Kool-Aid Fruit Drink Dyed Outdoor Pillow

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Now that the weather is {finally!!} getting warm, I can let myself start daydreaming about the summer. I can’t wait for long days at the pool, eating popsicles, enjoying ice cold drinks, catching fireflies, and eating every meal outside.

The other day, I was at Walmart and noticed these huge new 96-oz bottles of Kool-Aid. I immediately got so nostalgic, because when I was younger, we always had some Kool-Aid rockin’ in a bright orange pitcher in the fridge. For me, there’s little that takes me right back to summers with my sisters than taking a sip of grape Kool-Aid.

I went to go grab a bottle, and I remembered something else: how many shirts I have stained when I spilled that same Kool-Aid on myself. 

Then it hit me: Why not try to stain something on purpose??

So I did. I made a Kool-Aid dyed pillow. And I absolutely love how it turned out.

You could always start with a purchased pillow cover {or even use one of your own pillows that may not be looking so hot anymore}, but I decided to whip one up to use for this project. 

If you’ve never made a pillow cover before, you really should try. It’s one of the easiest — and least expensive — projects you can do. If you can sew even just a sort-of straight line, then you can make these.

I used the same method that I did for my Knock-off Anthropologie Heart Pillow, so you can check out that post for a complete tutorial. For these pillows, I used white sanded twill that I got at Walmart for about $7 a yard. I got one yard and had enough to make four 18″ pillows.

To do the actual dyeing, I used the Tropical Punch Kool-Aid because I thought it would give me the brightest color. {p.s. It did!}

I prepped my pillow cover by saturating it with a mixture of water and vinegar. I used about 4 cups of water and 1/2 cup of vinegar. Wring it out completely so it’s just damp, not dripping.

 

I poured about 1/2 of the Tropical Punch Kool-Aid into a container. {I used a plastic shoe box because it was just about he perfect size for my 18″ pillow cover.} I added three packets of the unsweetened dry Kool-Aid powder, also in Tropical Punch, to up the color factor a bit. I also added it about 1/2 cup vinegar to help set the dye. Make sure you mix it all together really well so you don’t have any clumps of the Kool-Aid powder.

Then I just dunked my pillow cover in the Kool-Aid!

I wanted to do a dip-dyed look, so I just let about half of the pillow soak in the dye and let the rest hang over the edge. 

I let it sit in the dye overnight to make sure the color really soaked in. {The dye creeped up into the white part a little more than I originally intended, but I actually really like it. I think it has a little flame thing going on.}

The next morning, I rinsed it out, being careful not to let any of the dye/water get on the white part of the pillow cover. I then laid it out on an old towel to let it air dry for a couple of hours. 

Once it was about 90% dry, I tossed it in the dryer on a high-heat setting with the same old towel and dried it completely. 

Finally, I ironed the pillow cover on a high setting to further set the dye. You may want to use an old towel or pillowcase between the pillow cover and the iron, to prevent any dye from staining your iron. Once it was ironed, I sprayed the pillow with a fabric protector spray to help prevent any further staining. {Ironic, I know.}

Then it was ready to be stuffed! I was originally going to just use an old pillow I already had, but then I had an idea. I was planning on using these on my patio furniture, so I decided to use plastic grocery bags to stuff them! I would have a waterproof pillow insert and use up some of the billions of bags I have stashed in my closet.

That’s what you call a win-win, people.

I stuffed one bag into the back of the pillow, leaving the bag opening at the opening of the pillow form. Then I just stuffed a bunch of crumpled-up bags into the first bag until the pillow looked full enough, folded the top down on the first bag and shoved it back into the pillow. Then I filled in any parts that I thought didn’t look full enough.

Voila! A plastic-bag-stuffed, Kool-Aid dyed pillow! 

It was such a fun project, and crazy inexpensive. This one pillow cost me less than $5 to make {about $1.75 for the fabric, and just over $2 for the Kool-Aid}! I definitely want to do this again with some of the other Kool-Aid flavors!

 

If you live in the south, this could be your lucky day! Jim Dillard, pro fisherman, could be coming to your local Walmart to help promote the new 96oz bottles! There will be product giveaways, t-shirts, games, and more fun activities. So check this out and see if your local Walmart is on the list!

Friday May 30th 5-7pm:
13675 Highway 43 Russellville, AL WM Supercenter

Saturday May 31st 3-5pm:
3100 Hough Rd Florence, AL WM Supercenter

Saturday May 31st 6-8pm:
517 Avalon Ave Muscle Shoals, AL WM Supercenter

Friday June 20th 5-7pm:
1210 Mineral Wells Ave Paris, TN WM Supercenter

Saturday June 21st 3-5pm:
1225 Paris Rd Murray, KY WM Supercenter

Saturday June 21st 6-8pm:
809 N 12th St Murray, KY WM Supercenter

Friday August 8th 5-7pm:
360 Harbison Blvd Columbia, SC WM Supercenter

Saturday August 9th 3-5pm:
1326 Bush River Rd Columbia, SC WM Supercenter

Saturday August 9th 6-8pm:
2401 Augusta Rd West Columbia, SC WM Supercenter

 

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