Shibori style dyed pillows you can make at home

Shibori style dyed pillows you can make in any color, not just indigo. Fabric dyeing is a fun and creative activity that yields one-of-a-kind results. The shibori fabric folding technique originated during the 8th century in Japan using indigo dye. It looks as great today as it did hundreds of years ago! What is even more fun is that with the availability of dye colors you can use the shibori style folds and get a huge variety of looks.

Supplies for shibori style dyed pillows:

- White cotton fabric
- Muslin
- Indigo dye kit
- Poly-fil fiberfill
- Fairfield Processing Smooth Fusible Fleece
- Twine
- Sewing machine and coordinating thread

BASIC SUPPLIES

- Scissors
- Big bucket
- Needle and thread
- Iron and pressing surface
- Rubber bands or binder clips
- Rubber gloves
- Drop cloth
- Straight pins

Project Instructions for shibori style dyed pillows:

Pre-soak your fabric in hot water to open up the fibers. 10 minutes is enough to loosen the fibers.
Fold entire fabric like an accordion. Bind together using string, rubber bands or binder clips. The bind folds will prevent dye from penetrating parts of fabric. To see more fabric and less dye, use larger folds and more binder clips or rubber bands. To see more indigo/dye and less fabric, use smaller folds and fewer binder clips or rubber bands.
Soak fabric in dye according to manufacturer’s directions. Use hottest water possible when soaking. Rinse dye out of fabric with cool water then wash and dry. Refer to photo to see the color variations based on soak time.
Cut shibori fabric, muslin and fleece to desired pillow size. Add seam allowance to measurements. Iron fleece to wrong side of shibori fabric.
Place right sides of front and back fabrics together and pin in place. Sew only three sides together. Sew along fourth side leaving a small opening for stuffing.
Turn pillow cover right side out and stuff fiberfill into opening. Once desired pillow firmness is achieved, whip stitch opening closed or machine-sew.