I have created two stencils for pillows. It’s an easy process to create a pillow cover to refresh any area of your house. Read my blog here for great decorative pillows that you can also just purchase. I created my own stencils for pillows that are on my etsy store. As a freebie on this blog I am offering my peace stencil as a free downloadable. See below!

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How to stencil a pillowcase

1. Purchase your pillowcase, the one I used was a 16×16 canvas pillow cover.
2. Cut out your stencil, using your silhouette machine, my favorite material is contact paper for my stencil. the Medallion design that I show here can be purchased on my Etsy store.
3. Place in center of pillowcase, press down to make sure design is securely on.
4. Decide on your color palette, I used a variety of of colors from Liquitex acrylic paint.
5. Place a small amount of color on your platte, I use the same plastic lid and clean after each use. make sure that the consistency of the paint is good, if its too think add a drop of water to the pint and mix until the consistency is what you want.
6. Take your sponge or stencil brush, and dab paint on in a downward motion, mixing like colors. for example I will transition from blue to purple to pink so that the blended portions do not get muddy.
7. Carefully peel off stencil, and use a tweezer for any small pieces left behind.
8. Once stencil is completely dry, use a pillow insert it is recommended to go slightly bigger on insert to give pillow a more full look. My insert is a 18×18 insert.

How to create an applique from your stencil

• Find a spare piece of fabric that compliments your pillowcase
• stencil fabric with design
• position placement on pillow and pin
• Pencil the outline of where you want to put your stitch, I used a simple chain stitch, however there are multiple decorative stitches that can be applied. I used a zig zag stitch on my peace pillow you can view that here. All stitches can be easily viewed and learned in minutes on youtube.
• I used an embroidery floss and embroidery needle on my pillow.
• Once you have the decorative stitch completed take a sharp fabric scissor and cut evenly about 1/4″ around your stitch

Below are the products that I used in making my pillow.

1. Cameo silhouette Machine (Love mine!)
2. 16×16 Canvas pillow covers
3. Contact paper , for all my stencil projects
4. My original Medallion design on Etsy
5. Liquitex paints, this is a great starter kit that gives you a good range of colors
6. Sponge brushes
7. Stencil brushes as another option
8. 18×18 pillow inserts
9. Embroidery needles
10. Embroidery floss (This is a version of what I used on my pillow)