Turning a Hoodie into a Pillowcase

When I came home from college this summer, I discovered an interesting thing about myself. I own over 30 hoodies... most of which I have a reason for not wearing.

There is the hoodie I got from a concert that got washed with a pen and is now covered in ink.

Or the mass amount of hoodies I have from my high school, much less cool to wear when you are in college.

I wanted to get these hoodies out of my closet, but some of them I couldn't bear to give away. I decided to try and make cute throw pillows to keep them around.

So here's how I made adorable hoodie pillows for my sister and my college apartments.

Hoodie Pillows
 Needed:

• A favorite hoodie that can no longer be worn
• A sewing machine
• Thread matching the hoodie, or in a cute contrasting color
• A pair of scissors
• A seam ripper
• A standard bed pillow

Action plan:

1. Use the seam ripper to remove the hood from the rest of the sweatshirt. This is a very important set to do first, because it allows you to easily insert and remove the pillow from the sweatshirt.
2. I like to hem the neck of the sweatshirt after I take the hood off, but if you would prefer an unfinished hem, you can skip this step.
   
   
3. Then, turn the sweatshirt inside out and sew the bottom of the sweatshirt, about a 1/4 inch from the bottom, on the elastic.
   
   
4. Trim off the sleeves off the hoodie, making sure to leave about an inch of sleeve in tact. This makes the side seams easier to work. The sleeves just get in the way.
5. Slip the pillow into the hoodie, and pin straight sides around the pillow, making sure the pouch of the hoodie, and any beloved symbols on the front of the hoodie are centered. Depending on the size of the hoodie, you may need to sew the entire length of the hoodie, or just sew up the arm holes. This hoodie is from my younger days, and it was somewhere in the middle. Just make sure you fit the hoodie to your pillow.
   
   
6.  Slip the pillow out and sew the side seams.
   
   
7. Trim the excess off of the side seams, turn the now pillowcase right side out, slip the pillow inside, and see if you like it. I love them just like this, with an open top. If you don't like this look, there are a few options you have. 

8. You can attach fabric from the extra sleeve or hood fabric, and sew that to the inside from of the   neckline, giving you something to tuck over the pillow, creating a more solid pillowcase. Or, you can add buttons to the neck, to keep the pillowcase close.

Enjoy! These are a great way to save your old hoodies, and they give you a great place to store the remote on the couch.