Upcycled Memory Cushion

I have finally found the time to have a little upcycle play. My apologies to those that have been eagerly awaiting the next Thrifty Quilter post.  It's been too long coming...but we're finally here. Hopefully the next one won't be such a long wait.

Like most Mums, I have an enormous collection of baby clothes that I have no use for, but don't particularly want to part with either. I found this shirt in the collection and knew it had to stay. It wasn't a favourite or anything, but it's too adorable to give away.

Baby shirt ready for upcycling

I had a zillion ideas for what it could become, but settled for a decorative little cushion. It will be great as both a cushion for Poppet's dolly and a sweet little reminder of how far my little lady has come.

First I chopped off the top, just under the sleeves. Luckily, Mr Giraffe was still going to fit in nicely.

Chop off the top

Next I chopped off one of the side seams. This probably wasn't necessary, but it made it much easier to square up and iron on the interfacing.

Chop off one side seam

The above photo has the hem still attached, but I did end up chopping that off too. 

I then ironed on some interfacing to stop the fabric stretching too much during sewing and stuffing.

Iron on the interfacing

With right sides together and raw edges aligned, I sewed along the edges (not the existing seam, obviously). It's hard to tell from the image, but I left a turning gap in the centre of one seam (circled below). I would recommend leaving this gap on an 'unimportant' edge. I was rushing and didn't realise I had left it right above Mr Giraffe's head.

Sew the sides, leaving a gap for turning and stuffing.

Turn the cushion right side out, stuff and hand sew the gap closed.

Cute little memory cushion

A simple project, but I'm glad I found the time for it. I really love having this adorable reminder laying around.

The Thrifty Quilter