7 DIY Pillows to Make for the Cutest Bed on Campus

Last week we talked about the best places to buy bedding. While doing the research for that post, I realized that at most stores, pillows are expensive.

Don’t get me wrong: I love my boho-inspired and catchy phrase throw pillows as much as the next girl. I’m just not sure I’m willing to spend more than $15 on a pillow.

If you want some cute pillows for your bed without spending a lot, or you have some old pillows that could use a makeover, I’ve compiled a list of DIY pillow tutorials below. (I’ve organized them by the level of difficulty and how time-consuming they seem.)

Want to make sure you have the cutest bed on campus? Try these easy DIY bed pillow projects:

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DIY Room Decorations: Tumblr Inspired!

I have used transfer paper in the past. It’s super easy to use. You basically just need to follow the instructions. (The tutorial above goes into a little more detail on this.)

One caveat: I did have a problem with mine wearing off after a number of washes. I used the transfer on a t-shirt and I’m sure that was one of the reasons it started peeling — generally, you’re going to be washing that much more than you would an accent pillow. One tip: I found out later on that you can re-adhere a transfer using the same steps of the initial transfer.

2. Watercolor pillowcase

How to have a little summer all year round: follow this cute tutorial.

There are a lot of DIY pillow tutorials for applying watercolor techniques to fabric. This tutorial, though, seemed to be A: the most affordable, and B: the easiest to follow.

I do have some recommendations when following this DIY or similar watercolor methods:

• You can use fabric medium if you’re afraid the color will fade or wash out of the garment, however in my experience acrylic doesn’t wash out without rubbing alcohol. I wish I had known that in the past. I might have kept some of my paint-stained clothes intact.
• Adding the water to acrylic will prevent the “crunchy” fabric texture that happens when straight acrylic is applied to clothes.
• If you want to save yourself some time on a project like this, have a spray bottle with some water handy and use it to wet the fabric, instead of a paintbrush.

3. Conversation Heart Pillow Cases

I saw these pillows last year and I swooned for an unhealthy amount of time. Though this DIY is technically Valentines Day themed, these adorable pillows could add a really cute touch to a bed or couch any time of year.