How to Make an Upcycled Cushion from Men’s Shirts
Hi, it’s Emily here, co-founder of CELOSIA_RE, a slow fashion brand based in London, UK. We love sharing our knowledge of upcycling with our community, so we created our CELOSIA_REworks series, a collection of creative tutorials designed to help you turn unwanted textiles into something new.
Today, we’re showing you how to make an upcycled cushion from men’s shirts.
If you have an old shirt you no longer wear, or leftover scraps of shirting fabric from previous upcycling projects, this is a simple and creative way to give them a new purpose. In this step by step tutorial, we’ll show you how to turn unwanted shirt fabric into a unique, handmade cushion.
This is a great shirt upcycling project if you’ve tried some of our previous tutorials and have fabric scraps left over. It’s also a brilliant project for anyone looking for a practical way to reuse old clothing and reduce textile waste.
The project uses straightforward sewing techniques and minimal tools, although you will need a sewing machine to complete this tutorial.
We really hope you enjoy making this one as much as I did!
Shop similar shirts to the one Emily is wearing: LINK
Shop our upcycled cushions: LINK
STEP BY STEP UPCYCLING GUIDE
- Gather your fabric scraps
This is a brilliant upcycling project if you’ve tried our previous tutorials and have scraps of shirting fabric that might otherwise have been thrown away. Gather your leftover pieces and decide which fabrics you’d like to combine for your cushion.
- Create your cushion pattern
First, decide what size you’d like your cushion to be. I chose an 18 inch cushion, so I sketched an 18 inch square onto a piece of paper. You can also use newspaper to create your pattern.
For this project, we didn’t add a seam allowance to the pattern, as we wanted the finished cushion cover to fit snugly around the cushion inner.
- Join your fabric scraps
Start pinning your scraps of shirting fabric together. Make sure you place the right sides of the fabric together, so that the seams will sit neatly on the inside of your cushion cover.
- Sew your fabric pieces together
Using your sewing machine, sew the fabric scraps together to create a larger piece of fabric. Once sewn, press the seams open with an iron for a neat finish.
- Cut your cushion pieces
Place your square paper pattern onto your newly created piece of fabric and carefully cut out two squares, one for the front of your cushion and one for the back.
- Add your zip
Next, add a zip to the bottom edge of your cushion cover. Use the zipper foot on your sewing machine to help you sew neatly and closely along the edge of the zip.
- Sew the cushion cover
Pin the front and back pieces of your cushion cover together, with the right sides facing each other. Sew all the way around the remaining edges using your sewing machine.
- Turn it the right way around
Once you’ve finished sewing, carefully turn your cushion cover the right way around, making sure the corners are pushed out neatly.
- Insert your cushion inner
Open the zip and insert your cushion inner into your handmade cushion cover.
- Enjoy your upcycled creation!
Zip it up and admire your new upcycled cushion! You’ve taken unwanted textiles and given them a completely new purpose, creating something unique for your home while helping to reduce textile waste.
Good luck with your project, and let us know how you get on! We’d love to see your upcycled cushions and shirt upcycling projects, so don’t forget to tag us when you share your creations.
Shop similar shirts to the one Emily is wearing: LINK
Shop our upcycled cushions: LINK
