Activities for Adults with IDD: DIY T-Shirt Pillows
How to Make a T-shirt Pillow
Kinesthetic activities are activities where one works with their hands. They’re great for people of all ages and abilities. They can be especially great for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as it can help people gain confidence, build skills, improve fine motor skills and interact with others.
For those who are nonverbal, kinesthetic activities and help people to express themselves without using words. Art is an easy way for anyone to express themselves! A perfect choice for those with developmental disabilities can be making a t-shirt pillow. It is a low-cost, low-difficulty project. These instructions feature no sewing making it easier for anyone to follow along. It’s also a great way to repurpose an old t-shirt into something even better!
Here’s what you’ll need to get started:
- A t-shirt
- Scissors
- Stuffing or an old pillow
- Pins
- Ruler
- Marker
Step One: Pick a Shirt
Choose a t-shirt! Make sure it is large enough to fit over your chosen pillow; this part isn’t necessary if you’re using stuffing.
Step Two: Preparation.
Lay your chosen t-shirt down on a flat surface. Pin the front and back together using your pins.
Step Three: Cut it out!
Cut out the shirt. You’re going to want to cut off the sleeves, the bottom, and the neck. Be sure to leave as much room as you can while making sure it’s a square. It’ll make the next steps easier!
Step Four: Measure twice, cut once
Fold the t-shirt into fours, making sure each side is even. Then carefully measure a 2 inch by 2 inch square in the top right using your ruler. You can mark this square using your marker.
Step Five: Take your time
Carefully cut along the marker line you made in the previous step.
Step Six
Unfold the shirt and lay it back down flat. Now you want to measure the length of the shirt, begin to make marks with a marker. You want the marker lines to be an equal distance apart, usually around three-quarters of an inch.
Step Seven
You want each marker line from the previous step to be about two inches long. Now you want to cut towards the middle of the shirt along the lines. If done correctly, it should begin to look like fringe!
Step Eight
Now, you’re going to start trying the front and back layer of fringe together, starting at the top.
Step Nine
During this step, you’re going to place the pillow in between the two layers of the shirt. If you’re using stuffing instead of an old pillow, you can skip this step.
Step Ten
Finish tying the strips of fringe. Leave a few unknotted if you didn’t use an old pillow in a previous step. If you didn’t, now is the time to begin stuffing. Once you’re done stuffing, finish tying the pillow up.
Step Eleven
You’re all done! You’ve turned an old t-shirt into an iconic memory, with a great story to go with it! You should be proud of yourself. You made something with your hands, and that’s incredible!