Let’s create Halloween crafts together! Follow this pattern and tutorial to make your own Halloween pillow with a spooky “Boo” effect. Use the bleaching and painting method through a stencil made of freezer paper.
October is the month packed with the fun of disguise and dress-up to become the iconic character. Be it for trick-or-treating and/or attending a Halloween party, I simply love the spooky activities of Halloween. This year, I have added another Halloween decoration to my collection—a Halloween Throw Pillow.
This Halloween Pillow is quick and easy to make since it uses bleach stenciling and painting. For your convenience, I have prepared the downloadable and printable stencil pattern. All you need to do is print it out on freezer paper, cut it out, stick it on with a warm iron, bleach, and paint. You can use a black cotton dish towel or black pillow cover.
If you are interested in the Mr. and Mrs. Skeleton dolls sitting next to the throw pillow, simply click the link to get the free pattern & tutorial.
Need more inspiration on making a costume for your kids instead of buying them from the shop? You may find it in the How to Make Your Own Halloween Costumes: 9 DIY Halloween Costumes eBook from All Free Sewing.
What’s Next:
- Start crafting and share your completed handmade items on Facebook and/or Instagram. Remember to tag us, @craftpassion, so we can see them.
- Pin it to Pinterest for a future To-Do List.
- Share with your DIY groups for a craft-along event.
- Browse more craft ideas to make, particularly for Halloween crafts.
How To DIY Halloween Pillow
Looking to make a Halloween pillow? You can easily create one using bleach stenciling and painting. I've prepared a stencil pattern for you to download and print. Simply print it on freezer paper, cut it out, iron it onto your fabric, apply bleach, and then paint. You can use a black cotton dish towel or a black pillow cover for this project.
Download: Halloween Throw Pillow pdf stencil pattern
Enjoy painting them!
Materials
- Black dishtowel or tea towel (20″ x 28″) or black pillow cover
- Freezer paper, cut 2 sheets of 8 1/2″ x 14″
- Bleach or any better chemical that can do the job equivalently
- Fabric paint or acrylic paint (add fabric medium), yellow and red
Tools
- Printer (inkjet, or bubble-jet, or dot matrix, but not laser printer)
- Craft knife
- Ruler
- Cutting Mat
- Iron
- Sponge applicator
- Paintbrush
- Paint palette plate or a shallow container
- Cardboard as backing to prevent bleach and paint from penetrating to the back of the fabric
- Some kitchen paper towels and a piece of unwanted clean fabric
- Gloves and safety goggles
Instructions
Warning:
Do this at a well-ventilated room or at outdoor. Wear gloves, safety goggles, and old clothes or apron.
Remark: You may use a spray bottle to spray the bleach solution on, but make sure to cover the dishtowel with more freezer paper so that you won’t accidentally bleach the other places.
More Details On How To DIY Halloween Throw Pillow
- a. Prepare the materials and tools needed as listed above.
b. Cut the freezer paper to 8 1/2″ x 14″ size, 2 pieces.
c. Download the Halloween Throw Pillow pdf stencil pattern.
- Feed the paper into your printer, with printing on the non-shinning side of the freezer paper. If the freezer papers curled up and it is hard to feed in into the printer, tape the feeding end to a normal letter size paper to make it a little thicker and stable.
- a. Set your printer to print 8 1/2″ x 14″ paper, no scaling.
b. Print 1 page at a time.
As your printer could be different from mine, adjust accordingly. Test the printer setting on normal paper before the actual printing on the freezer paper.
(Click on the image to see a larger picture of my printing setting)
- Cut the printed freezer paper according to the Halloween Throw Pillow stencil pattern.
- The bats and pumpkins are detached from the freezer paper, remember their positions or refer back to the pattern page.
Cut 2 strips for the rope to hang the pumpkins.
- a. Position the freezer paper stencil at the center of the black dish towel or tea towel. With the shiny side down.
b. Set the iron to medium heat, pressed it on the stencil. The freezer paper stencil will adhere to the dish towel.
c. Make sure the borders are all stick well to the towel.
