Repurposing: T-shirts; chair ‘suit’ and cushion covers

A t-shirt with a giraffe on it was scooped up at a thrift store although, at the time,  I had no idea what to do with it. 

When this sturdy office chair with its handy up/down feature (it slowly descends but you hardly notice until you realize the angle of arms to keyboard has changed) joined the household (a garage sale find;  on a sloping driveway I could almost have ridden it home) and – where was I – oh yes,  a wish to replace its old tweed upholstery (good ol' Fifties)made the t-shirt came to mind.  Front stretched over the back of the chair;  back over the seat.  The stretch of t-shirts is perfect for such a project.  Some staples and stitching hold them in place. I've seen t-shrits used as seat covers on cars and on plastic outdoor lawn chairs.

One of those foam leg/back supports (truly relaxing!) from a church sale where they let me lie down on the floor and try it out because they do come in different sizes, was covered in a black fabric.  Several attempts to put a natural linen fabric over it were not successful.  I could have taken off the black cover,  undone the seams,  used the pieces as a template for the linen,  sewn them together, put the zipper back in.  I get tired just thinking of it.  Simple elegance need not be time-consuming.

A large sand-coloured hemp t-shirt came to mind and after a bit of searching through the suitcases I found it.  When pulled over the foam and the neck opening stitched closed with a few stitches all that was needed was to knot the two short sleeves and then knot the two bottom corners.  I reinforced the knots with a few stitches to hold them in place.  I like how the fabric radiates out in those patterns.

Another piece of foam and another t-shirt and the same technique.  This foam is a flat rectangle and is used as head or back rest.