Sheets + T-Shirts = Hello Kitty Pillow

From age 4-7, there was one thing I looked forward to the most, going to the Hello Kitty Store. I rarely got anything but the smell alone was enough to bring a smile to my face. Clean, classic, and fun Hello Kitty is a perfect example of my style.

Step 1: Folded kid's drawing paper in half and attempted to sketch one half of Kitty's head, bow, & bow center circle(just traced a kiddie cup). Cut shapes out with paper still folded leaving me with symmetrical halves of each. Fabric=a thin bed sheet my neighbor gave me to cut up for rags. I layered four pieces of sheet then pinned the patterns through all four layers.

Step 2: Using white thread I stitched around my patterns leaving an opening large enough to stuff the fluff inside. I used the presser foot's edge as the guide keeping my stitches straight and equal distance around the pattern.

Step 4: I typed "how to draw Hello Kitty" in Google to be sure it would looked like the real deal. Then used these references to measured out each facial element. The eyes and whiskers=old Loudon Speedway tank top, and nose=gold Rotary Club t-shirt scrap. I simply attached the t-shirt pieces with stitch witchery.

Step 5: Stuffed all three pieces and handed stitched the openings. I made Kitty's head very firm, the bow was about half capacity. I inserted a circular piece of cardboard in the center circle to allow it to sit flat on the bow surface.

Step 6: Because I had no fabric I loved for the bow color I decided to make it capable of being removed and slip covered with minimal stitching. Little Kitty and I sewed hooks on big Kitty as well as the bow base to allow fabric to be easily interchanged.

Step 7: Repeated steps 1 & 2 with the bow pattern and the only fabric that came close to matching my bedding. Carefully I squished the bow form inside the slip cover and hand stitched the bottom. I'll keep the pattern around for when the perfect fabric shows up.

My Hello Kitty Pillow

Take this idea and make your favorite character or make one up. You can use any old rag to make a non-traditionally sweet decorative accent.