This painted pillow is so easy to personalize with initials – and the spring colors are perfect! You can customize any way you like.
Skills Required: Beginner. I’d have some experience with painting before trying this project, just because fabric paint is permanent.
Hello! Jennifer from Brave New Home here to share a simple way to make a DIY pillow. One of the easiest ways to do it is with paint. I know it’s hard to believe, but yes – you can personalize a pillow with paint!
That’s a lot of “p”.
However, it’s quite easy to paint pillows, and you’re going to enjoy choosing an alphabet design and then bringing it to life with your paintbrush.
Painted Pillows
Pillowcases are one of my go-to home decor elements to swap out for the seasons. They’re inexpensive and easy to store. For this particular painted pillow design, I went with brighter colors than usual to emphasize spring.
Pillowcase to Choose
You’re going to want a cotton or cotton blend pillowcase, with a medium to tight weave. You don’t want anything too textured especially if you’re a beginner, because the paint lines won’t look as clean.
I’ve seen good pillowcases at Target, Walmart, IKEA, and on Amazon.
Paints to Use
You have two options: fabric paint, or craft paint mixed with fabric medium. My preference is fabric paint because it’s easier, and I feel the pigmentation and coverage is better.
I like FolkArt Fabric Paint, FolkArt Multisurface, and Martha Stewart Multisurface. Multisurface paints work well on fabric as well as other surfaces as the name implies.
Are you ready to get started on your painted pillow?
Gather These Supplies
- Cotton pillowcase with zipper
- Acrylic paint and fabric medium or fabric paint
- Paintbrush
- Paper or cardboard
- Paper towels
Start by outlining your letters lightly with pencil. I chose a font reminiscent of a neon sign.
Following the directions of your fabric medium, mix your acrylic paint with fabric medium. Mine was two parts acrylic paint to one part fabric medium.
Before you start painting, make sure you add some paper or cardboard in between your pillowcase. Depending on how much paint you use, it can saturate the fabric and essentially glue the two sides together.
Then get to painting. For straight lines, always start from the top and drag down. You may need to rotate your pillowcase to employ this technique but it’s worth it. There’s no better way to get nice straight lines.
After your paint is dried, go back and erase any leftover pencil marks. Just make sure your eraser is completely clean before you go in and erase otherwise you run the risk of smudging your pillowcase.
I chose the letters “L,” “N,” plus “J” as these are the initials of my two kids and myself. Could make a great mother’s day present, right?
Did you enjoy making this painted pillow? I’d love to know how you would decorate a pillowcase in the comments! I’d also love for you to check out the following projects: