Thinking about having a T-shirt pillow made? There are a few important factors to consider to make sure your pillow is exactly what you want. To make your process simpler, we’ve broken T-shirt pillows into key components for you to explore.
Feel free to jump to the sections that interest you most, or take your time reading through the entire article to get the full picture.
Table of Contents
Criteria for an Exceptional T-shirt Pillow
Reasons to Choose a T-shirt Pillow Over a Quilt
How Many T-shirts Can you Use in a Pillow?
What Can be Used in a T-shirt Pillow?
Baby Clothes Pillows
Preparing for Your T-shirts for a Pillow
Caring for Your Pillow
Pricing
Conclusion
Criteria for an Exceptional T-shirt Pillow
When we decided to add T-shirt pillows to our product line, we approached it with purpose and precision. We developed a clear set of criteria to ensure every pillow meets our high standards for quality and design. These criteria aren’t just for us—they’re a great way to set your own expectations when considering a T-shirt pillow, ensuring you end up with something you’ll love.
The Pillow Must Be Able to Use Multiple T-shirts
We had seen T-shirt pillows were made from just one T-shirts - the whole T-shirt! They were awful. The entire T-shirt was made into the pillow. The arms and neckline were sewn shut and a pillow was put in from the bottom. It was a cheap looking pillow case. We were not even going to consider this approach!
Rather, we wanted to be able to use a number of T-shirts in a pillow. T-shirts tell a story. As a T-shirt quilt is to a book, a T-shirt pillow is to chapter or a novella.
In the method we have developed, we can use anywhere from 1 to maybe 10 T-shirts.
When you are thinking about having a T-shirt pillow made, 1 to perhaps up to 10 T-shirts is a good starting place.
The Pillow Must Be Quilted
We love the quilting we do on our quilts. It’s one of the characteristics of our quilts that is most commented upon. We decided when we make a pillow, it must be quilted.
We knew that the quilting would not be seen on the inside of the pillow as you can see it on the back of a quilt. Even so, it was important that the exterior of the pillow have the same texture as a quilt.
When you are looking at T-shirt quilt makers, consider if they will quilt your pillow or not.
The Pillow Form Must be Removable
A pillow without a removable pillow form are a pain because you can’t wash the case or change out the form. We wanted our pillows to useable and practicable. So, we made sure that the pillow form was removable.
This is a must have feature in any pillow. Watch below as we stuff a set of T-shirt pillows with their pillow form.
The Pillow Form Must Not Show
When we began our pillow journey, we spent time looking at the pillow we use all the time. We noticed that the pillows we use in bed tend to work their way out of the case. We did not like that look. Thus, our pillows had to hide the pillow form.
A Pillow Should Not Have a Zipper or Button Closure
Zippers are tricky, time consuming and difficult to make look good. Buttons are also time consuming and something we didn't want to spend our time on. This is the one requirement that took the most time to figure out.
We could have gone online and seen how other people were making their pillows, but we didn’t. We wanted a solution that was ours and that worked with what we do. Note, this does not mean that we “created” this solution. Rather we independently developed the solution that we use.
When you are considering options for your pillow, take this into consideration.
The Pillow Must Be Washable
A pillow is for your head and face. If a pillow can’t be washed, well, gross!
Since our quilts are washable, the only thing we had to make sure for our pillows was that the pillow form can be removed.
You want your pillow to be washable!
The Pillow Must be Durable
We wanted to make pillows that were durable. And ours are. Although, how you use any item will influence its lifespan. More about the durability of T-shirt quilts here.
Must be Made in the Too Cool T-shirt Quilts Style
This was important because wanted to be able to pair up a pillow with one of our quilts. Accordingly, as we developed our pillow, we made sure we used the same system we use to puzzle together our quilts.
After many attempts, we have developed a pillow that met all of the above criteria. We make over 75 pillows each year.
Our style might not be what you are looking for, but the other consideration laid out here are ones you should take into consideration when you are looking for someone to make a T-shirt pillow for you.
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Planning a T-shirt pillow?
Here are step-by-step directions for ordering your Too Cool T-shirt pillow.
Reasons to Choose a T-shirt Pillow Over a Quilt
Below are several possible reasons you might have a T-shirt pillow made rather than a quilt.
