Pillow Chair from T-Shirts and Foam

I’ve had a stack of t-shirts and a closet full of upholstery foam just waiting for a large-scale project like this to come along. Tiffany Threadgould and I show you how to make a comfy beanbag-style pillow chair from old t-shirts in this week’s CRAFT Video!

Subscribe to the CRAFT Podcast in iTunes, watch it on YouTube, Vimeo, or download the m4v video.

Materials and tools:

old t-shirts (approx. 12-18)
upholstery foam (scrapped from trash furniture, an old mattress, or leftover from another project)
sewing machine
thread
scissors
hand sewing needle
pins
utility knife or serrated bread knife
cutting mat
pattern paper
ruler
protractor
pencil/pen
marking chalk

Special thanks to Instructables user Seamster for the pattern inspiration! Photo above by Nathan Rosenquist.

More TIffany Threadgould:

More pillow chairs:

8 Responses to Pillow Chair from T-Shirts and Foam

Sallie on May 18th, 2010 at 12:52 pm said:

I’m all cut out & ready to sew…I’m wondering what type of stitch to use…would the stitches pop when you plop down into the chair if I use a straight stitch?

Reply ↓
Becky Stern on May 18th, 2010 at 12:57 pm said:

If your machine has a stretch stitch use it. Otherwise, a regular straight stitch with a small stitch length should hold up just fine. I’ve only got one popped seam on the one I made in the video, and I use it often.

Reply ↓
Sallie on May 18th, 2010 at 6:49 pm said:

Thanks! I just learned something new, I have a stretch stitch on my machine!

Reply ↓
randy on September 25th, 2011 at 4:03 am said:

I have a question, it is bad that the pattern is smaller than the specified pattern?

Reply ↓
Mary on November 28th, 2011 at 1:59 pm said:

I really want to make this chair! However, I don’t have the foam. Do you have any other suggestions? And, what size shirts did you use??

Reply ↓
- cameron on December 16th, 2012 at 1:51 pm said:
  
  You could use anything soft even the strips from the cut t-shirt.
  
  Reply ↓
jeerkwtp on March 9th, 2012 at 1:32 pm said:

Avalanches killed at the very least 37 men and women Tuesday within a remote northeastern province of Afghanistan and officials feared the death toll would rise.
About 20 homes were smothered with snow inside the village of Shirinazen in Badakshan province, mentioned Abdul Maroof Raseq, spokesman for the governor.
He mentioned women and children were amongst the dead and at least six other individuals had been injured.
The Badakshan governor, who was stranded by the avalanches, was taken by helicopter to neighboring Tajikistan, which was less difficult to reach than nearby regions of Afghanistan.Afghans happen to be suffering by means of a brutal winter with bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snowfall.

Reply ↓
asaukipd on March 12th, 2012 at 9:15 am said:

Avalanches killed at the very least 37 individuals Tuesday in a remote northeastern province of Afghanistan and officials feared the death toll would rise.
About 20 houses were smothered with snow within the village of Shirinazen in Badakshan province, mentioned Abdul Maroof Raseq, spokesman for the governor.
He said girls and youngsters had been among the dead and a minimum of six others were injured.
The Badakshan governor, who was stranded by the avalanches, was taken by helicopter to neighboring Tajikistan, which was easier to reach than nearby areas of Afghanistan.Afghans have already been suffering by means of a brutal winter with bitterly cold temperatures and heavy snowfall.

Reply ↓