DIY Outdoor Pillow Covers

DIY Outdoor Pillow Covers are so easy when you start with plain zippered pillow covers and use Dixie Belle transfers to customize them!

I love summer, and I try to take full advantage of it by spending as much time possible outdoors.

That’s why it’s important to me to have pretty and comfortable outdoor spaces to enjoy the summer months to their fullest.

Recently, we added these pretty rockers to our front porch, and I decided that they needed some new pillows to make them extra cozy and add some extra flair, too.

How to Make DIY Outdoor Pillow Covers

I started by purchasing these decorative linen throw pillow covers. They are a nice, neutral color, and zip right over any other pillows you may have, or pillow inserts.

I am partnering with the Dixie Belle Paint Company for this post. Paint and supplies were generously provided to me by Dixie Belle, but all ideas and creations are my own.

Next, it was time to jazz them up.

Here’s my secret to making these outdoor pillows super easy– Dixie Belle Transfers from their “Belles and Whistles” line!

Typically, they are intended for painted projects, but I decided to give them a try on fabric, and I’m so glad I did!

These beautiful black and white floral tranfers are part of the same package of colorful Vintage Florals I used for my Wooden Easter Egg project.

The two big matching florals were perfect for my pillow project, so I cut out the pieces I wanted to use and lined them up on the linen pillowcases in the lower corner of each case.

I used the included burnishing stick, and rubbed the transfer using very firm pressure over the entire flower.

Since this linen pillowcase has more texture than a painted piece of furniture, I really took my time burnishing to make sure I was working the transfer into all the nooks and crannies of the fabric.

Then, I slowly and gently peeled away the film, making sure all of the transfer was sticking to the fabric.

If any little pieces looked like they were coming up with the film, I simply laid it back down and burnished it some more.

After the floral transfers were applied to both pillowcases, I sprayed just a little bit of Easy Peasy Wax lightly over the transfer and worked it in using my Best Dang Wax Brush.

This served to further work the transfer fully into the texture of the somewhat coarse fabric.

Finally, I filled the pillow inserts with two old pillows that I no longer used.

Here’s a trick: I left the old pillows in the plastic bags they came in to make them weather-resistant pillow inserts since the old pillows that I’m using are not made especially for outdoors.

My pillows are going on a covered porch, so they shouldn’t get soaking wet, but any blowing rain that gets to them won’t soak all the way through now.

I layered my DIY Outdoor Pillows with these striped beauties from Target. I love the way the two look together!

Flower Pot Bonus Project

I was on a roll having fun with my Dixie Belle supplies and decided to whip up a pretty little planter, too.

I had these three old planters in my garage.

I upcycled the drawer for this project previously, so this time I decided to give a makeover to the blue pot using my new Sonoma Art Tile stencil.

I started with a quick coat of Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint in the color Drop Cloth. I love this neutral off-white color.

After taping my stencil onto the pot with blue painter’s tape, I simply filled it in with my Gemstone Mousse in the color Amber.

It’s such a warm, slightly metallic color that looks great paired with the Drop Cloth chalk paint.

Because I was using the Sonoma Tile Stencil on a round pot, it didn’t lie completely flat, so filling in the paint did not create perfectly crisp lines.

But that’s okay!

I liked the way it ended up giving the pot a sort of “time-worn” and hand-crafted look.

That’s one of my favorite things about this project–it’s not “perfect”, which makes it unique and one-of-a-kind.

I love just playing and experimenting with my Dixie Belle Paints, without always knowing what the final project will turn out to be.

Perfection is over-rated sometimes, don’t you think?

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Dixie Belle Supplies Needed:

• Vintage Floral Transfer
• Sonoma Art Tile Stencil
• Gemstone Mousse- Amber
• Foam ‘n” Dandy Brush
• Easy Peasy Spray Wax
• Best Dang Brush
• Dixie Belle Chalk Mineral Paint- Drop Cloth