- Add the hanging rope of the pumpkin and also the “Trick” and “Treat” text on the side of the center stencil.
- a. Pour a small amount of bleach into a small container, say about 1/10 of the container.
b. Dilute the bleach with water, the amount determines how fast the bleaching takes place and how much harm it did to the fiber. The less water added in, the bleaching will take place faster but it will damage the fiber more. The more water will make the processes slower and thus hopefully less damage is done.
I have tested out, dilute it with 4 parts of water is just nice but it will take a few minutes to make the black into very light grey, not white.
- These are the 3 dots I have tried. One with undiluted bleach, one with 1:2 dilution and one with 1:4 dilution. See any difference? The end result is the same in terms of color tone.
- a. Place cardboard at the back of the dishtowel to prevent bleach and paint from penetrating to the back.
b. Dab the stencil with bleach solution by using a sponge applicator.
- a. Wait for the bleach to whiten the black dish towel.
b. If you find that there are some uneven spots, dab more bleach solution on it and wait.
Don’t worry about the wet freezer paper, the bleach won’t get through since it has plastic coating at the back.
- Remove the freezer by peeling it off from the dishtowel when the desired bleached color has achieved.
- a. Rinse the bleached dish towel with running water and remove the rest of the smaller pieces of freezer paper.
b. Hang to dry or iron it dry.
- Prepare the fabric paint or acrylic paint with added fabric medium, red and yellow.
- a. Pour yellow into the container then add a small amount of red, to make it slightly orange.
b. Paint the bleached area with this color.
When the paint is wet, it will appear dull and dark, but when it is dry, the color will be brighter.
c. Add more coat if necessary but wait for it to dry between coats.
- a. Add a little more red to the paint, tone the Halloween moon stencil with stronger orange. Again, repeat the coat if necessary.
b. Leave it to dry.
- Place a piece of clean fabric on the fabric paint, iron it with warm heat to fix the color.
- a. Fold the dishtowel at the wrong side, with 12″ length at the side and approx. 2″ overlapping at the middle.
b. Sew side seam.
Or, you can make a no-sew version of the Halloween throw pillow by following my previous tutorial on “No-Sew Tea Towel Pillow“.
Ginny smith
Wednesday 14th of December 2016
I would like the pattern and instructions for the skeleton doll leaning on the black stencil Halloween towel pillow please. Ginny Smith
Craft Passion
Thursday 22nd of December 2016
There is a link within the post for the sock skeleton, or you can click this link to get the tutorial.
International decor
Wednesday 20th of November 2013
it look unusual, i like it so much and i love your exclusive ideas, thanks
Steff
Wednesday 3rd of October 2012
Thank you SO much for including that stencil! I, too, suffer from a severe lack of freezer paper, but I will use the stencil to make a spooky lantern :) You are a genius, that pillow is immensely clever and looks fantastic. I'd be proud to give some of those away as gifts, absolute show stoppers!
Craft Passion
Wednesday 16th of October 2013
If you can't find freezer paper, perhaps a sticker paper in letter size or A4 size be able to replace it.
Valerie
Tuesday 2nd of October 2012
Where did you find the "freezer paper"? I cannot locate it in any grocery store. Is it available at craft stores? Thanks! I love this pillow idea sooooo much and I want to make one, but I need the freezer paper! Heck, if I can't find any, I might have you send me some! Thanks for your help & keep up the great crafts! You are awesome!
Craft Passion
Wednesday 16th of October 2013
I got it from USA, my brother-in-law bought it for me during his business trip there. May be a full size of sticker paper, you will need 3 letter size or A4 size. Print the template to the white side of the sticker paper, cut and peel the backing off. Stick the adhesive side to the dish towel
Mélusine
Monday 1st of October 2012
It's so wonderfull!!! And easy to make! We have no such Halloween decoration in France.... I'll try it! Thanks a lot for sharing all your fabulous ideas!