1. More T-shirts Than You Need for Just One Quilt
If you have over 100 T-shirts, you probably will have too many for a king size quilt. Your extra T-shirts can be made into a pillow.
Or, you may want a smaller, more functional quilt made and have too many T-shirts for the size you want. Putting some of these excess T-shirts into a pillow is a perfect solution. You use all the T-shirts and get the quilt the size you would like.
2. Not Enough T-shirts for a Quilt
You might just not have enough T-shirts for a quilt. To celebrate the T-shirts you do have, a pillow is the solution.
3. A Few Odd Colored T-shirts That Would Look Bad in Your Quilt
For example, your grouping of T-shirts is of one color theme, except for a few odd balls. These wrong colored T-shirts can create an odd-looking quilt. Read more about monochromatic quilts here.
By removing those odd ball T-shirts from your quilt, you will have a better-looking quilt and an awesome pillow.
The photo here shows a perfect example of when some T-shirts would ruin a quilt.
If we would have added the neon T-shirts into the quilt here, they would have made the quilt look awful. By separating the neon T-shirts out, we kept the quilt to the traditional Texas colors.
4. Budget Constraints
If your budget prevents you from purchasing a quilt, consider a pillow.
If you carefully choose T-shirts to represent the story you want to tell in T-shirts you can create an awesome pillow. If you have way too many T-shirts, avoid duplicate topics if you have way too many T-shirts. Careful planning will help you create a pillow that is as special as a quilt.
5. Special Topics
T-shirt quilts tell a story. If you add T-shirts into a quilt that don’t relate to the story, it’s odd. Read more about that here.
For example, all the T-shirts in the quilt are about high school. Except four T-shirts from 5K races run in grade school. Those four shirts don’t belong in a high school themed T-shirt quilt. Those T-shirts would be perfect candidates for a pillow.
6. You Have One Special T-shirt
When you have a very special T-shirt that you want to highlight, a T-shirt pillow might be the perfect solution.
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Are you a military family with a loved one deployed overseas? Transform one of their T-shirts into a pillow you can hold close, bringing comfort and a sense of connection until they return home safe and sound.
- Gift for a coach. Example – your daughter’s swimming team won the state meet. Purchase an extra T-shirt from the event and have all the girls sign the T-shirt. Then have the T-shirt made into a pillow for the coach.
Family gift – I found the chicken T-shirt at Goodwill when I was searching for other T-shirts. I loved the T-shirt, but didn’t really have a reason to buy it.
My husband saw me looking at it and said, “That’s my mom.” Light bulb moment – make it into a pillow for Christmas. It was a hit!
7. Pillows Are Just Fun!
Finally, T-shirt pillows are just fun. You might want to consider having a quilt and pillow made for from your T-shirts.
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How Many T-shirts Can you Use in a Pillow?
A One T-shirt Pillow
If you have one special T-shirt, consider having it transformed into a T-shirt pillow.
There isn't much to planning for a One T-shirt pillow. You simply pick your favorite T-shirt and have us make it into a pillow for you.
More Than One - Perhaps Up to 10
You maybe able to use up to 10 T-shirts for your pillow. It will depend what is on the T-shirts and how much we use from each T-shirt.
We suggest numbering your T-shirt’s from 1 to 10. As we work with your T-shirts, we will start with number one. We then build the pillow until we run out of room. We will return any unused T-shirts with your pillow.
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What Can be Used in a T-shirt Pillow?
Well you can use T-shirts, sweatshirts and just about anything else soft you would like. Below is a comprehensive list of items to consider.
Non T-shirt Items You Could Consider
Don’t let the term “T-shirt pillow” fool you into thinking that you can only use T-shirts. We can use anything that is machine washable in a pillow. This means you can get creative and use what’s important.
But!!!! Remember, your face may be on your pillow at times. So please consider how each item you include feels against your face.
Below are just some of the items have used in a quilt or a pillow.
Blue jeans- Plaid shirts
- Socks
- Hats
- Dance outfits
- Sports pendants
- Dance tutus
- Aprons
- Football jerseys
- Patches
- Leotards
Shorts- Gymnastics outfits
- Girl Scout sashes
- Bandannas
- Scarves
- Bike jerseys
- Backpacks
- Goggles
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Baby Clothes Pillows
There are two different types of baby clothes pillows - complex and simple. Both types of baby clothes pillows have your clothing items on the front and back of the pillow and are fully quilted by an artist like our baby cloths quilts.
