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Thursday, January 27, 2011

More Threads and Thrills...Rolled Rosette Pillow

*** 9/09/2012 I just received a comment on this post that I can't decide if they were joking or not. It was kind of mean, but either way, they asked that I let you know that this project isn't quick. It took me several hours to complete one pillow so if you need to have this done in an hour here you go...it's not going to happen, sorry. But then too, I did mention that in this post. I removed the comment, it makes me sad, hopefully your pillow will make you happy!***

I've been pining for pillows lately, today I finally got around to making a few. I am elated and tickled pink with them, so much so, I feel the need to share the story of their creation...

In my efforts to come up with a few examples for my Valentine exchange, I found myself at my local Goodwill. I gathered a few fantastic treasures and headed to the register to pay. Then an odd and super terrific thing happened...
The cashier wrapped all of the glass items I purchased in white t-shirts!
What? Seriously? So much better than old newspaper! 


I got home, unwrapped everything, and sat staring at a pile of white t-shirts. I felt super guilty at the thought of tossing them, but what to do?
Then the light bulb started glowing. I ran across a beautiful pillow last week that was covered in crocheted flowers-I wanted one badly.
Two problems though, one the pillow was $70 and  two, I don't crochet.
I thought I had solved the problem by resolving to make the flowers from ribbon, would have worked but would require A LOT of ribbon. So what if I cut up the t-shirts instead?
OH YEAH!
Thank you Goodwill lady!


 I tore the t-shirts into long strips about 1 1/2 inches wide. The nice part was because I tore instead of cut, the edges rolled on their own, saving me a ton of time.
I gave the strips a bath in a mix of warm water and baby blue paint.
{I knew this would last due to the countless #of shirts I've ruined while painting}

 I rinsed the strips out, gave them a twist to remove the water and threw them into the dryer.
Then I started rolling, and rolling, and then rolling a little more. Once I had the flowers rolled and stuck together, I sewed them onto a pillow square.
And ta-da...
...my baby was finished!
Just in case you're wondering, I used approx. 60 rosettes per side for 3 pillows, and I used 12" pillow forms.
The ironic part, I was trying desperately to finish these to enter them in a contest. They took a bit longer
(like several hours...) than I thought they would, and I missed the link!
But that's okay cause these babies rock!
And thanks to the awesome Goodwill  lady, only cost me the price of the pillow forms...

Happy Crafting!







I've linked this post to these great sites:
My Romantic Home
Someday Crafts
Tatertots and Jello
Bubbly Nature Creations
Fast Daze
I {HEART} Naptime




48 comments:

simply staci said...

This is a fabulous idea! I work with at the Salvation Army Family Store and we have lots and lots of tshirts that are either torn or simply not in great shape that are ragged (bailed and sold) but this idea would save a ton of shirts from being ragged. We use newspaper now, we may switch. Thanks!

http://simpleorganizedchaoticness.blogspot.com/

. said...

Holy Moly Wendy!! You rock!!!

First, paint? I would have never thought of that. Genious!

And second, that those gorgeous pillows came from what most people would consider trash...also genious! :)

Unknown said...

these are beautiful! How lucky are you with the T shirts?? I am about to go ransack my husband's dresser for all his old tshirts and give this a try!!! thanks! Found you at tatertots and jello!

Red Couch Recipes said...

Your pillows turned out so great and I am impressed with your ingenuity. I have a beautiful cream sheet that just ripped. Do you have to have something more substantial to work with? Happy crafting. Joni

Unknown said...

That is beautiful! What a score -- free t-shirts?! That would have made my week!

Rachel {BubblyNatureCreations.com} said...

wow! I love this... :) if you want you can come over and link up here :
http://tinyurl.com/4m5k27k

~ Rustic Romance ~ said...

Totally brillant! You!

Unknown said...

Super cute! I will be featuring this at somedaycrafts.blogspot.com

Ali Rockwell said...

This is such a great idea!! I love it!

Unknown said...

Saw this over at someday crafts! This is beautiful :) What a fantastic idea. I'm a new follower also!

Liz said...

These are great! I'm making a quilt out of jersey right now and this would be the perfect project for the scraps! I'd love for you to come link up to my party this weekend: http://fastdaze.blogspot.com/2011/01/linky-fridaze-3.html

Jaimee @ Havenwood House of Boys said...

Beautiful! And a creative way of upcycling! Love it : )
craft-interrupted.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

This is a most gorgeous pillow! I love it. I know it must have taken some time to make but oh, so worth it.
Be a sweetie,
Shelia ;)

Unknown said...

That is such a great idea! I'm wondering what you used to secure the roses after rolling them. Thanks for sharing!

Sarah
(Visting you from Bubbly Nature's Project Party Weekend)

Rhinestone Beagle said...

I love when a plan comes together. Especially when its origins are so far from where you thought. I think thats why I create, cuz eventhough I have an idea the finished project is always so much better.

Rachel {BubblyNatureCreations.com} said...

