How to Sew a Lumberjack Pillow from a Flannel Shirt

How to Sew a Lumberjack Pillow from a Flannel Shirt

Here’s a recycled-garment pillow project that we call the Lumberjack Pillow. It’s a great beginner sewing project.

Supplies:

• 1 man’s or woman’s shirt, any size
• 13″ x 10″ square of contrasting fabric to fill neckline area
• Color coordinated thread
• 16” Pillow form
• Double sided basting tape
• 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge
• Chaco Marking Pen

Cutting Instructions:

• Unbutton shirt and turn wrong-side out.

• Working from the wrong side, button the lowest three to four buttons. Secure placket lower edge with double sided basting tape.

• Follow manufacturer’s directions to apply tape.

• Edgestitch the lower center front placket.

 

Our plaid flannel shirt had a back pleat. To avoid puckering, we topstitched the entire back pleat closed. 

• Center pillow form inside shirt. (Notice the shirt is still wrong side out.)

• Button the shirt completely.

• Pin shirt parallel to the pillow form edges along the right, left, and bottom edges.

• Pin through the sleeve, closing the armhole area.

• Unbutton the shirt. Remove the pillow form.
• Lay the shirt flat. 
• Use the 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge to measure 1″ beyond the pinned line.
• Mark with a Chaco Marking Pen.

• Cut along the marked chalk line.

• Keep the pins in place.
• Mark the pinned line with a marking pen.

• Use a straight stitch and 1″ seam allowance to sew right, left, and bottom edges.

• Try the shirt on the pillow form.

Fine tune the fit of the shirt around the pillow form. A loose shirt may look sloppy and it is quite easy to turn the shirt wrong side out to remark/stitch a tighter fit.

• Cut a 13” x 10” square of contrasting fabric to fill neckline area. Press under ½” along the 13” sides.

 

 If the flannel shirt size is XL, it may be necessary to use a larger rectangle of fabric to cover the opening in the shirt. 

 

• Pin the midpoint of one 13” side to the center back of the neckline seam where the collar is attached to the shirt.

• Continue to pin approximately 3” from each side of the center back.

• Edgestitch the rectangle to the shirt where pinned along the collar or neckband seam line.
• Trim excess seam allowance from pillow sides and lower edge.

• Fold the seam allowance to create a “wrapped corner” at the lowered edges. Stitch in place.

• Turn the shirt right side out.
• Insert the pillow form.
• Button the shirt and tuck the contrasting fabric in place.
• Use an invisible hand sewing stitch to secure the contrasting fabric along the shoulder and center front.

Ta-dah! The pillow is finished!

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Happy Sewing,

Team Nancy Zieman

Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC.

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