Dorm & Cozy: Pillow DIY

Recently, on tumblr, I stumbled upon this image

and I'm obsessed.

I started googling looking around for where to get them, and found several different sellers:

I believe the original is Gypsy Warrior, for $32(+shipping) where they're available for presale only.

Forever 21 sells the same Gypsy Warrior ones at the same price.

I found similar ones on Amazon for $29 and Etsy for $35.

All these prices were just a little too high for me, mainly, because I am ALWAYS buying pillows.

I don't need more at that price.

So, in spirit of "craft night"

I started my own little DIY.

1. I started with plain white pillow cases, available at Walmart, $6

2. Then went over to Michaels for iron-on transfer paper, $10.

(but I used my 40% coupon, so they were $6)

3. I looked through my fonts for something similar, and decided to use League Gothic, in all caps.

League Gothic doesn't come preinstalled in Microsoft Word or Pages (for Mac), but you can download it here.

I like this font because, coincidentally, it's the font that Kate Spade uses on a lot of merchandise.

See below:

4. I used this font in Pages at font size 425 pt, printing a few letters per page right onto the transfer paper.

↓ THIS IS SO IMPORTANT ↓

Because you will be flipping your picture over onto the fabric to iron it, it must be printed mirror image onto the transfer paper, so that it comes out reading normally.

There's a "Flip Horizontally" option under "Layout" in the dropdown box for print options on both Pages and Word, which makes it super easy.

Pages

Word

Note: be really careful not to touch the ink on the transfer paper right after it's printed, it smudges easily and I had to redo a couple of sheets.

5. Once all the letters were printed, I carefully arranged them on my pillowcases, making sure they were centered, evenly spaced, and level.

I pinned mine down to the pillow case to make it easier to transport to my ironing board.

6. Iron on high heat without using steam, for about 60-90 seconds, giving even and firm pressure all over the transfer paper

Allow them to cool, and when they are cooled completely, carefully pull away the transfer paper.

And... Voila!

Here they are finished... they don't match my off-white home bed, but they're perfect for my all white bed at school, where they'll be living this year.