Make your own DIY watercolor Pillows with this easy tutorial.

These DIY Watercolor Pillows are the perfect way to bring spring indoors. This is a fun DIY, craft project to tackle easily over the weekend. I am loving the soft, beautiful look of watercolors and new throw pillows are always a great way to brighten things up, so I figured why not watercolor pillows?

I’ve painted pillow covers a few times before (including these stenciled pillows and these ikat tie-dye pillows), so I knew it could be done quite easily. These watercolor pillow covers were super simple and inexpensive to make. And you don’t even need actual watercolors to get that perfect watercolor look – just regular craft paint.

DIY Watercolor Pillow Materials

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How to Make Watercolor Pillow Covers

I started out with two plain white cotton pillowcases from Ikea – the kind that goes on standard bed pillows. If you happen to have a white throw pillow cover, that is even better, but regular pillowcases tend to be less expensive and easier to find. I cut the excess off the bottom of the pillowcases and used them to experiment with my paint colors.

To get the soft watercolor look, you need to mix the craft paint with a little fabric medium and lots of water. This takes a bit of trial and error, but I used approximately three drops of paint, ten drops or fabric medium, and several tablespoons of water. I just mixed my paints in some plastic cups. Then use a paintbrush and paint swaths of color onto your pillowcase. If you are planning to paint only one side of the pillow cover, be sure to put some cardboard or plastic between the two layers of fabric while painting, but if you are painting both sides anyway, you can skip this step.

When your pillowcase is completely dry, insert a throw pillow insert, fold the cut edges in to make a straight line, and sew the open edge closed.