How to DIY Dip Dye Pillow With Tassels

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Annette Vartanian is the creator of A Vintage Splendor, a vintage modern lifestyle blog covering fashion, interiors, entertaining, and more. She also offer vintage shopping tours, vintage styling services, and a bevy of how-tos and DIYs. Check out her home tour here.

One of the easiest ways to change up the aesthetic of a space is by way of the pillows. Problem is, pillow covers aren’t always cheap and if it’s something you want to do seasonally (I’m guilty!), it can be an expensive habit. I always have good luck finding textiles at the flea market and my local fabric store and this is the perfect place to start if you want to make your own pillow cover. My sewing skills are basic at best, but all you need to know is to sew in a straight line and you pretty much have the hardest part of the DIY down.

I’ve been on a dip dye kick as of late so I decided to make some tassels to add to the pillow cover. I love the idea of adding more tassels to each corner in various colors to change things up for the summer. Here’s how to do it:

What you’ll need:

1 yard of mudcloth (this will make two 20”x20” pillows)
4 skeins of embroidery thread
Dye in the color of your choice
Sewing machine
Scissors
Binder clips
Metal bowl
Pillow Insert

Directions

For the tassels: 1. Cut one ten-inch piece off of your embroidery thread. Make a loop with the ten-inch piece and use this piece to tie a double knot in the middle of the bundle. Fold the thread in half so that this knot sits at the top.

2. Using one of the threads, wrap around the bundle to make the head of your tassel.

3. Using a needle, bring the thread through the center of the band.

4. Trim the tassel to your liking. Repeat three more times!

The Dip Dye Process: 1. Dampen your tassel to prep it for dyeing. Make sure to squeeze out the excess water.

2. Follow the dye instructions to create a dye bath in the bowl.

3. Dip the tassel into the dye. I placed about 1” of the tassel in the dye. Clip the top of the tassel using a binder clip and leave the tassel in the dye for about an hour.

4. Once you’ve achieved your desired color, rinse the tassel in warm then cold water until water runs clear. Hang and allow to dry.

For the pillow cover: 1. Cut the yard of fabric into two pieces measuring 20”x20”.

2. Using a sewing machine (or by hand if you prefer), sew a hem around three sides of the panels. The hem should be sewn about .25”-.5” around the edge. You want the cover to be about ½ inch smaller than the measurement of the pillow insert so it’ll be nice and full once stuffed.

3. Fold the cover so the hem is now inside and slip in the pillow insert. Fold in the mudcloth edges of the fourth side and finish sewing by hand.

4. Using a needle and thread, sew one tassel for each corner.

Easy as that!