Complex
A pillow is complex when we take the intricate parts of your clothing and use it in your pillow. Things on a complex pillow will be interactive. Flaps will move, buttons will work and footies will still be visible. Because these type of items require extra work, complex pillows are more expensive just like a complex baby clothes quilt.
Simple
A pillow is a simple baby clothes pillows we take one or two small pieces of fabric from your child's clothing and turn the pieces into a pillow.
In simple pillows we do not include necklines, footies or buttons. We can use up to 20 different clothing items depending on what is on the items you send.
Who is a baby clothes pillow for?
Mom - If you have more than one child, you can include items from all your children in one pillow. This would make an awesome gift for mom on Mother's Day.
Grandparents - Baby cloths pillows are a great way to involve your kid’s grandparents in their lives. You and your children can pick out cloths that remind them of their grandparents or that were gifts to include in the pillow. This is a great way to share memories and tell stories of times your child may not remember
The Child - There are two time periods we have seen when parents have a baby cloths pillows made for their children. The first is after their first year of life; the second is when their child is all grown up with kids on the way.
Yourself - Do you still have your own baby cloths? Get them out of storage and make a pillow for yourself. They won’t be taking up as much space and you will have awesome memories.
Choosing Your Items for a Baby Clothes Pillow
There are several things to think about when you're choosing items to include in your baby cloths pillow.
- Color - As you are sorting your items don't forget study them all together to make sure that there isn’t one item that draws too much attention. For example: All your shirts are pink except for one neon green cameo. If it sticks out too much you may consider pulling it from your pillow, however if it is a favorite we will work with you to balance the colors by using more of this shirt thought out the pillow.
The feeling on your face - These pillows are functional. Do you really want something super hard and scratchy on your face? We recommend avoiding scratchy lace and heavy plastic printing. The best way to test this is by feel; do you like how it feels on your face?- Stains - Babies do gross things, and it shows on their shirts and clothing. Sorry, no baby is perfectly clean. Think about if you want to include the stains or would rather have us work to exclude them. This is personal preference; just let us know what you would like us to do.
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Preparing Your T-shirts for Your Pillow
Before you send your T-shirts or other items off to us to be made into a pillow there are a few things we appreciate you doing.
- Wash your clothing items. Please don’t wash it with fabric softener, dryer sheets or scented detergent. The scent makes us sneeze; you really don’t want our boogers on your pillow. If you don't have scent free detergent, just wash them in water without soap.
- “X” out anything you DON’T want used. Anything that is not “X”ed out is fair game. Read more about marking your T-shirts here.
- Stack the T-shirts in order of priority with the top indicated. We will work from top to bottom until we run out of space. Anything unused will be returned.
- If you are having more than one pillow made, we recommend separate bags for the items so there is no chance of items ending up in the wrong pillow.
- Be sure to complete your order form with complex or simple instructions and send them off to us!
Our turnaround time for a pillow is 4-6 weeks.
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Caring for Your Pillow
You’ve done all the work and have a very cool T-shirt pillow. It's awesome! Now how do you take care of it? We recommend not using it every day as a sleeping pillow. We did a test using a pillow as a bed pillow. We washed it every week and slept on it every night. It lasted 6 years. We want your pillow to last a lifetime, thus we recommend using it more as a throw or decorative pillow.
To Clean Your Pillow:
- Take out the pillow form.
- Wash in cold water in a washing machine.
- Dry in your dryer or hang dry.
- Put the pillow form back in the pillow.
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Pricing Overview
The pricing of a pillow is much less than for one of our quilts because there are a number of steps that we don't have to do for a pillow that we do for a quilt. For example, we don't have to do a three different steps in the layout and design that we do for a quilt.
We also don't have to add backing fabric into the pricing of a pillow because we are able to long-arm quilt a pillow at the bottom of another quilt. Since you don't see the inside of the pillow, the backing color we use does not matter.
Read more about specific pricing of the pillows here.
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Conclusion
In the end, creating a T-shirt pillow can be a simple yet meaningful way to hold onto memories in a new form. By keeping these topics in mind, you can ensure that your T-shirt pillow turns out just the way you want it to. Ready to get started? Reach out to us, and we’ll help you create something special!
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