Turn a shirt into a Pillow

My little boy loves this sleeping shirt--"Pirate Puppy" we call him.When he wears it to bed, he constantly looks down to see the puppy and bird and is just delighted with the whole thing every time. The problem is, the stitching on the arms is fraying and he loves to pull any tiny thread he can find and unravel it even more. It's time to let Pirate Puppy PJs go. I decided to turn the shirt into a pillow for him to play with with his two dolls, Captain Jack and Raj.

Unlike my mom, I don't let not having enough time, the proper materials, or a good plan stop me from diving into a project. I threw the shirt down on my cutting mat the second Ari fell asleep for his nap and ran the rotary cutter right across the top. Never mind that the bottom of the arm holes (which I had to cut above to avoid cutting the puppy's head)left a challenging shape. Then, I turned the shirt inside out and stitched across the bottom seam, cutting off any excess left. I then sewed across the top, leaving a space to stuff the pillow:

When you're a mediocre seamstress like I am, you can make up for lack of skills by using only the best materials. The end result might not be any better, but you'll feel like a professional while you're doing it--and isn't that what's important? That's why I use Bamboo Stuffing rather than Poly-Fill. It's more expensive, but I buy it when it's on sale. The key is to stuff your pillow way more than you think you should. If you think it's time to stop, keep stuffing! When my pillow looked ready to explode, I faced the dreaded final task...

Hand stitching it closed! I can't believe I'm showing you this picture, but here is how bad I am at hand sewing. OK, OK, I could have used red thread to help hide my bad work (as my helpful husband pointed out), but really, would it make that big of a difference? Can you see how bad this is?! I have a great idea for hiding it, but Grammy's going to have to do it when she's here. I'm thinking of a felt flag or row of ribbons right there across the top. How fun would that be?

Like all of my projects, this one didn't turn our picture-perfect, but look at how much fun Ari and Captain Jack are having with their new pillow!