From Flannel Shirt to Pillow Cover

Step 1:

Trim off one sleeve by following the seam.  Repeat on remaining sleeve.

Step 2:

Trim the side seams of the flannel shirt from the bottom up to the trimmed arm holes.  Repeat on other side of shirt.

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Step 3:

Trim the collar off by following the shoulder seams across the top, and then continuing around the yoke of the front collar.  Flip the now loose collar cuff up and out of the way.

Step 4:

Determine the size of your pillow and cut the flannel shirt to the corresponding size.  You will cut through both the top and bottom layer of the shirt at the same time.
You will then have two rectangles cut to the same size.
To figure out the right size, I simply laid the pillow on top of the flannel and eye-ball the size (making sure to add a little extra on all side for the seam)  Because I wanted to keep the pockets, I laid the pillow centered over the pockets to make sure I had plenty of room on all sides before I cut the shirt to size.  As for the pillow, I used a travel sized pillow that I bought at Target.  They make a great accent pillow size and their cheap too!

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Step 5:
Layer the two cut pieces of flannel on top of each other.  Making sure to place right sides together.

Step 6:

Pin the two layers together and sew all the way around  with a straight stitch.  Before you begin sewing make sure that your seam line won't hit any buttons.  If need be, remove any buttons in the way.

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Step 7:
Check for fit.
Simple unbutton the front and slip your pillow insert inside.  If it all looks good finish your seams with a zig-zag stitch to prevent fraying.  Turn the pillow cover right side out, insert pillow, button up the front and your done!

The whole project was so easy and fast I felt a little cheated out of sewing time!  The size of the flannel shirt I used was large enough(I think an XL) to use the bottom part of the shirt for an additional pillow cover.  Now I have two pillow covers, one with pockets - one without pockets, both with button down fronts.