Memory pillow and matching tote

A friend of mine lost her husband awhile back. Rick loved wearing flannel shirts so I told her I’d be happy to make her family pillows with his shirts. It took her awhile, but recently she gave me his favorite shirt to make her a special pillow. Like other “precious” fabric, his favorite flannel shirt sat on my shelf for several weeks until I got up the courage to cut into it!

I started by cutting off the sleeves.

Now I could pretend that it was just a piece of fabric, not his favorite shirt! Since I was making this into a 16-inch pillow, I cut the shirt into a 17-inch square. I’ve cut both front and back at the same time. I pinned the fabric before I cut it out to make sure the back wouldn’t move on me.

Then I flipped the top or front of his shirt and laid it on top of the back.

I pinned it.

Then we’re off to the sewing machine where I stitched a half inch around the whole piece. Since we have buttons down the front, we don’t have to leave an opening. I did sew a second line around the pillow with dark blue thread.

And here it is stuffed. Easy peasy.

Here is an easy tutorial if you’d like to try making one yourself.

 

Now to make her one of those easy totes. Here is my tutorial on making them. They are so easy. I added some of his flannel shirt as an accent with the used jeans from my stash. I lined the bag with some old commercial fabric.

And here is the matching tote.

Looking forward to giving her the pillow and surprising her with the tote. Now to the next project on my list!