Color Block Pillow | Plaid Fabric Creations

Updated on June 12, 2024

Color Block Pillow | Plaid Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Ink. Learn how to create a DIY color block pillow using Fabric Creations paints.

Today, I am going to show you how to DIY your own color block pillows using Fabric Creations soft fabric ink. The beauty of painting your own pillows is you can choose just about any design and the colors you want. 

This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through the link, I may receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. Please read my full disclosure policy here. Thank you to Plaid Enterprises, Inc. for sponsoring this post.

Most of you know we recently moved. Or old couch did not fit in our new space and was over 14 years old. It had lived through the baby and toddler years plus a dog and three cats. It was gross and worn out, and with it not fitting the space we ended up getting new living room furniture when we moved into our new house.

I am going for a rustic farmhouse feel in our home. We had a lot of tans and browns in our old house and I wanted to incorporate more grey as a neutral for our new home. Even though the color blocking has a more modern feel it still works well with the rest of our decor.

Supplies:

• Pillow Covers
• Pillow Forms
• Fabric Creations Soft Fabric Ink, Navy, Grey Mist, Aqua, Grapefruit
• Paint Brushes
• Cardboard
• Painters Tape

How to Paint a Color Block Pillow

First, choose your pillows and pillow forms. To get nice full pillows I like to get pillow forms that are one size larger than the pillow cover. I purchased 16″ x 16″ pillow forms and 14″ x 14″ pillow covers.

The covers I purchased on Amazon are velvet. I guess I didn’t really read the description. I almost returned them, but then I was curious about how the paint would work on a rough-textured surface like this. If it didn’t work I figured I could purchase new ones. I am happy to report the soft fabric ink worked beautifully on these covers, however, it did take a little trial and error.

First of all, color blocking is not a quick technique. You have to paint your design in sections waiting for it to dry before moving on to the next section.

You will use painters tape to tape off your “blocks” of color. I used triangular shaped designs on both pillows so they coordinate but are not too matchy-matchy.

DIY Color Block Throw Pillow

Start by washing your fabric. 

Place a piece of cardboard inside the pillow so the paint doesn’t get on the opposite side. You want to do this whether you are painting the opposite side or not.

Next, tape off a section to paint. This may look different depending on the design you choose. 

Carefully paint inside the section with the soft fabric ink paint and a paintbrush. 

Helpful tip: If your surface is not smooth, paint in the direction of the grain or texture. This will help to ensure you get an even layer of paint on the surface without the base color showing through.

Remove any tape that will not be used for another section and allow the paint to dry to the touch.

Tape off the next section and paint. Be sure to burnish the edge of the painters’ tape well on your pillow surface. This will help any paint from seeping underneath.

Note: If you do get a little paint under the tape, you can easily touch up with more paint and a small detail paintbrush.

Continue this process of taping, painting, and drying until your entire pillow cover is complete. Allow the pillow cover to dry for 24 hours.

Now you need to heat set the paint using a dry iron and pressing cloth. I haven’t been able to find my iron since we moved, so I used my Cricut EasyPress to heat set the paint on my pillows. Use the hottest temperature your fabric can take and dry iron. Press each section for 30 seconds with firm pressure until all of the painted areas have been pressed.

You can then hand wash the item in cold water after 72 hours. 

Helpful Tips for Color Block Painting:

• When using painters tape to tape off the sections, remember to account for the width of the tape in your design. This may mean more taping to get the coverage you want.
• Be patient. Allow each section to dry thoroughly before moving on to taping and painting the next section, so you do not smear the paint.
• Sketch out your design on a piece of paper before you start or find inspiration on Pinterest or Google. This will help you determine where to tape off each section.

I am so pleased with how these pillows turned out. The color blocks are a little more modern than rustic, but they still go well with the rest of our decor. And pillow covers are relatively inexpensive to change out when you want a new look!

You can purchase Plaid Fabric Creations at Amazon or Michaels.

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