DIY Tutorial – Ombre Stenciled Pillowcases

The Spring season is upon and as you may have noticed from my posts this week, I have all things pastel on the brain. I've also been working on sprucing things up around my apartment. So when I received these Stencil1 stencils by Ed Roth and FolkArt multi-surface paint, I knew that I wanted to make something for my apartment with soft pastel colors. And because I can't stop myself from sewing, I put a little twist on the traditional use of a stencil and used it to create an embroidery.

I did two different layouts for the design on the pillowcases. One with honeycomb on both edges and other with honeycomb just on one edge. It's nice to have a little variety in the pillow set as it creates a nice visual flow. You can easily reuse these stencils over and over again for painting on most any surface from walls to furniture or even fabric! The FolkArt paints are very easy to use and can be used on any surface. Wouldn't these bees be cute painted on outdoor flower pots?



How to Paint and Embroider Pillowcases

Supplies
White Pillowcase
Stencil1 Stencils (I'm using the honey bee stencil set. The stencils are available at JoAnn's or online.)
FolkArt Multi-Surface paint (I used grey, white, silver and blue)
Stencil Paintbrushes
Disappearing Ink Fabric Pen
Embroidery Thread
Sewing Needle



Instructions

Step 1: Map out your design using a disappearing ink fabric pen and the stencils to mark where you want to paint the honeycomb and stitch the bee.

Step 2: Insert cardboard in opening of pillowcase to prevent paint from seeping through. Mix grey, silver, blue and white paints to create a range of colors from dark to light. Paint an ombre of honeycombs starting with the dark paint at the edges and gradually moving to light colors. Let paint dry.

Step 3: Using a disappearing ink fabric pen, mark the outline of the bee design on the pillowcase. Embroider directly over the markings using a backstitch. There are two stencils that are intended to be overlapped. One has the basic body of the bee and the other has details. I started by tracing the basic body of the bee with black, then the wings with blue. Using the detailed stencil, I added accents in pink and blue. Knot and trim the thread ends. Add french knots or daisy stitches around bee (see photo below).






I really love how these pillowcases turned out. The style fits perfectly with my vintage bed, floral bedding and light blue bedspread. It's the perfect look for spring. I hope you enjoy this DIY tutorial. For more information and inspiration, check out Plaid's blog, or on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram.

Related:

Embroidery Posts

Crafting on Pinterest

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Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Plaid Online. I received free product samples and monetary compensation for writing this post. All opinions and content are my own.