Make Your Own Dolly And Me Valentine Pilllow Cases! A Craft Tutorial By Karen Mom of Three

Valentines Day is just under a month away and I thought it would be fun to do a tie dyed pillow case for Dolly & Me. To create your own you will need:

-A dollar store white or light colored pillow case
- A doll sized pillow case made from a dollar store pillow case  (fabric, sewing machine, iron,etc)
-Rit Dye in colors of your choice,  I used Tangerine and Cherry Red
-Twist ties or elastics
-A bucket to dye your pillow cases in
-Large Spoon to stir
-Dish soap
-Salt
-Sharpie or Fabric Marker
-Cardboard to slip into the pillow case before your write on it

Step 1- Sew yourself a doll sized pillow case. I used one of the dollar store pillow cases and cut the fabric so that it measured 10 inches X 16 inches. Fold one of the 16 inch sides over by 1/2 inch and iron, then one inch and iron. Next sew a straight line making the edge of the pillow case.  Next  fold with right sides together and sew two sides of the fabric leaving the edge you created open to slide a doll sized pillow into.

Step 2- Take your dollar store pillow case and the doll sized pillow case to the sink and get them really wet. Next use twist ties or rubber bands to tie off the fabric, do it tightly these will leave white marks in the fabric.

Ste 3- Prepare your dye bath as per the directions on the Rit website shown below.

1. Fill sink or bucket with enough hot water for fabric to move freely. Remember: Use 1 package of Rit powder or 1/2 bottle of Rit liquid dye and 3 gallons of hot water for each pound of fabric. Pre-dissolve powder in 2 cups of hot water. Add pre-dissolved powder or liquid to dye bath. Stir to mix.
2. Wet fabric in hot water. Uncrumple and add to dye bath.
3. Stir constantly (back and forth, up and down) for 10 to 30 minutes.
4. Rinse in warm water, then gradually cooler water until water runs clear. Wash item in warm water with mild detergent and rinse thoroughly in cool water.
5. Dry item in dryer or air dry.
6. Clean sink or bucket immediately with chlorine bleach or scrub with chlorine-based powder, liquid, or gel cleanser.

Once your pillow cases are dry you can iron them and place a piece of cardboard inside the pillow cases, use your fabric marker or sharpie to write messages on your doll sized pillow and your own, you can make them the same as I have or add your own decorations to each and make them unique!

Now they are ready for your own pillow & dolls pillow to use for the Valentine Season! 

I hope you enjoyed today's craft tutorial and I can not wait to share more tutorials with you soon!

As with all my posts I would love to hear from you so please leave me a comment here or email me at karenmowen@gmail.com