The next phase of my spring refresh is tackling my faded pillows. We have a couple of rocking chairs on our front porch year-round. While our porch is fairly well-shaded, our pillows are showing their years of sun exposure. They look faded and are in desperate need of a refresh!

While I know how to sew and am ok at it, I don’t particularly enjoy it. I saw a bunch of no-sew pillowcase tutorials, and I thought, “Well, that’s the ticket!” Keep reading to see my methods, learn some tips and tricks, and perhaps follow along to refresh your pillows (whether inside throw pillows or outside decoration).

Supplies:

• Scrap fabric or old clothes. – I used the leftover outdoor fabric from making my faux rug and a couple of old t-shirts.
• High temp hot glue gun with glue sticks. – High temp should help them hold up better against the summer heat.
• Scissors
• Ruler or tape measure
• Pillows
• Ribbon
• Marker
• Tape
• Floral Stems

Quick Trick: 

Wrap an extra throw pillow in plastic bags to use outside. It’ll help protect it from the elements; bonus, those bags aren’t going to the landfill!)

Wrap it like a present!

This first method was so much fun for me because I love wrapping gifts! I have watched so many different YouTube/Instagram/TikTok videos showing new and fancy ways of wrapping presents. I thought that would be a perfect way to update a pillow!

I found this wrapping style a year ago and fell in love with it. It looks so lovely, and it creates pockets! It’s perfect for adding sprigs of flowers and greenery for a little extra something. (Unfortunately, I can’t remember which video I watched to give that gal credit. I’ll update this post if I run across it.)

I used the extra fabric for this pillow cover from making my faux rug, a high temp hot glue gun, some lacy ribbon, and a few small floral stems.

Two Tone Knitted Border

Have a couple of old shirts lying around? Upcycle them by making this easy pillow cover. I had a couple of old shirts from the last company I worked at. Typically, I cut them up for staining and sealing wood, but they’re great for this project since cotton shirts don’t fray and have a good stretch.

This would be a great summer activity for the kids! To make these covers, spend an afternoon using fleece, old sweatshirts, t-shirts, or any non-fraying material.

Quick Tip:

Measure an inch on your thumbs, and mark the beginning and end with a marker. This little trick will make measuring and cutting the tabs around the fabric much quicker.

You’ll need 2 pieces of fabric roughly 2 inches larger than the pillow, a ruler, scissors, and a pillow. This pattern creates a fun triangle-type border. If the notches are a bit much, you can skip that step and tie the tabs together for more of a fringe look.

Other Options

Do you have some extra ribbon lying around or a handkerchief with a fun pattern? Turn it into a new pillow cover.

This handkerchief pillow cover is cute, quick, and easy. I got the handkerchief from Walmart a while back, and it’s just been sitting in a drawer. I used an old t-shirt for the back (from the previous tutorial), some extra ribbon, a ruler, scissors, and a hot glue gun to round out the materials.

I always have a bunch of ribbon lying around; this pillow cover is a great way to use it! You’ll need lots of glue sticks for this project, but it comes together very quickly. I like to use striped ribbon; it makes it easy to know if it’s straight. You can get creative with your pattern; a basket weave pattern would be gorgeous or diagonal stripes would be fun too.

All of these pillow covers were completed in less than a day; you can probably see the green marks on my thumbs in most of the videos. They’re also inexpensive projects, all the material I had around the house. You can make them as fancy or as simple as you’d like.

Of course, the Spring Refresh inspiration came from my new All Seasons Wreath. The bright colors and beautiful designs needed equally beautiful surroundings! Order your wreath by clicking the button below!