Step One

Polo shirts are typically made from knit fabrics, which can be a little tricky to sew with and cut out, so it’s best to arrange your cutting area, so you will move your pieces around as little as possible.

The size of your shirt will determine how large of a pillow you’ll make.  These shirts were size XXXL, so I was able to make 18″ pillows.  Decide what size pillow you’ll make and ADD 1 INCH…so I’ll be cutting mine at 19″ for seam allowances.

Start from the center buttons and measure out half the size you’ll be cutting.  For me that was 9 1/2″.  Mark it.

Step Two

Cut your shirt from the shoulders to the lower hem with a 19″ width.

Step Three

Cut the front and back apart at the shoulders.  Cut the top button off.

Step Four

Move the front of the shirt aside.  We’ll finish cutting that in a bit.  Fold the BACK piece of the shirt in half, bringing the hem up near the tag.

Step Five

Cut at the fold, and cut off the hem.

Step Six

The back pieces of our pillow need to be lined, so they can hold their shape at the opening of our pillow, so we’ll line the back with a woven (not stretchy) fabric.  Fold your lining fabric in half, so we can cut out two pieces at once.  Use the back pieces you just cut out as a template to cut out your lining pieces.

Step Seven

With RIGHT SIDES TOGETHER, one lining piece to one of the back pieces along one of the longer edges.  Repeat for both pieces. (In some cases, depending on the shirt, there might not be a right and wrong side to the polo shirt fabric.

Step Eight

Stitch with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Step Nine

Flip around and iron, so that the lining fabric is a bit below the shirt fabric and will NOT show on the front.

Step Ten

Top-stitch about 3/8 inch away from the seam.  (This step is shown using a different shirt.)

Step Eleven

Now we’re ready to go back to the front of our shirt/pillow.  Finish cutting your front into a 19″ squares, letting as much of the top buttons show as possible.

Step Twelve

Layer your pieces with your pillow FRONT FACE UP, next your the TOP of your pillow BACK FACE DOWN, then the BOTTOM of your pillow BACK FACE DOWN.   Line up the outer edges.  There will be several inches of overlap between the two back pieces.

Step Thirteen

Pin well.

Step Fourteen

Stitch around all four edges with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Step Fifteen

Clip corners.

Step Sixteen

Now you’re ready to turn your pillow cover right side out and add your pillow.

Step Seventeen

If desired add a tag to the back of your pillow.  A printable version of this tag is provided by clicking on the “Download Pattern” button above.  You print directly onto fabric using this tutorial or you can purchase tags.