Painted Fabric Pillows: Stamping How to (Post 1 of 2)

August 12, 2013

Painted Fabric Pillows: Stamping How to (Post 1 of 2)

I have been having fun this summer designing my own fabric: Glue-Resist Technique, Wet-on-wet Technique, Upcycled Blue Jean Camera Case w/ a Sharpie, to name a few. So, when I came upon this project in the book The Big-(3-letter word that I won't put on my blog) Book of Home Decor by Mark Montano, I had to try them! I can say that I am now hooked on making pillows! If you are looking for a very quick and easy project....this is for you!

In this post I will detail how to:
1. Use a kitchen sponge and fabric paint to make a pillow
2. Use embellishments to jazz up a pillow

If you are interested in the pillow, on the left in the above picture, I describe how I made it in the post titled, Custom Design a Pillow with String and Paint. In the post I'm writing today, I will focus on the 'love' pillow in the middle and the 'embellished pillow' on the right.

#1) HOW TO USE A KITCHEN SPONGE AND FABRIC PAINT TO MAKE A PILLOW

Materials:

Two 16" x 24" pieces of cotton fabric (choose your color)
Cellulose Sponge (kitchen sponge)
'love' stencil (or word of choice)
Fabric Paint
Sponge Paint brush for wording
Sharpie
Matching or Contrasting Thread
Sewing Machine

Procedure:
1. Cut sponge to desired shape. I like using this type of sponge with the rough backing b/c it gives you something to hold on to. If your sponge does not have this, you can attach a piece of wood or cardboard to your piece.

2. On your computer you can design the type of wording you would like on your pillow. I guess this would now be the 'old school' way of doing this since a lot of people have fancy machines that will cut words out for you. :)

I then took my new handy dandy precision knife set (thanks Dad!) and cut around the lettering. This was time consuming and not fun, but I survived. Make sure you cut on a self-healing cutting mat or some other surface (thick cardboard/ cutting board).

3. Once your lettering is cut out, tape it onto your fabric. Make sure you have your wording centered. I eyeballed mine and I was a little off. I was too excited to start painting!!

4. I used a sponge brush to paint my wording. Be careful not to get the paint under the paper. My 'L' was a little sloppy because of this.

NOTE: I also tried another method on a smaller piece of fabric. I placed my fabric up to the computer screen and traced over the lettering.

I used a red sharpie to outline the word and then filled in with red fabric paint using a paint brush.

This was my test sample and I think this 'love' looks just as good. It was also a lot easier!

5. Dip your sponge stamp in the paint and start stamping. I used my sample fabric (above) to practice a little. I still got a little too much paint on my sponge in the beginning. I started to dip and then I would dab on a cloth to remove the excess and then stamp on my fabric. This seemed to work well.

You can see how the paint was heavier at the top and then a little more even as I went on. I like the 3rd row the best. I soon realized that less paint was better.

Do you see how I hardly had any paint in my dish? This amount is actually all you need. I rubbed the sponge around a little and then stamped.

6. Allow your paint to dry (my bottle said that I could wash the fabric after 72 hours). I did not wash my fabric. Once it was dry I moved on to the next step.

7. If you want you can then add some decorative stitching to your pillow. I chose to add some lines though the diamonds in one direction and then again in the opposite direction.

Once you have your first line, it is pretty easy to keep your lines spaced evenly and straight if you use the quilting guide that comes with most machines. Just slide it in behind your needle and tighten the screw to secure it. (See picture above)Then, be sure the guide is lined up on your previously stitched line before you begin stitching the next one.

When I began to go back in the opposite direction, I was nervous about my first line being crooked. I decided to use a strip of painter's tape to guide me along my first line. I stitched right up against it and my line came out pretty straight. That line is then the line I place the guide on and then stitch again until I reach the end of my fabric.

I decided to go around the lettering with a red sharpie for more definition. (Do you notice how I'm not mentioning the OBVIOUS blob on the 'L'!)

8. The final step is to sew up the pillow. I'm sorry I did not take pictures of this step. Sewing a pillow is very easy. Place the front and back of your fabric right sides together. Next, sew a 1" seam allowance along the sides and the top. When you get to the bottom of the fabric be sure to leave a 5" opening. You will turn you fabric through this opening right side out. Stuff your pillow and then hand sew up the 5" opening. I am getting better at closing pillows with each one I do. It's tricky! Especially, since I hate hand sewing. Is it just me, or does me hating hand sewing come up in every post! :)

This post is pretty long, so I think I will write about the 3rd pillow (above right) on my next post. Click below to be taken directly to the tutorial: Embellishments for Pillows. (If this link is not live yet it is because I'm typing it up right now!) Please come back to see it soon!

Thanks so much for stopping by! I would love it if you would leave a comment so I can get to know you better. If you would like to follow Gina's Craft Corner you can find the purple linking buttons up by my picture! :)

Many blessings to you!!
~Gina

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