You have been featured! come grab a button... thanks for linking up
http://www.bubblynaturecreations.com/2011/01/project-party-weekend-round-up.html

Sherry Hicks said...

These are beautiful pillows!

Carmen said...

This pillow is absolutely gorgeous! I just love it!! How did you get them to stay together before sewing them around or on the pillow?

Amy said...

This is incredibly cute! My goodness!

I'm featuring it on my blog!
floweryfashion.blogspot.com

Tammy @ she wears flowers said...

This is so amazing! Did you sew or glue the rosettes as you made them? And did you hand sew each to the square? Sorry--I'd like to make one, but I don't know if I am up to the challenge--LOL!

Thanks for sharing this--it is really beautiful!

Maggie said...

Oh, I simple LOVE this pillow!!

Kim @ Too Much Time said...

Seriously? I am starting this today! I am on a pillow rampage. Making some dropcloth pillows with stencil designs, but I needed some with texture. This will be perfect.

Unknown said...

I love them. I am teaching pillows in my sewing class on friday. I can't wait to share this.
http://www.couturiermommy.com/

Liz said...

I featured this on my blog today! Go grab a button: http://fastdaze.blogspot.com/2011/02/feature-fridaze.html

Sheila said...

beyond beautiful and the story behind them so super!!!

kim west said...

i featured this on my blog today

www.kimboscrafts.blogspot.com

Alison @ Oopsey Daisy said...

This is incredibly adorable! Love the color, the rosettes, everything! I featured this on my blog today:

http://oopsey-daisy.blogspot.com/2011/02/wednesdays-wowzers-already.html

Thanks for inspiring!
~Alison

Jo (@ boogaloo) said...

stunning!
What a great idea to use paint!

Angie Holden said...

I heart this pillow!! Thanks for auditioning for OMTWI!!

Teri said...

I love this idea!!! I have a box of old T-shirts I was gonna send off to the goodwill this week, now my husband will think I'm a nut taking them back out!!! You are so clever, it makes me want to rethink things I toss!!!

Anonymous said...

i love this idea! i just did the same thing but i made a wreath covered in rosettes (:

Anonymous said...

I have the same question as above, how did you keep the rosettes rolled together before you sewed them to the pillow

Unknown said...

I used fabric glue and straight pins to keep the rosettes together until I had enough rolled to start adding them to the pillow. Then I used a good sized blob of fabric glue to attach the flowers onto the pillow and then went back through and hand sewed each flower onto the form and to it's neighbor! Took a while, but is holding together perfectly...

Unknown said...

LOVE it!!! That is so pretty!!

:)rachel at SunScholars.blogspot.com

Susan said...

I love this pillow! I'm a new follower.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

are they washable???

Megan said...

These are beautiful! I might try this.

Anita Rowe Stafford said...

So gorgeous! I am in awe!

Pink Room Therapy Designs said...

What an absolutely gorgeous creation! Love it and it might just be a solution for my husband's old t-shirts!

Shelly @Crafty Creative Studio said...

Fabulous, FABULOUS, idea!! And you posted it -now we all get to know about it! You are brilliant. Thanks for sharing. :) Popped over from Better After. Oh, I HAD to Follow you....

Shelly @Crafty Creative Studio said...

Fabulous, FABULOUS, idea!! And you posted it -now we all get to know about it! You are brilliant. Thanks for sharing. :) Popped over from Better After. Oh, I HAD to Follow you....

McNaughton said...

Did you dye the cover of the pillow form. It looks as though when the pillowcase-like layer shows through that it is the same blue. Are my eyes and brains getting this right? If you did dye that "pillowcase" did you toss it in with the T-shirt strips?

I LOVE how your pillow turned out. I found out about it through the Before and After blog.

Elisa @ Crazy, Amazing Life said...

wow Wendy, what a fantastic idea! And what an amazing result - I am in awe!

Kammy's Korner said...

So my mom just called and said, I saw this REALL COOL pillow made from T-shirts... and went on to describe this pillow... I said "I think I saw the same one..." Sure enough we both saw it on BetterAfter! anyways I would LOVE LOVE for you to share this post over at Trash To Treasure Tuesdays on the Korner! Thanks!! http://kammyskorner.blogspot.com/2011/10/trash-to-treasure-tuesday-link-party-2.html

Anonymous said...

Would you consider making 2 pillows for me. I will buy them from you! Please email me at amberns@gmail.com

Monica said...

Hi Wendy...love your pillow....you used paint (fabric paint?)...what kind of paint...and how did you keep it from getting hard? Wanna try this..I already have bags of t-shirts from previous projects :-)

Unknown said...

Hi Wendy,
I LOOOOVE, Love, lOove, your work of art. I was wondering though: 1. How did you keep each individual flower from coming apart? Did you sew each one individually or glue them?
2. When sewing them onto the pillow, did you only sew them from the bottom or did you allow the stitching to pass over the top of the flowers too?
Would love to hear from you if possible.
Thanks a million,
Nadia

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