Let’s Make An Fun And Simple Patriotic Pillow

Project Supplies

• Cotton Pillow Cover
• Pillow Insert
• Large Star Stencil
• Tacky Spray Adhesive
• Paint - Dixie Belle's Silk All-In-One Mineral Paint in Deep Sea
• Chip Paint Brush
• Piece of Cardboard
• Red Embroidery Thread
• Embroidery Needle
• Embroidery hoop (optional)
• Scissors
• Old Tea Towel
• Iron

Note: Use your coupons. I know that Michaels will have coupons available so be sure to check.

Now Let’s Make An Fun And Simple Patriotic Pillow!

Find an old piece of cardboard to slide under your pillow cover. Here a gift box bottom was slid to protect the bottom cover from any bleed through from the paint.

You can iron your pillow cover first. However, we will be ironing it later to set the paint.

Find the star stencil that will work best for your pillow. I selected the large star for my project. You can use painters tape to hold down the stencil. I prefer to use Krylon’s Easy-Tack™ Repositionable Adhesive. It’s a great item to have for your craft projects. You just take the stencil outside and spray the back of the stencil. Allow it to see for a couple of minutes and you can use it on project. It gives adheres great!

stenciling

The trick with stenciling is a little paint goes a long way! With fabric it is going to absorb the paint faster. You need to grab a old piece of cardboard or paper plate and spoon a little bit of paint onto it.

Next using a chip brush, begin to stroke the paint onto the fabric. Do not be heavy handed. You can always go back over a select to add more paint.

Here mine star has more of a worn look to it. It is a matter of preference. The paint color is Deep Sea by Dixie Belle Paint Company. You can purchase it here. This paint is not just used for furniture. There are so many options. You can see how I use Dixie Belle’s paints on some of my other craft projects.

Outlining your star – Running Stitch

You can leave your pillow with just the painted star or outline it. Using several strands of 498 Dark Red Embroidery thread, I cut the thread to the desire length. Next, you would knot one end of the strand.

Here is where an embroidery hoop comes in handy (I could not find mine). Put your star image in the embroidery hoop. A small 3″ hoop would be fine and you can reposition it as necessary.

1. Begin the running stitch by poking your threaded needle up through the wrong side of the fabric.
2. Poke the needle back down through the fabric next to where you just came up, and pull the thread down into your first stitch.
3. Now poke your needle back up through the fabric, leaving a space from the previous stitch. Then poke the needle back down through the fabric again making your second stitch.

1. Repeat until you have outlined the entire star. It really is an easy stitch for us “no sew gals”.

HEATING SETTING YOUR STENCIL ON THE FABRIC

To preserve the paint on the fabric, we will need to heat set it.

Turn your iron on using the silk setting. You need to make sure it is set to dry with no steam. Once the iron has heated up, place a thin cloth over top of the image. I am using a thin cotton tea towel.

Run your iron over the tea towel several times where the stenciled images are located. Turn your iron off and remove the tea towel. Allow the pillow cover to cool before handling it.

It is ready for a pillow insert and to style it!

CARE

You can machine wash your pillow cover in cold water. Lay flat to dry. Avoid placing in the dryer. Always remove the pillow insert before washing your cover.

CLEANING YOUR STENCIL

The stencils clean up easily with soap and water. I use Dawn Dish Detergent, warm water and a soft cloth. Gently rub to remove the paint and the adhesive without tearing your stencil. You want to be able to save your stencil to use again later.

Patriotic Star Pillow

Now you have a fun accent pillow that you can use in your home. Here my sweet star pillow is on a vintage bench on our front porch with some other pillows. It coordinates perfectly with the other pillows found tucked in the closet.