase-tutorial-with.html
have a great crafting week!
Maggie
http://passionatelyartistic.com

Pamela Bates said...

love this one laura.......blogged a link to on Mercantile Muse yesterday!

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