Americana Pillow

In honor of Veterans Day and the 2016 history making Election Day, I thought I would share my quick and easy Americana pillow tutorial. You will be amazed at just how simple this pillow cover is to put together.  I only used items I already had so it cost me nothing. But even if you have to purchase a couple supplies it is still very inexpensive.

Supplies Used:

• Pillow Form (I actually used a small decorative pillow that no longer worked in my decor)
• Fabric to cover the pillow: this needs to be a sturdy fabric, drop cloth material works great.
• Fabric Paint:  Red, White & Blue ( I chose barn red, English navy, and bright white)
• Thread that matches your fabric
• Chalk

Tools Used:

• Sewing Machine
• Scissors
• Sponge Paint Brush
• Star shaped sponge
• Measuring Tape

Instructions:

1.  Measure the size of your pillow form (mine was 12" X 18"). Add 1" to both width and length to allow for a 1/2" seam on all sides. Cut fabric to cover both front and back of pillow.  To avoid a seam on one side and because I was using remnant fabric, I cut my fabric to 13" X 37".  This allowed me to fold the fabric length wise.
2. Sew 3 sides.  With the "pretty sides" of your fabric touching sew 3 sides of the fabric with a 1/2" seam.  Leave one side open so you can turn the cover inside out and stuff with the pillow form.  You should have a pillow case at this point.
3. With the cover turned seams inside, insert a piece of cardboard.  This will keep the paint from bleeding to the back of the cover.
4. I use chalk to roughly sketch the image I wanted on my pillow. Chalk works great because a stiff brush can be used to remove after painting is complete or if you make a mistake with your design. For my image I wanted half the pillow to be blue with stars and the other half to have large red stripes. Get creative. There is no wrong design.
5. When you are happy with the chalked image, start applying the paint.  I was looking for an aged look so I didn't do full coverage with the paint.  I used a sponge paint brush and limited the amount of paint I put on. I started by painting the blue half. Then painted the red stripes.  When I was finished with the red stripes the blue was dry so I could add the stars.
6. Stamping the stars.  You can purchase a foam star stamp at any craft store, which makes adding the stars very easy. Unfortunately for me I didn't have one so I improvised and cut a template from plastic and sponged the stars. I think my results
   
   were similar to what I would have gotten with a stamp.
7. Let the cover dry completely before stuffing with the pillow form and completing the remaining seam.

The last step is to find the perfect home for it. AND I DID!  On my front porch in my gorgeous red rocking chair.  If you are interested in seeing how I restored this old rocker, check it out here.

Shared At: Coastal Charm