After a roommate moved out, my living room was considerably less populated by furniture than it had been for the past six months. It’s not altogether a bad thing—it’s a small living room, so there’s a lot more room to move. The biggest problem was that it called attention to my dismal throw pillow situation. They were old and stained and frankly boring. I needed to liven things up.
Of course, to read any home décor magazine, you’d think throw pillows were free. They’re always suggested as a cheap and easy way to change the look of a room. In my book, though, $15 to $20 a pop (and that’s a low estimate) is certainly not cheap. Five bucks for a bolt of off-white cotton canvas at my local upholsterer is. Now what to do to add interest to this find? A rubber stamp, of course!
I found a pretty, scrolly, flowery stamp at Kate’s Paperie, which was a splurge at $12, and I managed to get a pretty sky-blue inkpad at Target for $3, which brought my total to $20.
The beauty of the stamp is that I was able to use it in different configurations, so that all my pillows look like a set without being matchy. The best part is, it was easy. Get full instructions after the jump.
Step 1: Cut the fabric with a ¾-inch selvedge all around. For an 18-inch pillow, I cut a piece that was 19 ½ inches by 37 ½ inches, so that I could fold it and only sew three sides, instead of four. Mark the selvedge with a pencil so that if you’re forming a pattern or border, you know where to stop.
Step 2: Stamp away! Because I chose a rather elaborate stamp, I kept my design simple: One pillow is entirely covered by the pattern, but I did it end to end, so that it wouldn’t look repetitive. One has a border, and one has a kind of star, formed by finding the center point of the pillow, and stamping eight times outward from that.
Step 3: Sew up the pillows. Most of us did this in elementary school. Remember to sew two sides, insert the pillow, and then stitch the pillow into the case. You can install a zipper, but I opted not to, knowing that the ink isn’t machine-washable. If you choose to use a fabric paint that is, it’s a good idea to install a zipper so you can take the covers off and wash them.
A piece of advice: Don’t use any fabric with a sheen on it. It will not take the ink well. As holiday time approaches, I think these pillows would also make great holiday gifts (although I may have to splurge on a few different ink colors so people don’t catch on).
layla schlack, you are awesome. i wish we were friends.
are they washable? will the ink rub off if something spills on them? They look nice-wondering how they will last, is all…
Hi Martha,
Good questions. I certainly wouldn’t machine wash them, but I’ve been able to spot clean them just fine. Just dab on a little hand soap (I’d stay away from detergent, oxy clean, stain remover, etc.) take a cloth or paper towel and ring out most of the water and dab. Fortunately, I haven’t had any spills, but the ink can certainly withstand water and mild soap. Hope that helps.
Layla
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Nice idea! I can offer some suggestions for creating a washable pillow: 1)pre-wash the fabric to remove the sizing prior to stamping your design, 2)use stamp pads made specifically for fabric and 3)after stamping, I would heatset the design with an iron. After doing all of the above, it will most likely be safe to handwash your pillow designs with a mild soap. Hope that helps.
What a great idea! Like really great. I’m thinking of stamping all sorts of creations this way as it looks super pretty. Especially if I can find a fabric stamp pad. Cloth shopping bags here I come!