How I used this $3 Product to Make Beautiful and Colorful Pillows ⋆ Jeweled Interiors

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Yes, I know…The groundhog saw his stinkin’ shadow, I get it. But I am optimistic that Spring will eventually settle on this small New England village… and when it does I want to be ready! One go-to and crazy-simple way to update my home for Spring is obviously to switch out pillows. Here’s the deal though folks, the hubs been lookin’ at the credit card statements. Yep, I’m on probation. When I get low on cash that means I stop looking at retail stores and start brainstorming thrifty and creative options. I mean really… I have closets full of fabric. I just needed a way to give said fabric a fresh spring face-lift…Can you say Rit Dye?

Fabric Before

Alright folks…This? is what I had to work with. It looks a little “grandma-ish” in the photo, but there was something about this linen fabric that must have attracted to me in the first place. What you can’t tell by the pic is that it really did (and still does) have a lovely drape that only real linen can provide. I knew these two yards were just too nice to just sit in my fabric drawer.

Enter my new (to me) favorite product. I haven’t told you this yet, but over the last two months I have been dyeing anything without a heart beat. Curtains? ✅ Bed skirts ✅ Tassels ✅ Upholstery fabric ✅…all to varying degrees of success. After this trial and error period I was pretty confident that dyeing pillows would definitely be do-able.

I first dyed them in red, but after letting them dry I noticed it clashed with the rest of my room. A quick dip in purple Rit Dye and they became a custom match.

LESSONS I HAVE LEARNED WITH RIT DYE

Follow the Directions- When it says to stir before dipping…do it! Otherwise you will have areas of intense color (almost tie-dye like). The other unwanted effect of not stirring well enough is inconsistent coloring on each item. The first pillow would have been vibrant and the last would have been a dull grey.

2. Smaller is Better– Unless you have a HUGE!!! pot (I’m talking witches cauldron sized) stick to smaller items. My attempt to Rit Dye curtains was only marginally successful. I found it a challenge to keep the fabric color from becoming blotchy. To prevent this from happening with the pillows I pre-cut the fabric into the six smaller rectangles I needed vs attempting to dye two long yards of fabric at once.

2. Natural Fiber is a Safer Bet– So far, everything that has been made from cotton, linen, and silk has “taken” the dye. Faux silk, however, resisted the new color, even when I switched to another product…Rit Dye More. When in doubt, absolutely dip a test sample first.

Ready to see the difference pillow switch out can make on a room?

Fall & Winter