Positively Splendid {Crafts, Sewing, Recipes and Home Decor}

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Patriotic Outdoor Pillows

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Matt and I are total nerds when it comes to history. We love the History Channel. We read history books by choice. We actually named all of Jack’s stuffed animals when he was little after American presidents. (Which explains why his best buddy, a stuffed blue puppy, is named Abe instead of Fido.)

I love changing out my decor, both indoors and out, with each holiday. I have been wanting some patriotic throw pillows to display throughout July in my front breezeway, and in conceiving of these little guys, I knew I had to let my academic side take over. Enter this set of pillows that doubles as an American History cheat sheet! 🙂

I know we have probably all seen and admired these gorgeous spray painted wheat pillows at V and Co. The pillows I’m sharing today use that same technique, but I have replaced the wheat with a houndstooth stencil I created in Photoshop and then converted into an SVG file using the technique here. This allowed me to cut out my stencils using my Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot Software. What a time-saver!

Remember me commenting on what fun I had working with the marine vinyl I used to create Matt’s Fathers’ Day headcovers? I couldn’t wait to play with my new favorite medium again with this project! The silhouette, star and date embellishments are all cut by hand from the vinyl using stencils I created with my word processing software (the star and numbers) or found online (I used this silhouette).

I was at Home Depot looking for drop cloths to use for this project when I stumbled upon a canvas drop cloth with plastic lining. Using these cloths makes these pillows nearly weatherproof. How perfect is that for outdoor pillows?

Ok, enough commentary already. Let’s get to work! 🙂

To make a set of pillows, you will need:
3 pillow forms (I used 2 squares and 1 rectangle)
1 5′ x 5′ canvas drop cloth with leak-proof backing
Freezer paper
Rotary cutter and mat
Cricut and Sure Cuts A Lot software (optional, but recommended)
Iron
Red spray paint
Navy and white marine vinyl
White upholstery thread
Sewing machine needle for leather
Wash-Away Wonder Tape
Jeans sewing machine needle
All-purpose thread
Standard sewing notions: measuring tape, shears, pins, etc.

To start, measure your pillow forms, length and width. Now, add 1 to each of these measurements, and cut out a piece according to those values.

Example: My rectangular pillow is 15 inches long and 20 inches wide, so I need to cut a piece that is 16″ x 21″.

Now you will need to cut two pieces for the back that has the same width as the piece you just cut, but are only 2/3 (.67) as long.

Example: For the pillow above, I will multiply 16 (my length) x .67, which gives me 10.72. Rounding this value up to the nearest inch gives me 11. Thus, my two back pieces will each be 11″ x 21″.

I know math can be daunting, but bear with me. You can do it!

 
Now, fit your completed covers onto your pillow forms. 
You are finished!
 
Patriotic Outdoor Pillows
 
 
Helpful hints and tips
  • If you are interested in printing a houndstooth template to cut out and trace, I have provided a pdf version of it here. You’ll can enlarge/shrink the design to suit your needs. If you would rather use your SCAL software and Cricut, let me know, and I’ll be happy to email you the SVG file I created. I am unsure of how to share it here.
  • I recommend using an old rotary cutting blade for cutting the freezer paper, as your blade will be significantly dulled after that process.
Needing some pillow forms for this project, but not wanting to spring for the pricey craft store versions? Check out my post here for how to make pillow forms out of a body pillow!
 
Please don’t hesitate to contact me with any questions you might have!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. ellie g says

    Delightful and perfect, as usual. And from a fellow American History and History Channel nerd….I say BRAVO! These are awesome. (and in another weirdness….I totally figured out how to make a houndstooth pattern the other day as well, for an invitation I was designing. **insert twilight music here***)

  4. Amy says

    You are too creative! I knew you find a new use for you ♥ for the vinyl! I remembered reading your Father’s Day post and your comment about the vinyl. I love the pillows!

  8. Stef says

    Wait – what? You totally made those “from scratch.” What foresight, what dedication!! And what’s this SVG thing you’re talking about??? Because if there’s some hook-up for my Cricut that allows me to cut things out other than those on the cartridges, well, I’m in DEEP trouble. Also, Amy, I’m totally lame, but could you please tell me what freezer paper is? Is that wax paper or something different? Do you find it at the grocery store? Is it labeled “freezer paper?” I probably look like an idiot, but I keep seeing these freezer paper stenciling things and I just really don’t know what freezer paper is. 🙂

  12. Vintagesouthernlife says

    Love your pillows. As a retired teacher I can see these as being perfect in a classroom as well. I’m passing your link on to some current teachers that will flip over them.
    Thanks for sharing.
    Annette

  15. ificould says

    Wow, what an impressive project! These are seriously so cute, but there’s no way I could pull this one off – wanna sell some??

    I’m really in love with these – great job!!

  18. Bethany @ The Paper Pony says

    These are just beautiful! Your hard work truly paid off. Thank you for letting us in on your process… I don’t think I could do white thread on Navy like that though… I’m not nearly so fantastic a seamstress. Great job.

  19. Michele {The Scrap Shoppe} says

    Amazing! I love the vinyl with the red. I’m totally infatuated with the 1776 pillow. Just fantastic! Thanks for the tip on the drop cloth! Outdoor fabric is soooo expensive, even when its on sale!

  26. Cassie Patel says

    You did a fabulous job. I have been wanting pillows for my front porch for some time. This has been moved to my top ten things to-do list. Thanks so much for a great tutorial.

  31. Laura Ingalls Gunn says

    I adore your patriotic spirit. It is red, white and bluetiful!

    I hope you’ll stop by for my bbq on an Anthropologie inspired white tablecloth. 🙂

  33. Larissa says

    Insane! I LOVE these. By far the best 4th of July decoration I have EVER seen. Way to go!

    Seriously I can not get over these!

    Just Another Day in Paradise

  34. Mama Peck says

    These are awesome. I love them! I do have a question though about using regular spray paint on fabric. That’s just kind of out there for me. Does it go into the fabric or stay on the surface? (I’m thinking cracking here) Are they just for ‘pretty’ or could you actually use them?

  40. Anneliese says

    These are seriously cute! The design is so sophisticated and fun at the same time. Love them! Wish I had time to whip them up for the 4th–maybe I shoudl get a jump on next year. I just love vinyl…

  42. Anna Dawn says

    WOW! This is AMAZING! I love using my cricut for all kinds of crafts, especially sewing, but you really took it up a notch!! Great Job! Thanks for sharing!

  46. Anonymous says

    Hey, I can’t view your site properly within Opera, I actually hope you look into fixing this.

  47. Kimberly O. says

    Wow!! My mother in law would LOVE these…I should probably practice some sewing (it’s been YEARS since I’ve done anything) so I can maybe make them for her next year!