Working with Burlap

Of course you know I swoon over Pottery Barn products. While their products are definitely my style, their prices aren't... well until they go on sale. I find that Pottery Barn catalogs are always an inspiration. One constant in their decor is burlap. They use it on everything from pillows to lamp shades to curtains... it's every where.

   

I recently purchased burlap by the yard from Hobby Lobby to use for a project I'm working on for my sister's bridal shower.  Since I had some left over, I decided to try my hand at a painted burlap pillow. 

I created this pillow using only supplies I already owned:

• Burlap (previously purchased for a different project)
• Stencils (previously purchased for a different project)
• Ribbon (I always have tons of ribbon laying around.)
• Pillow Insert (I used a decorative pillow that I had from my college days.)
• Black Paint & Paint Brush
• Hot Glue Gun & Glue Sticks (Every crafter owns one.)
• Straight Pins
• Scissors
• Tape
• Button (optional)

 I started by measuring the burlap against the pillow form. I cut the material and then used straight pins to mark off where the seams would be.

 When I began this project, I didn't realize that my stencil set did not include numbers - just letters - so I did my best to use forms in the letter stencils to paint numbers. As you can see below, I'm using an "I" as the number 1.  I taped the stencil to the burlap to ensure the stencil stayed in place whiling I was painting.

Note: if you are using stencils, I would suggest utilizing a blow dryer to speed up the drying process. That way you can move on with your next stencil quicker.

After the painting was complete, I used straight pins to tuck the edges of the burlap inside creating a pillow case shape.  I used the hot glue gun to close the seams since burlap has too many wholes for needle and thread.

After I finished gluing the sides together, I felt the pillow needed an extra touch so I decided to add ribbon. I used the hot glue again (these things are AWESOME) to add a strip of ribbon across the top. I also added a bow and button to top it off.

Here is the final product:

FREE DECOR

This project was so easy and so FREE!  Thank goodness for free entertainment.  You can paint anything on your burlap pillow. I decided to chose a number that was meaningful to me because I felt I already had too many words worked into my decor.  Numbers were refreshing - something out of the norm.

If you have questions about making your own burlap pillow, just ask. I would be happy to help.

Check out my project and other DYI ideas on:

A Little Tipsy