Not the sort of thing I normally do, but I was asked to make this cushion back in March by one of my customers.
It was a Dolce & Gabanna shirt he'd had for over 20 years when he first met his partner, and it held some precious memories for them. They were both a bit sad that it had started to wear out and wasn't fit to go out in anymore. So, he decided to secretly have the shirt made into a cushion, as a birthday gift for his partner and a keepsake for them both.
What a fib he told...... said it had been ripped to shreds in the washer and he'd had to throw it away!
Anyway, the shirt was a bit on the thin side, so I backed it all with a soft cotton fabric, before stitching down the button stand, so that it didn't gape like a man with a bay window belly, ( we've all seen them, haven't we?
). I rescued the ends of the collar that weren't frayed, to make a faux neckline and made a mock Oxford pillowcase edging using the offcuts, as the shirt wasn't big enough to do it all in one, then fitted an invisible zip to the bottom edge.
As a finishing touch, I stitched the inside label onto the back along with a spare button.
When he came to pick it up, he was overwhelmed and gave me such a big, heartfelt hug, he almost had me welling up. His partners birthday was yesterday and he rang me today to say how much he'd loved it, and it was the best birthday present ever!!
Made my day
Suzie