Pillow Chair from T-Shirts and Foam

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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:

16 thoughts on “Pillow Chair from T-Shirts and Foam

  1. Sallie says:

    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?

  2. Becky Stern says:

    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.

  3. Sallie says:

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

  4. randy says:

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

  5. Mary says:

    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??

    1. cameron says:

      You could use anything soft even the strips from the cut t-shirt.

  6. jeerkwtp says:

    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.

  7. asaukipd says:

    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.

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Becky Stern is a Content Creator at Autodesk/Instructables, and part time faculty at New York’s School of Visual Arts Products of Design grad program. Making and sharing are her two biggest passions, and she's created hundreds of free online DIY tutorials and videos, mostly about technology and its intersection with crafts. Find her @bekathwia on YouTube/Twitter/Instagram.

View more articles by Becky Stern

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